My sister, Kelly, reminded me through her own tears that today, on Mother’s Day, it will be the first time since our children were born that we wouldn’t be receiving our yearly delivery of roses from our dad. You see every year Mother’s day was a big deal in our home, even growing up, we went to dinner or brunch or something with all of us kids and often my grandparents as well. I remember many brunches at The Velvet Turtle or some Mexican...

It’s Passover and as Michael, the kids and I prepare for a leaven-less week, I am taking a moment out to think about what this holiday and this season mean. Whether you celebrate Passover or Easter…or Eastover… or are simply taking time out to notice it’s spring, it’s a time of rebirth and renewal and, of course, reflection.  So, I am remembering a story, a call for introspection, I once heard about Passover and the reason we eat matzah. ...

  Maybe it’s my radar of late, but I have been hearing A LOT of people suggesting to their friends that they “deserve to be selfish”. And the reasons for deserving range from illness, to working too hard, or your children have been driving you crazy. Here’s the thing. I think we’ve maybe forgotten what the term selfish means, or we’ve applied a different, less weighty meaning to the term, or we just don’t have a large enough lexicon for reward....

Narcissism is a frequently used term in the current socio-political climate. The truth is that most people who are successful in our world have a healthy dose of narcissism, a healthy sense of confidence and self -focus. However, these qualities do not a narcissist make. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a serious diagnosis rooted, many theorists believe, from a developmental trauma in early childhood. The early wound prohibits a complete...

I am running down Grindly Street in Cypress being chased by my friend Janelle, we are 8 and it is June. As we get to the front of St. Irenues Church, we begin to hear it, the clank of the rides, and the kids screaming for joy, the delicious smell of greasy hotdogs mixed with cotton candy and salty popcorn these things seem to pull us faster as we head toward it. The IT is the annual St. I fiesta. Janelle finally catches me and pulls my shirt to...

Back when I decided to convert to Judaism, I knew that the transition would be difficult for my family. But I had no idea that the real war would begin over holiday gifts. As I recall, the wrapping-paper war began in the early-morning hours. I had just gotten out of the shower and poured my second cup of coffee when my phone rang. Before I even picked up the receiver, I knew it was my mom (probably on her second cup of coffee, too). She most...