June 11, 2023
I wrote this post a few years ago but it seemed a good time to publish it as I’m helping my son and his girlfriend move into their first house this weekend which means I don’t have the time I usually have to write, and I’m thinking a lot about what a joyful life it’s […]
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June 4, 2023
You know that old physics question, “If a tree falls in a lonely forest and there is no animal near to hear it, does it make a sound?” It occurs to me that hot on the heels of this well-known philosophical conundrum is perhaps another, less familiar, which asks, “Are therapists bad at self-promotion or […]
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May 28, 2023
There’s a column in The New York Times entitled “How I Hold It Together” in which writers from the paper list six things that they find helpful when they are feeling anxious and stressed. It’s unlikely that I will ever be a columnist for The New York Times but I don’t see why I should […]
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May 21, 2023
I find myself walking across sun-drenched fields alone with the dogs and overcome with feelings of freedom and elation I can’t recall experiencing too often. Through the vineyards, with green in every direction, I wonder when exactly I awoke to the joy of being outside. My mother was a dedicated gardener. The long narrow patch […]
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May 14, 2023
In the kitchen drawer, there is a knife that I kept from my mother’s house after she died in 2007. I don’t know why I ended up with this particular piece but whenever I look at it I am reminded of the meals from childhood. Sitting around the cluttered kitchen table that doubled as a […]
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