Growing Myself Back

Nail Salon Be Like "We Can Do It"

OK - here goes: All my life, I have secretly suffered from a condition called Dermatillomania . I pick at my cuticles sometimes so badly they bleed and I soothe myself by pouring peroxide over my wounds, smoothing antibiotic cream over the brutalized cuticles and hoping my ministrations help me avoid a future infection. The cuticles heal and then I start the cycle all over again... and again... and again. Band-aids are a necessity and mostly hide my ugly secret. I'm mortified and embarrassed about this condition and often console myself…

My Mother's Love

I had lunch today with my friend Cindy and it was my first time meeting her 4 month old grandson Jaxson. Being in the presence of this tiny, vulnerable little human has given me an entirely new spin on how to view Mother’s Day. My relationship with my mother, who died in 2006, was intense and complicated; fraught with emotional land mines that remain tightly tangled up in my head and my heart to this day. When Mother’s Day rolls around each year, I try to remember that my mom was a vibrant force who shaped my life and helped carve out my qu…

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2 years. Well, it's taken me nearly 2 years attempting to become that future version of myself. A middle-aged woman (gasp! 48 years old now) whose hair blows in the wind on a breezy day with a bathroom closet full of hair accessories that allow for sassy styling depending on how I think I'll feel that morning. In reality, I never realized that it hurts like hell when your hair pokes you painfully in the eyeballs as the wind whips up around your face. ( Thanks Lasik surgery! Before you, I never realized my prescription glasses were …

FML: Wired Smoke Alarm

Asking a Worcester Firefighter standing in front of you for help turning off the smoke alarms from your garage fuse box probably wasn’t the best idea at 2 am this morning. {chirp} {chirp} I roll over bleary eyed and look at my husband in the dark. “Did you hear that?” {chirp} “I think it’s the smoke alarm.” And then I recall it’s that very special high-pitched sound it makes to alert you to that annoying task of the battery needs changing. “I’ll get it.” {chirp} I stand below the wired smoke detector look…