Lately, I’ve been thinking about my high school bedroom. My parents were house flippers before house flipping became entertainment TV. They’d find a fixer-upper in a good neighborhood, move our family in, make cosmetic changes, and sell it about a year later. Each...
Newsweek recently published an essay I wrote about the trip I took to Paris after David died. I'd always dreamed of visiting the City of Lights, and when I finally made it there, one thing wasn't as I'd imagined: I was traveling alone…as a widow. I called the trip...
Over the past three years, I’ve been on a path of healing and self-discovery. I think many of us are. At the beginning of my journey, I consciously avoided talking too much about widowhood. I didn’t want to make other people uncomfortable. But I’ve come to realize...
A couple of years ago, I took an online improv class from Second City. People were surprised. Improv? Steff? It seemed like something a bold, extroverted person would do, and I’m neither bold nor extroverted. At least not historically. But here’s the thing, I’d...
I often say that my dad is my hero. But if we’re being honest? There’s someone else who deserves a little more credit: 20-year-old me. I know it sounds like a lost track from Mariah Carey, but stay with me. Because a disastrous calculus exam, a rock concert, and...
My son Nick is on a grand adventure. He recently quit his job in finance to backpack across Europe. Solo. No firm agenda, no backup plan. Just a passport, a train schedule, some really good socks, and a sense of curiosity. At 26, with no wife, no kids, no mortgage,...
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed a subtle shift over the past two and a half years. Or not. Honestly, I didn’t notice it myself until I went back and reread old posts, starting from the very beginning. While you're welcome to do...
At the end of the year, I love to look back and savor the WOW! Moments I've had over the past 12 months. I recently looked through my photos and discovered that 2025 was chock-full. Here's a quick rundown of some highlights. I went to see Rascal Flatts with my...
When I was little, I was terrified of the Grinch. Specifically, the part in the animated special where they show this totally realistic, wildly unnecessary X-ray proving his heart was two sizes too small. What were you thinking, Seuss??!! We were just kids. Not...
It felt like I’d been training for that night my entire life. Some might suggest it was a complete and total embodiment of my spirit (and spirit animal). Perhaps. But it definitely was the most absurd Saturday evening I’ve had in a long while. What was this...
Have you ever said "yes" to an event, regretted it immediately, spent the next week trying to come up with an excuse to cancel … and then had a blast once you actually went? Yeah. Me, too. Almost. Every. Single. Time. So why do we resist fun like it’s a tax audit?...
