Hi Reader, I took a picture of myself in my workout clothes last week. I meant it to be a "before" photo, to pull up later when things have changed. I was being optimistic about it. Then I looked at it and felt sad, which was not at all what I had planned. There's this idea that women our age let ourselves go, like we stop caring at some point along the way. That has not been my experience. I've been doing the same things I've always done. My body just changed the terms without telling me,...

Hi Reader, Last week I told you I would remain consistent, despite my mood or what's happening in my life. This week that's a little harder than I expected. Today I sit at my laptop with a view I have looked at with wonder for the last 45 years. Soon it will be someone else's view. It will always be in my heart, in my memories and dreams, but I somehow can't wrap my head around it. There is too much emotion involved. One thing is certain though. I am leaving this place with so much more than...

Hi Reader, I missed my usual Friday morning with you. I've been away from home dealing with something personal this week, so I'm writing to you a day off schedule. In the middle of all this, my phone rang. It was one of my sons. Something in his world had gone sideways, and I could hear it in his voice right away. Before we hung up, he asked me when I was coming home. That question snapped me out of where my head has been. I think about how much has changed since my boys grew up. The house is...