I enjoyed the book Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing, by Pete Davis. The book explores the challenges and benefits of committing to a cause, community, person, or craft for the long haul, in the face of seemingly infinite options. This little episode made me think:
None of us knows quite where we will find ourselves when we meet the right person, and what that process will look like, and how the pieces will fit together. But I’ve definitely absorbed the word on the street about what that process looks like for “older singles” (which I suppose I am): it’s lengthy, it’s complicated, it gets hard …
My friend recently got engaged, which reminded me that yes, it does happen. When it does, I want to be able to look back and be proud of myself for how I conducted myself through this process. When something is so painful, it’s hard to stay in command at all times, but these are some things I want to work …
Since elective egg freezing has mainstreamed relatively recently (in the past ten years or so), it’s understandable that many people feel unclear about and uncomfortable with this concept. Recently, I’ve heard people share things they believe or have heard about egg freezing that were simply inaccurate, and I wanted to clear up some misconceptions.
The other night I was skimming through old posts and getting a warm and fuzzy feeling, saying hi to past versions of myself preserved as emotional snapshots. I also noticed that my blog has evolved in surprising (to me) ways. When I started this blog, my mission was to uplift and encourage other single ladies (I was 24 at the …
A few months ago, the 18Forty podcast and website did a series on dating and marriage in the frum community. At the time, I thought, wow, this is incredibly validating stuff, but touching on a part of me too raw to engage with right now. But some time has passed, and I don’t want to not link it here because …
It comes so much easier for me to be hopeful on other people’s behalf than for myself. When I’m feeling the pain, I can’t see my way out of the pain. But when I look at other people in their situations, it is easy for me to believe that it is easy for Hashem to help them. So maybe I’ll …
A line from a poem in The Mother in Our Lives stayed with me: “Let my heart be my womb.” –from “A Childless Woman’s Song of Transcendence” by Bayla Berger
For a homework assignment in my therapeutic writing training, I had to summarize a study supporting the use of expressive writing for a specific issue. Since I am interested in how to use journaling to deal with burnout in shidduchim, I used an article on workplace burnout as a starting point. The writing protocol in the study required participants to …
A reader sent me a question about reaching a milestone (in this case, turning 26 and getting kicked off her parents’ health insurance) and feeling saddened about having to figure out what to do next without a husband to do it with. Practicalities aside, these moments are hard because they highlight the contrast between where you thought you would …
