Oakland Press columns
-
Goodbye to Mom’s house
“No matter how far we’ve come, our parents are always in us.” ~ Brad Meltzer Even after we’ve grown up and moved on, the homes of our parents still hold many of our family artifacts, memories, and stories. After your last parent dies, selling their home — and everything they accumulated — is a difficult part of the grieving process. Yet it can be therapeutic, too. As we begin to empty my mother-in-law’s home, I’m reminded of a column I wrote for The Sunday Oakland Press after reflecting on the memory of selling my mother’s home. You can read it online here. ~CL
-
Thoughts for last-minute holiday shopping
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (This feature article was originally published 11/11/22 in The Sunday Oakland Press and online here.) Gift-giving can be as emotionally loaded as it is enjoyable — especially as we approach the Christmas season. As psychologists and etiquette experts agree, the stress of buying and exchanging gifts can dull our holiday sparkle if we don’t plan ahead. “Some people may feel social pressures to give gifts, but not in the same spirit as others,” says Irene S. Levine, PhD, psychologist and co-author of The Rules of Friendship. “If someone is depressed, for example, it…
-
What will you be for Halloween?
“I knew who I was this morning, but I’ve changed my mind a few times since then.” ~Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Even before October rolls around, some of us are already plotting our Halloween costumes. Some therapists suggest that the masks or costumes you choose — no matter how old you are — might offer clues to your personality, goals, and dreams. They’re also a wonderful way to express your creativity. To read a short newspaper essay I wrote on this topic, please click here.
-
Summer hasn’t left yet …
“Summer nearly does me in every year. It’s too hot and the light is unforgiving and the days go on way too long.” ~Anne Lamott, humorist and author We tend to think of Labor Day as the end of summer — but the season isn’t officially over until the autumnal equinox, which falls this year on September 22. So let’s not rush things. Grab a cold beverage and head for your front porch or patio. Invite summer to stay a while longer. And while you’re at it, make plans to savor every fair-weather activity you can fit on your calendar for the next couple of weeks. An Oakland Press feature…
-
Puppy love
“Dogs never bite me. Just humans.” ~Marilyn Monroe As long as we’re celebrating the month of love, we can’t overlook our wonderful four-legged friends. If you’re anything like me, you consider your dogs and cats as part of your family — and adore them just as much. (As my friends will tell you, you’d better not come to my house if you don’t enjoy animals.) Pet ownership provides companionship and well-documented health benefits, as I discovered after adopting our beautiful Coco, shown above, from a local animal shelter. That’s the topic of my newest column in the February issue of Vitality and online in The Oakland Press. If you live…
