Columns

Staying Organized Helps Me Simplify Life With SMA

Before I dive into this column about how the art of organization keeps my life balanced, I believe a disclaimer is necessary. After all, no matter the number of “Queer Eye” episodes I watch and self-help books I read, or the amount of inspiration I get…

Powering Up (and Out) for Another Year

Goodness, that didn’t take long. We’re already closing in on the middle of the first month of another new year. For most, 2021 felt like a tedious extension of the calamitous year before it. Oh, 2020, I hope never to see a year of your ilk again.

My Year of Liberation

When it comes to rituals, I am religious. Weekly rituals are the shortest, and consist largely of short-term planning. Monthly and quarterly rituals, on the other hand, are more reflective. Instead of updating my calendar and to-do list, I journal about my values. I revisit the goals I…

‘Don’t Quit Before the Miracle Happens’

“I’m doing good, I’m on some new s**t/ Been saying ‘yes’ instead of ‘no.’” These lyrics opened Taylor Swift’s song “the 1” and her 2020 album “Folklore.” I thought them fitting to open my first column of the new year…

Year’s End Brings a Little Bird and Memories

Our baby Jeffrey snagged his wings in early November 1997, ending the brief active-duty portion of our SMA assignment. A few short months later, my husband, Randy, and I opened a bakery and sandwich shop in one of our county’s tourist hot spots. The business bustled with…

The Blessings That Spark My Ambitions for the New Year

I’ve recently learned about two kinds of achievements in life. One is when you’re up a creek in a bad situation, but miraculously, things seem to resolve on their own. The second is when you have to work extremely hard to achieve your ambitions, and charge through whatever life…

What Will Become of Me Once I’m 23?

“Lord, what will become of me/ Once I’ve lost my novelty?” was the original lyric sung in Taylor Swift’s “Nothing New,” a bonus track she included with her recent remaster of her 2012 album, “Red.” Yet, for some reason I heard her…