Optimism helps you live longer. It was all over the news this week. A study from the Boston University School of Medicine links optimism to prolonged life, and better chances of achieving “exceptional longevity,” defined in the study as age 85 or older. But wait,...

Now that Lily, my inner fourteen-year-old, has arrived she’s become adept in making her wants known.   You’ve been doing way too much grown-up stuff this week. I mean, I know you had to and everything, but you need to start indulging yourself a little before you...

I can feel its approach every minute of every day. Autumn. Lily, the 14-year-old person inside, can feel it, too. The hours of daylight decline. Tomorrow will give back 3 minutes and 1 second to the dark.   Still, the days are light for nearly 14 hours. The...

Summertime. I’m an avid vegetable gardener, so you know what’s coming: zucchini!   Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave a boatload of it on your front porch, ring the bell and run. The fact is, I solved the problem of excess zucchini last year. I found a nifty way...

Everyone who’s lost someone dear has a lot of “firsts” to face the year following their loved one’s death. Bruce was born August 7, 1948. This Wednesday was his first birthday without him. My inner fourteen-year-old Lily and I put our heads together and decided that,...

My good friend Lily, aka the 14-year-old person inside, cheerfully provokes me on a regular basis. This week, she critiqued my fashion sense:   Your gray sweatpants are twice as old as I am! They look dorky. You’ve got those sparkly NIKE leggings Bruce bought you...