Today’s Email to the Grandkids

Every week, I write emails to my two grandkids. Their mom set up accounts for them when they were born…

Loss Thought #1

I put off telling my coworkers about my dog’s death until this afternoon, three days after the fact. For some reason, I couldn’t…

Loss Thought #2

Helen and Cricket had a sibling-like relationship. They squabbled frequently, but also teamed up against external irritants like…

Apology: Bindi

Dear lovely Target cashier,

I have long made a habit of complimenting people I meet on something — jewelry, glasses, shoes, hairstyle, etc. — as a way of casting positive energy into the world. Today I complimented your bindi, but went one unnecessary step further.

Maybe “Fake” is the Problem

Yesterday I stopped by a local discount store to buy gum balls: not the tiny ones that go in home gum ball dispensers, but rather the large kind that can really only be eaten one at a time if any conversation is to happen without drooling; the kind that sometimes are coated in…

Socratic Dialog and Freedom?

In 2004, my daughter and I took a course in Socratic dialog at UCSD Extension taught by Maria daVenza Tillmanns. I had, at that point, had very little experience engaging in Socratic dialog, but Smoo, who was 10 at the time, had been introduced to it at school. I thought it…

I love you, man…

My computer just reminded me that I have a Zoom one-on-one today with my boss. Upon reading this reminder, my first thought was…

Been old for a while now…

Back when I was kicking off my second (successful) attempt to graduate from university, I was taking a physics…

Next Olympic Sport?

A few things help me stop the mental spin enough to occasionally vanquish the insomnia demon. A whiskey pickle-back…

Where do you feel it?

10 Percent Happier is my meditation app of choice, at least for guided meditation and mindfulness instruction. Thanks to…