I just reread this Elul post about making changes and growing. One of the unintentional benefits of having this blog is getting to track my own thought processes over time. Since I’ve been blogging a lot longer than I ever thought I would (six and a half years!), I also get to see evidence of growth, as what was revelatory …
A friend sent me an absolutely beautiful article written by Chani Juravel, LCSW, in The Voice of Lakewood. I so appreciate supportive sentiments like these. So often, people fall short of being actually supportive by qualifying their statements instead of going in 100% in support without also mixing in some blame/responsibility. Grateful for an article that does none of that. …
I am so sad that Bed Bath and Beyond is no longer with us (yes, I know it’s merged with Overstock but it’s not the same as it was at all, so I don’t count that). I used to pore over bridal registries and even had a Pinterest board where I saved all the things I wanted to register for …
I got this idea from Gretchen Rubin, and a similar idea, position statements, from Mary Pipher. Then a friend mentioned something similar this week and I thought about how I might apply this concept to my own life. It’s a simple idea: establish a policy for how you typically deal with a given scenario, and outsource your future decisions to …
I can’t believe Rosh Hashana is in under six weeks. The Yomim Noraim always catch me by surprise; the summer seems to come to an abrupt end every year. Figuring out where I want to be for the Yomim Noraim is hard. I truly can’t believe it’s another year that I’m still having to figure this out. I was so …
Psychologist Christina Maslach, who studies burnout, identified three components of burnout (a result of chronic stress): exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. Most burnout studies focus on workplace burnout or caregiver burnout. I think this is a useful concept to think about regarding shidduchim.
I read this absolutely fascinating piece about Tu B’Av during the time of Sarah Schenirer and the original Bais Yaakov students.
Hello, all. First of all, if you are a new reader I’d like to say welcome! (Tisha B’Av was a high traffic day here, and I’m so glad you’ve found us). I’d like to take the opportunity to ask that if you find this blog to be helpful, validating, or enjoyable, please pass it along, as I am sharing in …
Recently I dealt with a difficult situation and tried to stay detached and unemotional about it to help me cope. That worked for a time, but then something else happened on top of everything else, and that’s when I started to cry.
A newly married friend shared that it took about a month for her to get used to being engaged. I had said, “It must be an amazing experience to be a 30-year-old kallah” (for context – we were talking about the benefits of getting married “older” and how we are just calmer and more grounded in general). She replied that …
