Statistics tells us that 53% of first marriages end in divorce. There’s a divorce in the United States every 36 seconds. And 41% of marriages involve one or both parties guilty of infidelity. That number is generally acknowledged to be conservative because…well, people lie. What are we doing wrong? Has marriage become “going steady, with furniture”? Whenever […]
Downsizing (aka “Giving All Your Crap to Your Kids”)
Check any magazine counter and you’ll find shelves full of articles about downsizing. An entire generation of baby boomers are discovering the freedom of owning less and doing more. We’re selling our four-bedroom family homes and 500-square foot houses or condos, trading in our expensive cars (and hefty payments) for RVs to travel the countryside, and […]
Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em. Let’s Talk About Boobs
Boobs, hooters, melons, muchachas, sisters, or the girls. One website claims to list over 250 nicknames for the female breasts. We dress them with lace for date night. We smush them into immobility with a spandex sports bra to go for a run. We search endlessly for the perfect fit that holds the team up there […]
13 Mistakes You Might be Making with Your Daughter-in-Law
Last night, I watched Monster-in-Law, where Jane Fonda plays the mother of a young man who falls in love and marries a lovely girl. Mama Jane is determined not to be replaced as the most important woman in her son’s life and proceeds to hilariously undermine their relationship at every possible turn. It all works out in the end, […]
If I’d Known Then What I Know Now…
One of my clearest memories from high school was an afternoon, sitting in the library with a group of friends, and chatting about what we imagined we’d be doing in the year 2000 (which, at that time, seemed a million years away). Naturally, there were those over-achievers who believed they’d be running the country through well-paid political office (or, if they were class […]
Shopping With Your Wife? What NOT to Do
A few years ago, I was working in a beautiful boutique that sold upscale trendy fashion and selected high-end cosmetics. We live in a tourist destination town, so in the summer, the business tripled with the influx of windsurfers, second-home buyers, and wine country travelers. Late one morning, a man and his wife, both in their 30s, came in […]
From Cougar to Crazy Cat Lady. Has it Happened to You?
Several years ago, around the mid-70s, Gail Sheehy wrote a book called “Passages,” where she described the various stages we go through during the decades between our 20s through our 50s. It was wildly popular, and is still a top seller to people looking to understand the emotional process of aging. Ms. Sheehy kind of wraps it up around […]
Customer Service. You’re Doing it Wrong
A few days ago, during yet another frustrating computer malfunction, I called Dell’s “Award-Winning Service Department” and got Akbar in Sri Lanka, eager to try out his new online diploma in English-as-a-9th-language. He announced that before we could proceed with my questions, he needed to access my account. We spent the next 20 minutes trying […]
Menopause Making You Crazy? There’s a Name for That
Experts often love to announce a “new discovery” that the general population has known for decades. Chocolate makes you feel good (ya think?). Red wine is good for you (duh). And menopause can make you crazy (this study took how many years??). While researching another post, I was doing a quick scan through my MD […]
Finding the Funny with Guest Blogger Lynne Cobb
“Say what you want about long dresses, but they cover a multitude of shins.” – Mae West Yes, peri-menopause is making me a changed woman. It is doing things to my body and brain that I never knew it could. It is also changing my house. How, you ask? Because menopause is transforming the bedroom […]
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