In 1918, my great-grandmother, Frances Pengelski, was married with two babies under two years old, living in relative poverty in Brooklyn. I was fortunate to know my nana well. The year I […]
Lessons from Nana
Social Distancing is My Middle Name
*Note: This was written on March 10. A lot has changed in a week. Long before COVID-19, I practiced social distancing. In fact, I practice self-isolation most of the time now, […]
How Saving Monarch Butterflies Prepares You for Covid
I got into raising monarchs by accident, but once I saw the many threats to this not-quite-endangered species, I purposely set about learning all I could to help keep their population healthy […]
Cherish, Dream, Live
I have been in absolute panic mode now for almost a full week. The health scares in the news are perfectly designed to hit dead-center in the Venn diagram that comprise my […]
The Weight Dilemma
The first time my mother disparaged my weight, I was thirteen. I wore a size 7. My best friend and I were shopping, finding outfits for the fashion show our dramatic choir […]
Dear Sister: A Gratitude Letter
Dear Sister, A friend is doing a gratitude diary and it’s been helping her a lot, so I thought I’d try as well. I believe in the practice of gratitude, have seen […]
Thanksgiving
It seems almost impossible to be thankful when everything is falling apart around us. . . . Yet conventional wisdom tells us, “It’s not happy people who are grateful. It’s grateful people who are happy.” Interestingly, recent scientific research backs this up.
Spending a Life: My Sister, Cancer, and the Present Moment
These days, I write about only one subject: my sister’s cancer. It’s the only subject that feels urgent, the one that dominates my days. Even when my sister and I don’t talk […]
On Losing Weight
A rant in no particular order. 1. I need to lose weight for health reasons (blood pressure, cholesterol, stress on the joints, etc.). I’m not so enlightened that I’d be sorry to […]
A Laugh for Boxing Day
It’s December 26th—Boxing Day in the U.K.—and my English husband is at work. Here in America, it seems, one day off for Christmas is enough. In England, Boxing Day means shopping, visiting […]
The Gloria Sirens 