This is the start. This is how I came to define my entire adulthood. — Growing up, a window in our kitchen faced out into the backyard. My assigned seat at the dinner table faced this window. Our neighbor’s yard had this immense Sisso tree that must have been as tall as their two-story house. In the early evening, the light would catch the leaves…

The single tax is alive and well, and it’s only getting worse — I live in an area of the country that has seen an overwhelming swell in housing prices since the beginning of the pandemic. Rent followed suit. It’s flat-out weird but completely understandable. We are inundated with people fleeing Southern California in search of lower-cost housing in a still desirable location…

Grief isn’t just experienced in connection with death. It’s real here, too. — A few years ago, I lost two very good friends within nine months, both from aneurysms. At this point in my life, I had gotten really good at avoiding the processing of other losses in my life, including losing my marriage and my job within six months of each other. …

I have entered a stage of my life called the “Wet Bar of Soap” stage. — Google is a rude bitch. We are no longer on speaking terms. It’s not Google’s fault. Google is just doing its job. Once again, I blame whoever came up with the design that is called the female body that cared not to leave us a manual. It’s impolite. It was…

We’re gonna talk as soon as I’m done rewinding this with a pencil. — I have a firm proposal that I would like to have entertained, and need to know with whom I need to speak to make this happen. I care not if it is a manager and the name you might call me for asking to speak with one. …

Just make sure you still have that envelope from 24-Hour Photo handy. — A while ago, my friend Jeanne sent me an obituary announcement from Twitter for an astronaut who had passed away. The headline read “Apollo Astronaut James McDivitt Dies at Age 93.” Looking at it was like one of those “what’s wrong with this picture” games. …

Now I understand 25+ years of round hole and square peg life. — One of the hardest parts of a late-in-life diagnosis of ADHD is when you start playing the tape of your life back and see things in a way you never have. Everything starts to make sense, and it’s also slightly heartbreaking. When I play my tape, I wonder what would…

We’re just going to be registering at Costco, Amazon, and the spa. — As I have solidly entered middle age, I find it mind-boggling how much I was celebrated in my youth for things that really required no effort whatsoever but for which people fawned all over me. Within the span of September 2001 to November 2003, I had three parties thrown in…

The last thing any of us need at our age is to still feel inadequate. — They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I am feeling this deeply, and I also feel like there is a steamroller involved in the paving work, and it’s rolling right over those of us in midlife. Last week, someone noted it was Marisa Tomei’s birthday recently…