Sometimes you have the itch to write to get something – niggling thoughts, nervous energy – out of your system. Here is a bank of topics for when you’re casting about for something fresh to write about. (Apparently I wrote this list about three years ago and haven’t read it since, and now I’m itching to work my way through …
Recently I listened to an episode of the Headlines podcast on “What makes a successful marriage?” Chani Juravel (at 39:00) shared four qualities she heard from Dr. David Pelcovitz that are important for a good marriage (a few readers have asked for posts on ways to develop yourself into the best you before marriage, and I hope this is helpful!). …
My friend sent me a letter to the editor (“Far From Miserable”) that was written in response to the fish tank story in Mishpacha. It did not sit well with her and once I read it I felt the same. Before I continue I just want to emphasize that I don’t presume to speak for everyone who is single …
An itty bitty studio apartment is for sale(!) in my neighborhood and because I can technically afford to buy it on my own I am diving headlong into a daydream of buying it and making it mine. You may know by now that I have a fondness for little things, and a studio apartment is like the grown-up-in-the-city version of …
My neighbors made a little bonfire for their kids (technically on the 32nd day of the Omer as it was about 6 pm) and I joined with a bunch of neighbors roasting marshmallows around the fire. Later I read this article with my Partner in Torah about the significance of Lag B’Omer and bonfires. It’s a beautiful article and I …
So the other night my friend asked me if I read “All the Fish in the Sea” by Rochel Samet (printed in the Pesach Calligraphy), and if so what were my thoughts. I did read it and I did have thoughts. Some lines resonated very much: “The problem with being single,” Meira says sagely, “is that no matter what …
In the support group this week we talked about asking for support from family and friends. One group member shared that she doesn’t want to be a burden so she tells everyone she’s fine. Another shared that what got her through the most serious period of her illness was other people’s love. She added, “You can complain to people who …
I’m currently taking a course on writing as a mindfulness practice through the Therapeutic Writing Institute. One of the exercises we did was to consider in what ways we define ourselves or defend our “personal territory,” and explore a more fluid and open way of viewing what we consider to be “us.” I thought this was an interesting exercise both …
So I mentioned last week that I’ll be be”H enrolling in a PhD program (it feels weird to write that), and for fun I’ve been reading people’s CVs. A CV (curriculum vitae) is like a super-detailed work resume that lists all sorts of professional achievements like every article, interview, and presentation. I joked with a friend that we shouldn’t send …
Just dropping some more chizuk here — two of my friends’ sisters in their upper 30’s just got engaged. They were on my challah list for the past year and a half, and now I can never rewrite that list onto a fresh piece of paper because nothing makes me as happy as seeing a line through their names! And …
