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 Once Patty found a job teaching first grade at a public school near the condominium they bought, they joined a temple to meet other young Southern Jewish couples. But she missed her hometown with its simplicity and familiarity–the independent movie theater that served popcorn with real butter, her family physician who was a childhood friend, the dress shop where she could walk in and they knew her size and taste, and the semi-annual sample shoe sales she attended where, because of her tiny sized-5 ½B, she would buy dozens of pairs at bargain-basement prices. She’d come home from those sales...

Patty Tate, 52, was feeling better, but it took almost two years to reach that benchmark. She could finally say that she had rejoined the land of the living—most days. Yet, there were still many mornings when she’d wake up in a cold sweat and remember that her husband of 30 years had cheated and then dumped her, leaving her almost penniless and certainly alone. Even now, that shroud of loneliness surfaced periodically like a bad smell that nothing could shake. Her initial anger had subsided, however, from when he had said, “I’m leaving. The passion’s gone.” Back then, she...

When my internist suggested I get a Fitbit, a personal tracker, I had never heard of it. Fast forward two years, and it’s become the hottest accessory–more than that double strand of pearls for a cute black dress or a high-end scarf in a variety of prints that can be worn multiple ways, and always looks chic. Initially, I balked, but I begrudgingly bought one to track my steps in hopes of shedding some extra pounds I had put on. I went for the cheapest model, a clip-on in perky green. I programmed it–well, the beau did, so results would...

It was a freezing January morning when I walked up to the school that my late husband had attended six decades ago. I rang the bell to get in and signed a sheet in the office.  “J’s classroom is down the hall and to the left,” said the school secretary pointing to the right. I ambled down the hall checking the numbers on the doors. I found J’s room and entered. The teacher – a tall bespectacled woman in her 50s –shook my hand and pointed out the child I was to tutor. “He’s a lovely boy,” she said. “J...

Winter has arrived and when the going gets cold, those who are cold look for ways to warm up. There are multiple techniques including creative cocooning and doubling down with a good comforter, cuffing with crablike tenacity, using apps on your iPhone to warm your hands, buying space heaters to warm rooms you’re in–and then our absolute favorite, ingesting comfort foods and drinks. Without a doubt, the extra warmth of a shot of aged brandy or a hot toddy causes a surge of happiness in our hearts when we pick up our glasses to toast. Or cut to the schmaltz...