Author: Iris Ruth Pastor

Maria Shriver writes in her Sunday Paper column about what Kara Lawson, Duke University women’s basketball head coach, said recently: We wait for stuff to get easier. It will never get easier. What happens is you handle hard better.”  OMG. I love that statement! Turning 75 is not easy. For me, it’s a difficult milestone, but the alternative Continue reading

Ann Lander’s advice column was the first thing I would read in the daily paper.  These days, I peruse the funeral notices – keeping a sharp eye out for the unique, the ones written with flair and humor. I usually leave those pages disappointed, as most obits are formulaic and boring. But not this one: Continue reading

It’s been an intense time in our country – so this week I’m going with lightening up. I’m a firm believer in how you see the world determines the world you see. And I think my house reflects this. I’m devoting this week’s newsletter to a glimpse of some of the plaques and signs I have hanging around Continue reading

Another mass shooting erupts. This one occurs on one of the most sacred days on the secular caledary: the 4th of July.  The next day, I receive the following text from a family member, who is passing this text on from a teacher who had the shooter as a student in grade school:  He was very Continue reading

I now realize that when I’m stressed, I organize.When I’m upset, I stuff myself with cookies.When I’ve got something to say, I write.When I need reassurance that my brain is still working, I attempt CryptoQuips.When I want to tune out the world, I read.When I want to calm myself, I knit.When I want to distract Continue reading

I don’t know whether it is commendable or pathetic that on the eve of my 75th birthday, I am still perusing like crazy books on self -improvement and self-empowerment. I am still actively engaged in finding rituals and practices to improve my life.  While browsing at the fabulous Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City, I found a Continue reading

Father’s Day memories are most poignant when specific. I love it when every year my research turns up new narratives on dads and kids. The Washington Post Style Plus section in 1993 captured and subsequently published some readers’ reminisces about their dads. Here’s a few:  Dad never knew quite what to say to us kids — particularly the girls. Continue reading

I’m just coming down from my high mood after a wonderful family get together with four out of my five sons and their families.  As I was leaving, a family member gave me a very flattering compliment – centered on the fact that I brought my “A” game to the weekend festivities. I think this person Continue reading

The bridge to happiness is peppered with spontaneity. I’m 74 years old – if not now, when? So one lazy Saturday afternoon my good buddy, Francine, calls me to tell me she found some old National Geographic Magazines for 25 cents apiece. I had just texted her that morning that I was looking for just that for Continue reading

Below is an email sent out to the congregation  my son and daughter-in-law belong to in New Jersey. I thank my DIL Julie for forwarding it to me. In the wake of the horrors, this message penned by Rabbi Matthew Gerwitz speaks to our souls.  Copyright © 2022 Iris Ruth Pastor, Writer and Speaker, All Continue reading