In the afternoon of life, one had to find that meaning from within. This realization struck the author profoundly upon retirement, when all external markers of identity—job sites, customers, crew management—vanished, leaving only the question of personal identity stripped of professional achievement and external validation.
Growing up with limited money, I always viewed college as a safety net, an investment that would set me up for immediate success. I started saving for tuition in high school, worked full-time in college to avoid student loans, earned straight A's, and did all I could think of to guarantee financial success. I felt financially secure for a short time, but everything changed when I graduated.
Kids don't owe you gratitude for doing your job as a parent. You signed up for this. You chose to have them. Taking care of them isn't some favor you're doing-it's what you're supposed to do. The parents who get this stop keeping score. They stop waiting for recognition.
His dad and I were separating, but it was beautiful, because I knew there was someone out there who was better for my husband than me. And when his tears finally stopped, he said that it was true, and it was time for him to say it out loud-that if he was being honest, the partner who was best for him was not a woman but a man.
I bring this up because I seem to be in the middle of one, an inflection point that manifests in the number of times on the walk back from the school drop-off I stop to look at a bird in a tree, or a snail on a wall, or any number of other overwrought visual metaphors that allow me to feel momentarily like I'm inside a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins.
"Midlife adults meet the same diagnostic criteria as younger patients ― struggling with symptoms such as restricting, bingeing or purging," said DeCaro, who also co-hosts the podcast All Bodies. All Foods.
Traveling in Bardo interweaves explorations of impermanence in our everyday existence with Slater's girlhood in America and time spent with her Tibetan family in Darjeeling. Like her great-grandfather before her, she spreads guidance about "bardo" between-states, or periods of life transition, to Western audiences. Change is inevitable, can come at any moment, and only by growing our acceptance of uncertainty and endings can we live more fully. Tibetan bardo teachings help us navigate and embrace life in its sorrow and joy.
In 2019, Locke's first memoir, From Scratch, became a Reese's Book Club pick and, soon after, a global hit miniseries on Netflix. We all fell in love right along with her as she recounted her life with Saro, the beautiful Sicilian man she met while studying abroad in Italy in college. But life is full of challenging transitions. As we discovered in the book and miniseries, while Tembi and Saro's love for each other seemed transmutable from day one, it would ultimately have to take another form following his death.
In the early years of their relationship, Julie and Jack will admit that they did a lot of partying, while for other couples, the glue of their relationship might be going through school together, working on politics, or a sport. But life has changed for Julie and Jack. Partying has been replaced with jobs and kids. Date nights feel a bit strained-lots of talk about kids, jobs, and logistics, but little else.
In August 2024, our son and his family lost their home in a devastating fire. My husband and I decided to support them through this rough time.
