Finding a College Roommate

Finding a college roommate.

Finally, we made it. My daughter, Taylor, is officially a second-semester senior, and she knows where she will be attending college next fall. This journey was by no means an easy feat. There was an incredible amount of stress, tears, disappointment, sleepless nights, and mounting pressure, but once she got in and settled on the school, we thought the next step would be smooth sailing. Little did I know, we would enter another anxiety riddled phase––finding a roommate. Back when I was attending college, most students were randomly assigned a roommate. I, however, was lucky and met my future roommate through a mutual friend. We lived a few hours away from each other, and after meeting her in person, we knew we would be a perfect match. To this day, she is still one of my best friends. Eager to find the “ideal” roommate like I did has only added to my daughter’s determination and high expectations to do the same. So far, this has proven to be more difficult than she thought. Read more

Healing Without Laughter

Laughter heals.

Imagine a world without laughter. Smiling and giggling just make us feel good. Even science backs this up. When we laugh, we release endorphins, lower stress levels, increase blood flow throughout the body, strengthen our immune system, and best of all, we get to experience a natural high that sends us to a better place. For the past week, while I nursed my daughter back to health after she had agonizing gum surgery, she and I had to bottle up our laughs to allow the incisions in her mouth to heal––not to mention it hurt like hell. This was no easy feat, particularly because we share a similar sense of humor and know just the right lines to induce the giggles. Read more

Teaching Our Kids to Overcome Failure

Our kids need to learn how to overcome failure.

As parents, we are intricately tied to our children’s emotions, riding the waves right along with them. We want everything to work out in their favor. We want them to feel good about themselves. We want their dreams to manifest. But as adults, with much more life experience, we know that’s not how life works. Life sometimes punches us in the gut. And when our children are suffering, we suffer too. Read more

Becoming a Cat Person

Animal love.

I’ve never been a cat person. It’s not that I dislike them in any way, but since I considered myself a dog lover, cats were never on my radar––until recently—when a cat came into my life.

A few months ago, my husband adopted a cat from a nearby shelter for his business. His job was to kill the mice and other unwanted critters. Each day, my husband, who, like me, was also indifferent toward felines, would come home and tell the kids and me stories about his four-legged worker. He felt a strange connection to the timid, little animal, who most likely had been living on the streets before he was rescued. It took time for the cat to adjust to the other employees and feel comfortable in his new setting. Presumably, he had spent the first four years of his life devoid of human touch. Once he acclimated to his surroundings, he grew less fearful and more affectionate toward people. Read more

A Lacrosse Mom Learning to Live in the Moment

My son, living in the moment.

I am well aware of how fortunate I am to raise my children in one of the most majestic mountain towns in the United States, and yet, despite the privilege of living here, we also make sacrifices. When we moved to Aspen from New Jersey, my kids immediately took advantage of the outdoor lifestyle and world-class skiing in our backyard. I get much pleasure from proudly watching my daughter gracefully race down a ski run at top speed, and I’m blown away by my son when he hops through moguls like a bunny rabbit and flips off a cliff, spinning his skis in the air like an acrobat. Read more