Welcome to Election Day. A day we we’ve been waiting for, dreading, anxious. It’s hard to believe how far our nation has come, and how far it has fallen. And as I reflect on the current state of our nation, it’s hard to believe how great the divide actually is. Our pledge of allegiance talks about “one nation, under God indivisible,” however we’re severely fractured as a country.

You know that game two truths and a lie? It’s where you offer 3 statements and those playing with you have to guess which is the lie. Well, I feel we are in an extended match with our current administration. We read the news to understand what’s going on in our country, and we cannot tell truth from fiction. It’s as if leadership and honesty don’t matter anymore. It’s not only frustrating, but perplexing.

This past weekend was the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana. It celebrates the harvest, it gives us a chance to examine our lives and reflect on our righteousness and it starts the new year. Here’s to a sweet new year!

I speak a lot about embracing calm. However the the idea of embracing fear is equally important. I felt the RNC lead their convention last week from a place of fear, and in a recent premarital counseling session, one of the pair was surprised how much fear affected their life and their decisions.

Over the weekend, my father gave me a mood ring. It started off as dark blue, and then turned brown and then green. Talk about mood swings! Since I’ve been home it’s just been black. Which I just looked up. Black is ‘stressed and very tense.’ Really?!? I started laughing. This surprises me, actually. Am I stressed and tense? Not really.

There have been so many times in my life when I have not felt settled. Over the past 4 years, I’ve worked hard to create a stable home and career, but now due to COVID and a renovation project that’s STILL not complete, I’m back in limbo.

I’ve been tired lately. It could be the summer heat, it could be my irregular sleeping habit or it could be something else. While I could complain about the shut down of the event industry, I am thankful for little work I do have, and the flexibility to take the time I need. I am able to nap in the middle of the day if I need to rest and recover.

I can easily go a few days without leaving my apartment. With COVID-19, as we sheltered in place, we were forced to stay inside weeks if we didn’t need to leave. I am proud to say that I’ve finally entered the new normal. Automatically grabbing my mask, and heading out into the world without fear.

A quote from Seth Godin which begins, “Listening is difficult,” is very timely for a number of reasons. The white community failing to truly hear the struggles of the BIPOC communities. For many of us being tone-deaf to the situations around us – be it the pandemic or racial inequality. And for all the fear – of sharing experiences or failures.

Usually I fill this space with some new insight I want to share. An experience or a thought, a resource or a tip. But I have to say, I've got nothing! Or at least nothing is coming to mind. Tuesdays for me are all about reflecting and sharing the positive things in my life. So I am making a call to action to get you involved here. Truly.

A classmate from high school and fellow New Yorker, Bill Tew posted this article from The New York Times on Facebook yesterday. As a Medical Oncologist here in Manhattan, he knows some things! It speaks about the end of the pandemic and really our way forward to create what we're all calling a new normal.

One of the most powerful things I learned while working with couples in premarital counseling is knowing when to share and when to listen. I've gotten so good at it that sometimes I find myself not speaking up at all.

It's been 3 weeks, and I finally decided to get back out in the world. Every day I keep saying that I will head out and take a walk, but every day I wind up opening my windows and stay inside. This morning I ran out of milk - and I cannot drink my coffee without milk - so off I went out in the world. Luckily, my grocery store is a block away, and when I arrived I was first on line to enter the store.

Yesterday, I shared a small victory with my mother, that I achieved out of lack. I was unable to find what I needed, so I made a better alternative work. She immediately scolded me for not telling her what I didn't have. I made a major stride in something I tried for months to accomplish, however she questioned my failure of going the usual route. Without thinking, I asked her why she wasn't helping me celebrate my victory?

During yoga last Thursday I noticed I was a little lightheaded. I mentioned it to my friend, Maria towards the end of practice and she suggested grabbing a glass of water after making sure I had breakfast. (um, I'm never one to skip a meal!) We had a genuine mystery on our hands! The following day I started getting dizzy and I realized (dun, dun, dun) that it was a case of the Vertigo Returns!

I see lots of people on social media asking what day it is. In an online meeting last week the host talked about the Elasticity of Time. Without regular schedules it's easy for days to merge.

All of my pre-marital counseling session currently start with a check-in of the new normal. In times of crisis it's important to find the good. Most of my couples are grieving the fact they have to change their wedding dates. Some are working from home in super tight spaces. And I do have one couple both in the medical profession and on the front lines. So in general things are pretty sucky.