It's ironic that, as I work with adolescents to prepare them for future education and their eventual career, they may well be headed for a field or profession that doesn't even exist right now.

Most of what I do for a living was beyond my imagination when I was thirteen, whether because technology had not yet made it possible or simply because of my own ignorance of the existing possibilities.

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A friend of mine has three beautiful children, including a newborn.

She already has a PhD, but now she's going for an MBA.

My friend also lives in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Understandably, this friend is a bit stressed out. But I'd be completely unable to offer advice to help her reduce the stress in her life.

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I never should have bought my first house.

It had an awkward floor plan and poor natural light. An ugly apartment building loomed over the backyard, and trains from the CSX rail yard would screech by at all hours of the day and night. Worse, I couldn't really afford it.

But I bought the house anyway because I focused on the upside and figured I could mitigate the downside. I have always tended to say yes to the new.

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Growing up, I was exposed to some very strong messaging for girls and women.

It showed up in books and magazines, TV and movie plots, and conversations with adults and peers.

The message was that you don't need a boyfriend (or husband) to be a complete person.

Since I hadn't been around during the days when marriage was a woman's top priority, I had no context for this message.

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I’m in transition.

Maybe it’s the call of the new season as the weather cools and routines change around me. The tourists and summer people are leaving, and the kids are going back to school.

Maybe it’s a consequence of yet another surge in coronavirus cases, upending my travel and life plans.

Maybe it’s something internal, like the hormones I cycle through every few weeks, or perhaps even caused by those very hormones.

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