ArcaMax

If I don't schedule downtime as a way to set boundaries and focus on the things that matter to me, then it just doesn't happen, which leaves me feeling burned out and overwhelmed. Let me explain.

I had taken Monday off work and planned to spend it alone. Maybe I'd read a book or catch up on chores around the house and my favorite podcast at ...Read more

After the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, this is what I know for sure. Gun violence can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time. It is truly America's great equalizer. It touches the rich and the poor. It happens at nightclubs, movie theaters, the mall, while grocery shopping or even if you are asleep in your bed like Breonna Taylor. ...Read more

According to a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, 28% of people polled are still weighing their options for president. I find this hard to believe. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are not only very familiar candidates (I mean, we've been exactly here before), but they are also completely different in political stance and ideology. Perhaps that 28% are ...Read more

"For every park, there's a story of someone who saved it from becoming something else." Ever since I read these words in Jenny Odell's book "How to Do Nothing," I've wanted to find the stories of such people.

I love parks, and I love all that they bring to our lives. So when my Aunt Mary suggested we go hiking in one of her favorite spots ...Read more

The day we got our bloodhound puppy, Maggie, I looked at my husband and said, "We're going to have to say goodbye to her one day." Everyone who has ever loved a dog has felt this kind of anticipatory grief. We know that a special bond with a dog comes with an expiration date. Or does it?

There's a new book coming out in September by Cathryn ...Read more

I took the plunge and had my DNA analyzed. Turns out I'm a Neanderthal. That's how my husband likes to say it, anyway. According to my 23andMe results, Neanderthal ancestry accounts for 2% of my DNA. The cool part is the results highlighted associations between Neanderthal variants and my traits.

My husband enjoyed this little nugget of ...Read more

Actress Sophia Bush posted a story on Instagram that read "Pride is important because someone tonight still believes they're better off dead than being themselves." I've seen it shared many times since, and it has me thinking about why people so painfully feel they must hide their identities. I keep coming back to the assumptions that begin in ...Read more

Walking home from day camp with my son, I was on a mission. I wanted to hurry home and get dinner started. But when we took the shortcut through the grassy area near the dead-end street, my son stopped cold. "Mom, look!" He pointed to a small blue butterfly, noticing the dots under its folded wings. It sat on a clover flower and looked to be ...Read more

Podcaster Mel Robbins has ignited the "Let Them" theory for the masses. The theory is simply this: When you feel yourself trying to control a person, outcome, situation or circumstance, stop and instead just "let them" go ahead and do whatever it is they are doing.

Does someone want to assign ill intent and misunderstand you? Let them. Your ...Read more

My 8-year-old son likes rocks. He wants to know how different stones form, how they get their color, where they're found and the folklore surrounding their properties. I, too, love stones. My jewelry collection spans the decades and is filled with gems such as turquoise, smokey quartz, carnelian and picture jasper. My son flipped through my ...Read more

"Your success in high school does not determine your success in life." My high school English teacher Chuck Keller told me this, and it was exactly what teenage me needed to hear. Chuck was right, and I'm here to pass on this little nugget to young adults today.

It's graduation season, and society has a way of making kids think that their ...Read more

Erma Bombeck was right when she said, "It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else." I thought of this quote when my friend Gina Barreca recently asked on social media, "Writers: Why is it hard to hit 'send' even after all these years?"

Barreca has written or edited about 20 books, has written countless columns and she's Board...Read more

My son brought home a bookmark from school promoting the school's spring book fair -- and it doubled as a coupon to a fast-food restaurant. This isn't the first "free kid's meal" coupon my son has gotten. It's a pretty common thing, and after the book I just read, it annoys me.

"Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food" ...Read more