As a young student counselor we were required to role-play with fellow students as practice for the techniques we learned in class. It always felt very contrived—we’d anxiously move our chairs face-to-face with one another, then either concoct a fake situation or choose to act out an issue or a problem from our real lives. …Read More
The private pilot is jolly—like an Irishman at a pub. He enters the airport, hand extended, eager to embark on our journey together and making jokes as he greets our girls. We all pile into our tiny, privileged private aircraft, our faces touched with the telltale signs of a week of the wind and sun …Read More
They say when you die, your life flashes in front of you like one beautiful movie. I wouldn’t be surprised if it does and I hope that it is so. Memories are the things we live for. Vacations, births, birthdays, milestones, incidents and experiences together – what else is there, really? These are the things …Read More
It’s mid winter. Sigh. My tan lines are slowly blurring—I stand, post-shower towel wrapped around me, shivering with hair dripping as I ponder my outfit. Standing in front of my full-length mirror, I catch a glimpse of my silhouette as my towel un-tucks and drops to the floor. I am not young anymore—well, outside no—inside …Read More
I was a very young therapist with an excellent supervisor and a heavy caseload that gave me regular headaches. My books and my excellent education were failing me. This was the real deal. Real people with real—and I mean real—problems. The seasoned therapists would take their top picks from the incoming clients, leaving the newer …Read More
It’s heavy. The breath you take before you leave a long-term relationship. The weight of it can keep you mired down and fixated in a place that no longer suits you or serves you. I believe in long-term relationships, no doubt, but some are simply not meant to be. How then, can you differentiate between …Read More
I have watched “Little Women” more times that anyone I’ll bet. I am mesmerized by the plot, which is laden with resiliency, feminism, strength of family, and the overwhelming power and beauty of love with a strong appreciation for differences. My all-time favorite line in the movie is delivered by Jo’s older suitor Frederick. “Jo, …Read More
My stomach is churning. My 96-year-old grandmother’s health is failing and I have to go to the hospital to see her. My history is that my father suffered a tragic stroke years ago and I spent months on end in the ICU witnessing traumatizing things on the floor and in my father’s room until his …Read More
I used to despise my minivan. While I don’t want to seem ungrateful, I hated it. It screamed uncool Mom. Before everyone gets mad at me, I knew being a Mom wasn’t about being cool, but sometimes I felt like my cool side was just dying. It was smothered out of me in those early …Read More
If I hear Adele on the radio just one more time I might scream. I am lunging at the dial these days when I hear the first morbid note of Hello. Don’t get me wrong, Adele is a prolific and talented writer and has a powerful, beautiful voice, but right about now we have all …Read More
