Does aging enhance or diminish our resilience? The dictionary definition of resilience goes something like this: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness; the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape…

A couple of weeks ago, I was out to dinner with friends when I noticed something fascinating. Every time a server emerged from the kitchen carrying plates of food, heads turned throughout the restaurant. Not all the heads. Just the hungry ones. People would glance up hopefully, trying not to look too eager…

A few years ago, my writing partner, Lillie Evans, and I were notified that our full-length play script, Grandmothers, Incorporated won a playwriting competition. Our work was selected from over 600 submissions from 33 countries. Nobody could tell us that we weren’t hot stuff. We were ecstatic, on top of the world. We were also reluctant…

Personal growth is great and is something that I want to continue doing for the rest of my life. I mean, who wants to become stagnant and stop growing? Have you heard the saying, ‘use it or lose it’? Well, that isn’t just geared towards our muscles; it’s also true of our wonderful brains. Just like our physical muscles, our mindset requires conscious practice to maintain and grow…

I want to ask you something that might be a little uncomfortable. When did you last ask yourself what you actually want? Not what your children need. Not what your grandchildren would enjoy. Not what would make the holidays easier or the family gathering run more smoothly or the situation with your adult…

As a young girl, I remember walking home from school as the evenings got dark and I would peer into the bright windows of the houses I passed along the way. I was fascinated and also felt a little lonely and envious for the lives that I saw reflected within. I marveled at the rooms where everything seemed perfect and manicured to such a degree that I felt the occupants could never have any problems in life…

After my husband Tom died in 2007, I remember how quickly the world seemed to move on. There were flowers, cards, casseroles, hugs, and kind words from people who truly cared. I was grateful for every gesture. In those early days, love often arrived in practical forms – a meal, a note, a hand on my shoulder, someone sitting quietly beside me when there were no words…

You applaud your friend Mary Jane’s exuberance as she describes her delight with her new-found hobby, tap-dancing. OK, she’ll never be Fred Astaire, but she’s thrilled at what she and her fellow tap students, not a one under 60, are accomplishing. You listen appreciatively as your sister-in-law waxes enthusiastic over the writing class she’s joined. How wonderful…

The other morning, I found myself listening to a song I hadn’t heard in quite a while. It was “Monsters” by James Blunt. The first time I heard that song years ago, it hit me like a freight train. Something about the sadness in the lyrics, the emotion in his voice…

Have you ever met women whose scowls look so malevolent that rottweilers suddenly remember they had somewhere else to be? Even a rattlesnake would say, “Nope, not today,” and quietly slither away. What about that confident woman…