Monthly Archives: December 2018

Allow Yourself to Just -Be-

Posted in Health and Wellness, Personal Growth, Social Connection and Relationships by

In my last post, I mentioned that several loved ones have been struggling with some of the most difficult times of their lives. In all of these cases, there were health issues at the center of those difficulties. At the time I wrote my last post, I didn’t know what would be the outcomes of their situations, but last night I found out how one story ended: one of my loved ones passed away.

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Photo from Flickr

My cousin isn’t here anymore because of sudden complications with his health, and I’m wondering what made those complications so sudden. Was it truly a medical mystery, or was this another example of someone dying because that person lacked access to adequate healthcare?

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Real Self-Care When Your Life Isn’t Paradise

Posted in Health and Wellness, Personal Growth, Social Connection and Relationships by

Almost each day someone asks me, “Hi. How are you doing?”

That someone could be a coworker, cashier, bus driver, neighbor, or another person that randomly ends up in my path.

Inevitably, I respond, “Fine. How are you?”

Then that person answers in one to two words. The reply might not be a full sentence. Bonus points if it is.

These daily exchanges between others and me can be so brief that there is little room for follow-up questions. There is no way for others and I to verify each other’s answers. Are we really fine? What makes us fine?

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Photo from Flickr

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My Relationship with Dating

Posted in Personal Growth, Social Connection and Relationships by

I’m a single adult living in a major metropolitan area on the East Coast. I didn’t always have this status.

From ages 20 to 26, I was with one partner. We met at college in the middle of the cornfields of the Midwest. He was two years older than I was. Throughout our relationship, we saw each other through many milestones: our first apartments (and countless other apartments), my college graduation, his mother’s death, his master’s program graduation, our first jobs (and many more), layoffs, unemployment, moves across the country, living in the same city, economic downturn, living in different states … You name it. We lived it.

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Photo from Flickr

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