The holidays bring families together who live far apart. Laughter rings out through our homes. Joyous toasts are made. Connections strengthened. Bonds solidified once again – whether we are lighting yet another Chanukah candle or gazing with wonder at the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree – or like so many in today’s world – Continue reading

Sometimes life just gets in the way of putting out my newsletter.Sometimes things have to get worsebefore they can ever get better. This time it was a meniscus tearin my right kneefrom dancing 4 hours straight in high heelslike I was still 23! Pain, swelling, throbbing followed the procedure.A little disorientation, A little bit of fever. And extended loopiness stemming from the Continue reading

It all started with a white ceramic piggy bank in the shape of a baseball – filled with masses of pennies – that my five-year-old grandson wanted to lug back to Connecticut. Of course, I said “Yes.” In the confusion of packing up a five-year-old, a two-year-old and an infant, the piggy bank was forgotten by Levi’s Continue reading

I looked around the Thanksgiving table. There were three generations of us ranging in age from 3 months to 75 years. I was the 75 year-old – the most elderly in the room. Certainly not the most mature, nor the most logical nor the most observant. But definitely the OLDEST. As usual, there was a big crowd and as Continue reading

Weak Ties can open up new vistas of opportunity for us:  Mark Granovetter is an American sociologist and professor at Stanford and is best known for his work in economic sociology.  His Weak Tie theory is that acquaintances are likely to be more influential than close friends, particularly in social networks. He surveyed 282 Boston-based workers Continue reading

I couldn’t understand why my mood shifts substantially north when the bag boy at my neighborhood grocery gives me his habitual “Hi Five” and over exaggerated wink while placing my perishables in a paper bag.   Or why my step lightens when, driving down my street on my way to run errands, I spot my mailman’s truck Continue reading

When I was about three years old, my mom enrolled me in dance class.  At ballet, I was graceless. At tap, I was rhythm challenged. But at acrobatics, I excelled. It wasn’t long until I was doing handstands, somersaults, back bends and cartwheels all over the place. By age eight, I had a routine down pat. One Continue reading

We all came together this past weekend for my niece’s wedding to Mark.  I looked around the room and realized that the guests attending hailed from more than twenty-five states – representing at least that many viewpoints, philosophies, politics and personalities. I looked around the room and also realized that everyone in that room had one thing Continue reading

Tomorrow night my sister’s oldest daughter – my niece Suzanne – will be getting married to her fiancé Mark. Milestone events like weddings are an opportunity to revisit the past and reflect on the present. And it starts with gathering information. If you want to know a kid, ask his mom.  So I decided to start Continue reading

Election day is fast approaching and if you are like me, you are flummoxed by the hefty number of ballet choices – Judges, District Court of Appeals, State House, County Commissioners and more.  It’s not surprising that research shows that more than 30% of voters often don’t even bother filling out their entire ballot when they vote Continue reading