I can hardly believe that I published Surviving Singledom one year ago. How well I remember undoing those boxes and smelling the fresh aroma of new pages wrapped in plastic. I could barely believe they were mine or that I had written every word printed on those pages. I was so excited to take a […]
Jump off the Treadmill
“The internal voice that tells me to hustle can find a to-do list in my living room as easily as it can in an office. . . The hustle will never make you feel the way you want to feel. In that way, it’s a drug, and I fall for the initial rush every time: […]
The Blessings of Burnout?
I’m sick of reading “Good news” stories of burnout, the ones that describe past burnout that is now completely sorted out. Usually these stories are accompanied by some miracle cure or formula that “fixed” the storyteller’s burnout. Good for them. But what about the rest of us? Some of us are burned out today and […]
Lite Milk Christianity (CONTAINS SATIRE)
Let’s settle this upfront: There is no substitute for full-cream milk. It tastes better, it froths better, it keeps you feeling fuller for longer. In every way, full-cream milk is the most rewarding kind of dairy beverage to have in your life. There are those who opt for the lite version of this luscious liquid. […]
Beauty from Pain
During a recent interview for Surviving Childlessness, a childless woman told me about a song that helped her through the most painful time of her childlessness journey. I hope it will help others as I share it today. Beauty from Pain – by Superchick The lights go out all around me One last candle to […]
Missing the Boat
During a rather fun conversation yesterday with Vision radio, I was asked by the co-host Alex about how to respond to single people who feel they have “missed the boat.” Alex told me of a single friend in her 40s who had given up hope of finding someone. This friend felt she had missed the […]
Out of the In-Crowd
One of the problems that many single people face is social exclusion. A friend of mine at church once told me of an experience where she was explicitly told by a group of church friends: “We’re going out for dinner now, and you’re not invited because you’re single.” Then all of the couples in the […]
Lessons from Winnie-the-Pooh
“Poetry and hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which get you. And all you can do is to go where they can find you.” Winnie-the-Pooh (from The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne). For a Bear of Very Little Brain, Pooh shows remarkable insight into the world of creativity. Sometimes we writers […]
The lost tribe of childless women: A response
Jody Day’s excellent TED talk on childlessness highlights the invisible grief experienced by those who will never have children. 1 in 4 Australians over 45 are childless. That’s a lot of us. And yet, we are not talking about the grief associated with losing something we never had. It can seem incomprehensible to those […]
Lord Forgive Us
In the past week I have received many comments from people about Pewsitter. The most memorable among these was the prayerful comment of a pastor: “Lord forgive us.” My reply to him was that I too feel convicted by Pewsitter about my spiritual state. In fact, every time I listen to Pewsitter, I get […]