Newest Blog Entries

When Covid-19 initially invaded our lives, suddenly and unexpectedly everything changed and shut down. It made our lives lonely and difficult while we quarantined behind closed doors. We were overwhelmed by having to make many new decisions, scramble for ways to gain control and decide how to make our lives easier. We’re still doing that. We’ve learned there is no blueprint; it all comes down to each of us and our ingenuity. In the process, we’ve discovered it’s the little tricks that count to simplify our everyday lives.  Password protections. Margaret’s dozens of passwords, which she uses daily, were all smooshed in...

Many of us have an almost bipolar connection to money. One minute we think, “I saved half of my typical heating bill last month by lowering the temperature, so I feel kind of rich today and will splurge by buying that expensive nighttime moisturizer or the pretty handmade silver and turquoise earrings I’ve been eying.” Or, you get your tax bill and owe money. Suddenly, you feel poor. “I can’t believe I owe this much; what am I going to do?” Your mind races more to think of ways to cut back for the next few weeks as you write...

Most of us have a personal credo we live by, which we try to adhere to or one that may change as we evolve. Credos help center us, give our lives purpose, act as a moral compass for decisions we must make as we journey through life and sometimes are challenged to go in new directions. We may take a detour—good or bad, but these personal ideals can help get us back on the path we think is wiser if we have taken a wrong turn. And most of us will at some point.  How do we arrive at a...

Have you ever asked your adult children, “What do you want me to leave you in my will?”  “Mom,” many kids typically answer (at least ours did), “Nothing really. You’ve given me a good life and a good education. Anyway, you’re going to be around for a long time.”  That could be true…or not. Regardless, once we’re no longer here, each of us leaves behind a little part of ourselves whether tangibles such as money, property, a business, art and other objects or the intangibles such as our values, ideas and good (and bad) deeds.  How did you treat your...

Early in the pandemic, when we were eager to fill hours, replace an in-person activity with an online version and enjoy quasi-face-to-face contact and conversation, we signed up to test the waters of live virtual classes. Some of our kids and grandkids were learning this way, so we figured why not try, too? During the past 14 months, we have engaged in exercise sessions from rooms throughout our homes, carefully craning our necks to look up at a screen to see how the instructor did this or that pose, and sometimes switching off the camera when we were tired or...