Hi Friends,There is something quietly beautiful unfolding in my life right now. In just a few weeks, I will be sitting there, watching my fifth child graduate from college. My heart already feels full just thinking about it. At the same time, I am helping my fourth child move into her new apartment with her husband and a baby on the way. These are big milestones. The kind that mark time. The kind you remember. The month of May seems to carry so many of these moments. Graduati

Hi Friends, Turning the Dial: Small Shifts in Long Relationships Last week we talked about why we go back to bad relationships, but my brain is funny and I get inspired by different things every week. So today, I want to encourage the folks who have been in a long relationship. A relationship where things are not falling apart, they are just a bit quiet, or different, or stale. Because the truth is, most long-term relationships don’t fall apart overnight… they slowly go quie

Why We Go Back (Even When We Know Better) There is a moment many women experience, yet rarely speak about out loud, almost as if saying it would make it too real. It is the moment you open the door again.The moment you answer the message.The moment you allow yourself to believe, quietly and cautiously, maybe this time it will be different. Maybe he has finally understood what you needed all along.Maybe the distance helped him see your value.Maybe the loss changed him in ways

Hi friends, There is something about spring that gently asks us to slow down. Not in a loud or demanding way, but in a quiet invitation… “Look,” it seems to say. “Notice.” And if you allow yourself, even for a moment, you begin to see it everywhere. The way a single leaf, newly born, catches the light just right and casts the softest shadow on a sun-warmed rock. The way the water along the Gulf shifts colors throughout the day, sometimes a pale, glassy blue, sometimes deeper,

Hi Friends, Over the past few weeks, we’ve walked alongside very different women, each of them showing us something honest about courage and possibility. We began with Surya Bonaly, who defied expectations and reminded us that sometimes doing what has never been done matters more than fitting into what is accepted. We then looked at Alysa Liu, whose journey showed us the complexity of success and the importance of listening to ourselves, even when the world is watching. With

Hi Friends, Did you enjoy the women we explored throughout Women’s History Month? The courageous stories, the bold choices, the moments when women stepped forward and changed what seemed possible? Well… today I saved the most important woman for last. She is accomplished, beautiful, intelligent, loving, strong, resilient, and full of quiet grace. If you could see this woman the way I do, you might fall a little bit in love with her. You might find yourself wanting to tell oth

Hi Friends, Last week we celebrated courage on the ice: women who dared to break boundaries, who trusted their own voice, and who followed their path even when it wasn’t the easiest one. Today, I want to highlight a different kind of courage; not the kind that happens in front of cheering crowds or under the bright lights of the Olympic stage, but the quieter, steadier kind that unfolds in meeting rooms, in persistent conversations, and in the unwavering determination of some

Hi Friends, Last week, as we stepped into Women’s History Month, I wrote about the unforgettable moment when Surya Bonaly landed her famous backflip at the 1998 Winter Olympics. It was a moment that still gives people goosebumps when they watch it today. Surya knew the move would not count for points, and she knew it might even cost her with the judges, but she chose to do it anyway. In that brief moment on the ice, she showed the world something powerful, that sometimes the

Hi Friends, It’s March and Women’s History Month. I will put the spotlight on four ladies starting with a three time Olympian who became famous for something other than a medal. From Olympic Cheers to a Backflip That Defied Expectations There’s something electric about watching the Winter Olympics: a blend of grace, strength, and moments that leave you cheering at full volume. This year, we celebrated incredible performances, including a giant win for American star Alysa Liu

Hi Friends, Last week we explored the “turning toward” principle from John Gottman: those small, almost invisible moments when someone reaches for us and we either lean in…or look away. The sigh at the end of the day. The casual “Can I tell you something?” The quiet bid for connection that can be so easily missed. Today, I want to build on that with something deeply practical. A communication structure so simple it almost feels too basic. And yet, it has the power to soften d

