And You Don’t Want to Try Polyamory Or Anything Like That — A few months ago, I wanted to start writing a new book, but I wasn’t sure how to begin. So I asked my colleague and mentor Jill if she would help me get it off the ground by being an accountability partner. Could I send her some writing every week…

Make Habits, Too, of Rest and Joy — I love my planner. I am one of those. I use the Passion Planner (which was developed by Angelia Trinidad, who turns out to be a really nice person on top of building a business around an object that I would go out of my way to save in a…

Can you get there without beating yourself up? — I was 23 when I liked a salad for the first time. And we’ll come back to that. The honeymoon phase of a New Year’s Resolution can be an incredibly happy and instructive time. Personally, I love the New Relationship Energy (NRE) that comes from setting and initially following through…

The science is clear: listen to your emotions. — Here’s a real question for you: how do you decide you’re sick enough to stay home from work? And if you’re someone whose job IS staying home and taking care of the infinity of things there are to take care of when you’re a parent or a home-maker, how do…

Or: How to survive as you gather and gather and gather this season. — It’s the season of Big Dinners. We’re right in the middle of it. There’s a good chance you’re feeling emotionally done with it all. Historically, I have mostly hated a dinner party. I find them terrifying. It’s difficult not to take on the burden of everyone else’s happiness. But that’s…

On the joy of recognizing a tailwind — How have your ordinary days been lately? You know: your day-to-day days; the days that run into each other because the routine is happening without crisis or miracle. Dental cleanings where you don’t have a cavity; trips to the grocery store where you…

And one of them will help you with your creative endeavors — Last night I couldn’t sleep, and so I sat by my window and tried to find a star. Finding a star has helped me sleep since I was little; I like remembering I’m small, and that there are giant burning balls of gas that are actually HUGE but that look…

A fixer-upper that is worth so much more than the sum of its parts — I’ve been spending a lot of time with my house lately. It’s with me in my imagination a lot. Our roommates recently moved out, so we have twice as much space to manipulate. I have so many dreams about long red curtains, crushed velvet couches, things that I think are…

And you can unmake it over and over — Our housemates moved out this week. They lived with us for three full years, through two human pregnancies and seven chicken deaths and a global pandemic. When they moved in, there were four of us; when…