Category: Blog

The Salvation Army drop-off center at 10 AM on a recent Monday morning was lined with six cars in front of me and within five minutes three more pulled up in back of me. Do they too know “the secret” to living a serene and well-ordered life? My mom knew “the secret”. She made Marie Continue reading

It’s 9 pm and I’m standing in front of my refrigerator rapturously devouring a rich piece of chocolate cake, wondering what I can eat NEXT.I’m Not Hungry.But I AM baffled. Why does this incessant, compulsive night eating keep happening?  Like me, are you a nighttime eater?If you are, have I got a read for you.If you Continue reading

I met a guy the other night after attending a political event. He told me shortly after he retired that he had a nervous breakdown. I started laughing and leaning in conspiratorially, I flippantly retorted, “Yeah, I have one of those quite often these days as I approach the winter of my life!” “No,” he Continue reading

Next to the least used commode in my house sits a little wicker basket overflowing with 3” by 5” little books – most of them touting verbiage like Life’s Little Instruction Book or Life Lessons for Mothers.  Not only do I hardly ever use that particular commode, but when I do, I fail to even causally glance at Continue reading

I’ve been making myself unhappy for quite a long time. Why? Because I couldn’t manage to move forward from a past image of myself. I couldn’t stop viewing myself through the same old lens. I was stuck. And what exactly was that past image? It was of a young, busy, involved mother of five sons – five sons who were Continue reading

Whenever the world or my little corner of it gets out of balance – whacky and crazy – I think of the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. If you can keep your head when all about youAre losing theirs and blaming it on you,If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,But make allowance Continue reading

I know that one of the greatest challenges of aging is being able to accept that closely held relationships change.  I feel the shifting away of my teenage grandkids’ interest and attention. I feel the pulling away. And I wonder: Am I the only grandparent who feels like this?  Here is a letter I recently wrote to my Continue reading

For the second time in a matter of days I am writing about loss. I’m on a plane without my laptop – it’s packed in my valise and my cell phone is out of juice. Suddenly an epiphany strikes – centered on an idea for my upcoming weekly column. I frantically search for paper to Continue reading

I finally realized that I have a new, daily occupation: FINDING MY iPHONE.  My second most frequent occupation is:FINDING MY HUSBAND’S iPHONE.   They can be missing in plain sight. They can be wedged between couch pillows, Under the seat of the car,On the roof of the car,At the grocery store check-out lane, In the drugstore shopping cart,Wherever……. Over Continue reading

Marvin N. Kaplan, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend, and devoted dentist, passed away peacefully at his home on Monday, November 17, with his wife, Rella, by his side.Marvin dedicated nearly 40 years to caring for the Clifton, OH community through his dental practice—a profession he approached not just with skill, but with deep compassion. Continue reading