Dear Frances, Does life feel a little different to you right now? As spring emerges, I feel a sort of emergence too. From a lot of things, really. We just had the coldest, rainiest winter in memory here in California. Even in (mostly) sunny CA, I tend to hunker down a bit in the winter.…
read moreDear Kristin, I’ve been thinking a lot about the third-third lately, which is to say, the next thirty years. Now, I know that there’s no way to predict how long I’ll live; a truck could be barreling down upon me at this moment (if this letter ends abruptly, you’ll know why). But barring accidents and…
read moreDear Frances, I don’t know if it’s the warmer weather, the heavenly spring light, or just plain ol’ spring fever–but I’ve got such an itch to reimagine and rearrange spaces around here! It can be hard to say goodbye to the way we used spaces in the house during the child-rearing years, but… it’s time.…
read moreIt’s spring break at the Empty Nest! See you next week!
read moreDear Kristin, As you know, I’ve been in a bit of a rut lately. I’m trying different strategies to get out of it–waking up earlier in the morning to have more time to read, writing letters, walking twice a day. Now that spring is springing, I’m thinking about changing up the dinner menu. Of course,…
read moreDear Frances, It’s been a few months since we talked about the things that are delighting us. (I loved reading all the wonderful comments on that post, where people shared what they were loving!) Now that it’s starting to feel like spring, I thought it would be fun to spend a few minutes dwelling on…
read moreDear Kristin, Let me get this out of my system before I begin: I don’t love the term “self-care.” Maybe it’s that whiff of Instagram Influencer that it carries with it (“Mama, Are you practicing self-care? Here are five products you can buy via my affiliate links that will refresh and recharge you”). Or maybe…
read moreDear Frances, I think that there are two secrets of middle age that no one prepares you for—you will never see both near and far completely clearly again and you will constantly struggle with sleep. I am writing this blog post not as someone who has all the answers but instead as someone who is…
read moreDear Kristin, I passed a chicken truck when I was driving to Atlanta two weeks ago. It was crammed full of caged birds, feathers flying, little red combs a-flapping. The sight made me sad; those chickens did not appear to be living their best lives. I’m never eating chicken again, I told myself as I…
read moreDear Frances, We’re back! Boy oh boy, re-entry into real life after a fun trip is hard! A little background–our readers may not know a few things about our friendship. We have been in touch on a daily basis for at least ten years now. First via email and later through the app Voxer. Until…
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