Exploring one of life's most valuable gifts
Although reading is inherently a solitary activity, books can provide a strong foundation for conversation and connection with others. In one of LOF's earliest posts, I wrote about my own experience with a local book group. I also enjoyed facilitating a book group with a few other parents for my son and some of his... Continue Reading →
Fall is often considered a season for new beginnings. For those celebrating Rosh Hashanah this weekend, marking the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, it’s an opportunity for reflection and renewal. Most people would probably benefit from stepping back from the daily routines in their lives for a period of reflection. Even those who... Continue Reading →
If you've ever seen the opening sequence of the movie Zero Dark Thirty, then you've heard my college friend Melissa Doi's beautiful voice. I still haven't seen the movie, but I remember well the first time I heard the recording used in that movie of Melissa's actual 9-1-1 call to emergency services from the 83rd... Continue Reading →
Can you consider a person you’ve never met to be a friend? I love to read memoirs, and I’ve encountered authors over the years who write in a way that makes me feel like I know them. At times, their words and experiences have resonated with me so deeply that I almost feel they could... Continue Reading →
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is More Than Enough. We live in a world dominated by social media showing curated lives of perfect families, love lives and job promotions. Comparing our lives to others can be damaging to our mental health, and building lives full of connection and acceptance is... Continue Reading →
By all accounts Monday, February 6th was shaping up to be a pretty good day. The temperature had warmed a bit over the weekend and most of the snow and ice had melted. By then, I was several months into a new routine, regularly commuting by train to Chicago for an interim university job. On... Continue Reading →
Mother’s Day is one of those holidays that elicits the range of emotions. Some people consider it a Hallmark holiday designed to pressure us into buying gifts, creating Instagram-worthy visuals and artificial moments. Others are reminded of painful losses, or relationships that never quite measured up to expectations. At the same time, those of us... Continue Reading →
Lately I’ve been experiencing an emotion I was introduced to early last year when I read about it in famed vulnerability researcher Brene Brown’s helpful book, Atlas of the Heart, which Julia and I both wrote about in separate posts. The emotion is called Freudenfreude, and it’s a mouthful, but really it’s just the feeling... Continue Reading →
I learned a few years ago not to ask a graduating senior about their post-high-school plans unless they first bring up the topic. One Thanksgiving, I innocently asked my niece if she had heard from any colleges yet, not realizing the stress that question triggered. My sister quickly set me straight, explaining how drawn out... Continue Reading →
I am a cat person. I like dogs too, but it was a cat who kept me company during my years of teen angst in the 1980s, another cat who was my steadfast companion during my divorce when I only had my boys 50% of the time, and three small cats who turned my house... Continue Reading →
Language of Friendship 