Hi Friends, Tuesday Thoughts: When I Was 18 When I was 18 or 19, I was in 13th grade in Germany and had chosen art as one of my majors. I loved having a class where we could create something instead of simply memorizing something. One day, our art teacher gave us an assignment I still remember all these years later. We had to draw a self-portrait. In ink. And then we had to choose a symbol that represented us, or something we believed in. I wish I could show you the drawing.

Hi Friends, I recently watched a short social media skit that has stayed with me ever since. In it, a woman tells her partner, "I'm sad." He barely looks up, brushes it off with something like, "You'll be fine," and goes back to what he was doing. There was no curiosity, no follow-up question, no invitation for her to share more. So she opens ChatGPT instead. She types, "I'm sad." The response is immediate: "I'm so sorry you're feeling that way. Do you want to tell me what's

Hi friends, I am on a roll with quotes lately. Here is one that inspired me as well: "You never know what will become one of your favorite memories." Usually these moments don't announce themselves,there isn't dramatic music playing. No one tells us, "Pay attention. You're going to miss this someday." It's just another Tuesday. Isn't that a song as well? Let’s say you're sipping coffee on the porch before the day begins. You feed the cats, walk the dog, and you watch the bird

Hi Friends, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." — A.A. Milne As a German transplant to the United States, I've learned that making friends isn't usually the hardest part. Keeping them close can be. When I first moved here at 21, I imagined friendships would naturally become lifelong relationships. But over the years, I discovered something that seems especially common in America—people move. They relocate for new jobs, retirement, family, or

Hi friends, Last night I watched the movie Wild, based on Cheryl Strayed's true story. If you haven't seen it, it's about far more than a woman hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. It's about grief. Regret. Bad decisions. Healing. And finding yourself one difficult step at a time. When the movie ended, I realized I wasn't quite finished with Cheryl's story. I found myself searching for an interview with her because I needed to know more. I wanted to see the woman behind the journe

Hi Friends, Tuesday Thoughts and... Not So Fast The FIFA World Cup has brought people from all over the world to the United States this summer. Before they arrived, many had already formed opinions about what they would find. News headlines, social media, and stories from others had painted a picture, some exciting, some not so flattering.I listen to German news sometimes, as I grew up in that country, and they don't agree with most of the US politics at the moment. But they

Hi Friends, I recently came across several quotes by the German author Elke Heidenreich that spoke to me. They weren't dramatic or overly sentimental, yet they carried a quiet wisdom that only seems to come from someone who has lived a full life. At 81 years old, Heidenreich doesn't write about aging with sadness or longing for the past. Instead, she speaks with remarkable honesty about accepting what has been, embracing what is, and continuing to find joy, curiosity, and pu

Hi Friends, The Woman Who Never Existed Have you ever caught yourself wishing you had someone else's eyes? Or admired another woman's thick hair, toned arms, radiant smile, or effortless style? We rarely compare ourselves to just one person. Instead, we collect little pieces from many women and somehow expect ourselves to become all of them.It turns out this isn't a new habit. There's an ancient story about the Greek artist, Zeuxis, who was commissioned to paint Helen of Troy

Hi Friends, What If We Created A "How I Want to Feel" List ? Most of us are experts at making to-do lists. We know what needs to get done before breakfast, before lunch, and before we finally sit down at the end of the day. Pay bills. Fold laundry. Answer messages. Make appointments. Cross things off. Repeat tomorrow. But lately, I've been wondering if we've become so focused on what to do that we've forgotten to ask ourselves something equally important: How do I want to f

Hi Friends, What the World Cup Reminds Me About Us Every four years, something remarkable happens. People from all over the world gather around televisions, crowd into sports bars, wear their country's colors, and cheer with all their hearts for a game. This year, the FIFA World Cup brings together 48 nations from six continents, each with its own language, culture, history, traditions, and way of seeing the world. And yet, for ninety minutes, they're all playing by the same

Hi Friends, My Summer Plans (and None of Them Involve a Yacht) Last week I wrote about giving ourselves permission to be bad at something. Well, now I have a problem. I may actually have to take my own advice. Summer is here, and while I don't have any grand plans, I do have a growing list of things I'd like to try. Not because they'll change my life. Not because they'll make me money. Not because they'll look impressive on social media. Just because they sound fun. For examp

Hi Friends, Somewhere along the way, many of us adults decided that if we weren't naturally good at something, we probably shouldn't do it. As children, we didn't think that way. We fell off bicycles. We misspelled words. We sang off-key. We tried, failed, laughed, and tried again. But as adults, being a beginner can feel uncomfortable. We want to know what we're doing. We want to look competent. We don't want to make mistakes. The problem is that a lot of the best things in

Hi Friends, The Quiet Magic We Miss The other day I came across a little video that completely pulled me out of my own thoughts for a minute. It listed these tiny, fascinating things about animals and nature, and I found myself smiling the entire time. Not because they were life-changing facts but because they reminded me that this world is still full of wonder. And honestly, after some heavier reflections lately about motherhood, midlife, growing pains, and all the emotions

Hi Friends, This week I want to piggy back on last week’s Mother’s Day blog. Every one feels different about how to mother the best way. Even with the same parenting style you can end up with very different results. I realized that kids can’t be programmed, they are meant to be themselves and we are supposed to help them unfold, not fit them in a box. I tried that. And I made a lot of mistakes. I did a lot right, but I missed a lot, too. There really isn’t a big moment, or

Hi Friends, This week I want to share some thoughts about moms. Mother’s Day can bring up so many emotions, especially in midlife. For some women, it is a day filled with laughter, phone calls, flowers, and crowded tables. For others, it can feel quieter, more complicated, or even lonely. I think it is important to remember that motherhood comes in many forms, and every version of it deserves to be seen. Some women are mothers to biological children. Some stepped into the rol

Hi Friends, I recently listened to an interview with the author of Small Things Like These, and it stayed with me long after it ended. She spoke about the real history behind the story, the so-called laundries in Ireland, where young women were sent and often forgotten. These places, known as Magdalene Laundries, were only shut down as recently as the mid-1980s. Hearing that stopped me for a moment. Not just because of how recent it is, but because of what it represents about

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,