In my thirties, when a lot of my friends did a lot of traveling, I generally stayed put. The reasons were mostly practical; I had a prolonged period of grad school, which put limitations on budget and time. Sometimes it’s easier to tell ourselves that we don’t want something we can’t have. I’ve always had this tendency, and it has led me to tell myself a lot of stories that aren’t true, or which don’t stay true for long. I spent those years…

Like most people, I complain about winter. I bemoan the cold. I talk about how annoying it is to pile on and peel off layers of clothing. I say that I’m unmotivated to go outside. This winter, however, I’ve had to ask myself whether all of this, or any of it, is true. If I’m being honest, January has been sort of lovely in its deep wintriness. On the most wet or cold nights, I’ve curled up at home, catching up on TV…

My godfather passed away from Covid-19 last Monday. My mom and I had been preparing ourselves for a few days, as his condition declined. But he seemed to be a little better, just before the end, and we’d both responded with some cautious hope. I happened to lose my godmother at the beginning of October. She didn’t have Covid, but her death was very sudden. I’ve been thinking all week about godparents and people who feel like godparents. I hadn’t seen Bill—Uncle Bill,…

When I’m my yoga nidra class, my teacher sometimes invites us to imagine a personal paradise. She tells us it can be any place we like: outdoors or indoors, faraway or nearby, past or present, with others or private. The goal is never to force an image, but rather to let what comes up come up. Week after week, the place I go when I’m asked to find a paradise of my own is my apartment. I always have a little internal laugh…

Last weekend I went to visit an old friend from college. It had been over three years since I’d seen her, thanks to life getting busy and then Covid interrupting everything. Fortunately, she’s the sort of friend whom I can go years without seeing and months without talking to, and we always pick up very comfortably where we left off. She lives in a wooded and very lovely part of New Jersey, so we had all of these autumnal plans. We were going…

Last weekend I was in upstate New York, where my oldest friend’s parents have a home. It’s a very special place for me, a place where I spent a lot of time as a kid and young adult. I’ve celebrated weddings, graduations, and one memorial service in that home. When I think back on the most formative experiences that I had as a young person, many of them are linked to Chatham. Thanks to Covid and the fact that Chloe lives in another…

To-do list for the first Sunday of November, 2022: Wake up woefully unrested, given the extra overnight hour overnight (tough week, busy mind) Spend the early morning wondering what to write about today, over coffee. Eat breakfast (banana chocolate chip muffin, yogurt with hemp seeds and berries). Feel an idea of what to write about taking shape. Feel pretty good about that idea. Eat lunch (leftover one-pot Italian quinoa lentils, vegan parmesan, salad). Go to a fun orange wine fair, hosted by a…