Once in my twenties, I taped a cocoon to the door of my refrigerator. I didn’t know it was a cocoon. I was out walking along a stream bed and came across something that looked like a dried leaf or a seedpod with a long silky string attached to one end. I picked it up … [Read more...]
Grateful for Paddy
There is only one way I know to completely quiet myself down before the holiday season and that is through gratitude. It’s the only thing that has ever really worked for me. And believe me, I’ve tried a lot of things! I guess it is because there is nothing in the act of … [Read more...]
Getting to No: when yes doesn’t cut it
It’s about time I would say. Most people have had theirs for a while now. Some people have been trying like the devil to put a lid on theirs. But I had hit the age where I wanted one: a real honest-to-goodness do-not-give-me-any-shit No. I used to have one—but I lost it—and now … [Read more...]
Marriage after retirement: Looking for a fight
There was a time when leaving the corporate world to live differently was not at all straightforward for me. Some people would say—and they surely have a point—what, are you nuts? But I was someone who had always worked--starting as a kid giving guitar lessons--until we … [Read more...]
Susan Troccolo’s life beyond cancer: when the mind is not your friend
In the past year, I’ve lost two women in my family from cancer. I’ve felt the searing loss and pain that these deaths have brought, in part because I am in remission from cancer myself. Twice. Seventeen years apart. Because of that I know a lot about how my mind works with … [Read more...]