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...
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?...
If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently? Would you choose another career? Hometown? Friends? Spouse (gulp)? What about a new outlook? Would you be braver? More adventurous? Or less impulsive? More intentional? Well … what if you could do it...
Every so often, I find myself clinging to routines. I did that a lot over the summer. After traveling for most of the spring, it felt good to be home, and for me, home = routine. Ditch a few letters, though, and "routine" becomes "rut," and that's no fun. Bringing...
Note: I originally ran this story on my blog in September of 2023. After hearing about the passing of Jim Lovell on Thursday, I wanted to update the piece and share it again. It's one of my most cherished experiences, and I feel lucky to have met such an amazing...
When I was little, my most beloved toy wasn’t Barbie or Chatty Cathy. It wasn’t Lite Brite or Etch-a-Sketch. Nope. My heart belonged to a disheveled little oddball doll named Tatters. Tatters wore a scarf on her head and sported patch-covered clothes. She had the...
Whenever I head out on one of my solo trips or launch into a new adventure, someone inevitably says, “You’re so brave.” And that is the moment when all of my ancestors—and definitely my sister—start laughing so hard they practically choke on their fine boxed...