Hi Friends, “I wish you had been nicer to me today.” The Small Sentence That Reveals the Health of a Relationship Have you seen that social media trend lately? A woman turns on her camera, sits next to her partner, and calmly says: “I wish you had been nicer to me today.” No yelling. No dramatic accusation. No long speech. Just one simple sentence, spoken quietly, almost carefully. And yet, it lands like a wave. It feels heavy, emotional, and strangely familiar—especially to

Hi Friends, Valentine’s Week: 7 Days of Love (That Have Nothing to Do With Roses) Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that can feel sweet and lighthearted for some people, and heavy or complicated for others. It can bring out excitement, but it can also bring out longing. And for many women in midlife, especially those who have experienced divorce, heartbreak, emotional distance in a long marriage, or simply the quiet loneliness that can come even when you’re surrounded

Hi Friends, February tends to ask the same tired question every year: What does love look like? Hearts, flowers, and romantic promises often dominate the conversation. But for many of us in midlife, love has changed shape. It has been tested by long relationships, stretched by sacrifice, and sometimes broken open by endings we never planned. What if this season isn’t about chasing an old version of love—but honoring how our understanding of it has evolved?Here are three ways

Hi Friends, The Five Wishes of the Dying — and What They Ask of Us While We’re Still Living I recently listened to a podcast that I needed to share with you. Not because it was dramatic, but because it was quietly, devastatingly true. The conversation centered around The Five Regrets of the Dying , a book written by Australian palliative care nurse Bronnie Ware, who spent years caring for people in the last weeks of their lives. As she listened, really listened, patterns emer

Hi Friends, Last week I wrote about courage; about standing on the trapeze platform, clipped into a safety belt, heart racing, knowing there was no real danger… and still having to step off.That moment stayed with me.Not because I was brave in some dramatic way, but because courage didn’t look like confidence. It looked like hesitation, a deep breath, and doing the thing anyway. I wasn’t afraid of flying. I was afraid of stepping off the ledge, even with support, even with pe

Hi Friends, Thank you your feed back from last week’s musings. Today is story time:) Finally Doing the Thing There are things we carry quietly for years.Not big dreams that we announce out loud, but small, persistent longings that tap us on the shoulder every now and then. One day. Someday. When things settle down. Today, I did one of those things. I swung on a trapeze. For years I drove by this place and had a yearning to do it; to swing from that trapeze. This one is a rem

Embracing the Unknown of 2026 As we step into 2026, the unknown is not waiting somewhere far ahead. It’s already here. It always is. We like to believe that if we plan well enough, vision clearly enough, or work hard enough, life will eventually feel predictable. But it doesn’t. Politics shift. Relationships change. Bodies get sick and heal again—or don’t. Babies are born. People we love die. People move closer, others drift away. The unknown isn’t a phase we pass through; it

Hi Friends, I hope you enjoyed last week’s look at old customs. This week, the time between Christmas and New Years, I want to share something with you from my old country. It’s quieter there after Christams. Things close or slow down. My friends businesses literally close for a week and all employees are off. Zwischen den Jahren — The time in between the years There is a quiet space that exists between what has been and what will be. In German, it’s called Zwischen den Jah

Hi Friends, How did you do with reflecting on the past year? Today, as I write this, it is winter solstice. The Longest Night and the Quiet Promise of Light The winter solstice arrives softly. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t demand attention. It simply marks a pause—the longest night of the year—before the light begins its slow return. Long before calendars and holidays, humans watched the sky and felt this turning point in their bones. Darkness was real then. Cold was real.

Hi Friends, I trust you enjoyed the words of wisdom last week. We usually look back on a year by counting accomplishments, measuring progress, and quietly noting what didn’t work out. But some years refuse to be summarized that way. 2025 may be one of them. Instead of treating it like a report card, what if you looked at it more creatively, more honestly, without trying to make it impressive? One simple way to begin is to describe 2025 in just three words. Not a sentence, not