I was recently talking to a friend who is approaching 50 years old. We’ve known each other for quite a while, and I was curious about what was changing for her now that she’s approaching a new decade. How was she seeing the world differently? How was she seeing herself differently?

The onslaught of pumpkin spice stirs an irrational irritation not because I dislike Pumpkin Spice Lattes™, but because its debut reminds me that consistent Fall weather is at least 2 months away.

And if there is one thing that every Christian knows, it’s that Halloween is a demonic holiday created by Paganists and Satanists in order to put razor blades and poison into the hands of our children. You think my parents would let us go trick or treating door-to-door while the devil was out roaming the streets?

“Does it feel real yet?” “I think so?” I scanned my much emptier home. One stack of boxes sat in the furthest corner, the other behind me. I had been in this house for seven years now, which in the time of typical early-to-mid-20’s apartment hopping felt like a lifetime.

I like to ask people why they decided to reach out to me. Maybe something about my ad piqued your interest, maybe you just love my Twitter, maybe my SEO efforts are finally yielding fruit. I’m not fishing for compliments…don’t get me wrong, I’m not gonna turn down a compliment. I’m a Leo after all. (August 5. Mark your calendars.)

The Greeks had a word, xenia—guest friendship—a command to take care of traveling strangers, to open your door to whoever is out there, because anyone passing by, far from home, might be God.

Certain beverages inspire such unwavering devotion that consumption becomes a facet of identity. Like coffee, scotch, and Diet Coke – you don’t so much “like” Negronis as you are “a Negroni person.”

“You aren’t treating this like a therapy session. We’re just talking.” Our conversation had become more serious, but it wasn't a burden. We were talking about our lives...which are kinda stressful these days. Every problem is a crisis. Emergency is the rule, not the exception. The funniest part was…this was very similar to therapy (but not in the way he thought.)

I get distracted so easily, it’s embarrassing. Music of any kind is absolutely out of the question. If I’m reading, I cut off at least 45 minutes so that with every word my mind doesn’t flit to work that needs to be done, dishes that need to be cleaned, cats that need to fed.

Giving gifts has always been my most cherished method through which I express love and care for other people. There’s a lot of reasons why, but at the end of December I finally put my finger on it.