A Secret to Success This New Year: Become Committed and Resilient

Mom and son celebrating the new year in the Bahamas in 2025! "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." – Confucius Greetings from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ! Things have been busy. I am still a working mom of three , working full time who is trying to make a difference. I do a lot of things and try to be present so that I can learn from them. I share them on this blog so that we can learn together. Below are some thoughts, hacks, and/or lessons that I have learned from navigating my world. 2025 was intense. I faced a convergence of pressures: the stress of navigating life as a single mom while paying considerable  alimony ,  an intensifying family situation since we lost my beloved aunt, my dad, and my cousin’s mom—work related stress—learning a new job after an imposed job change, all while navigating the rapid pace of raising my kids and trying to maintain a standard of living for them with fewer resources. Together, these factor...

The Lessons of Strangers...



I did not leave my heart in San Francisco, but I did learn some heart lessons on my vacation...

My friend always counsels me against talking to strangers. I’d listen to her if I didn’t learn so damned much from the strangers that I meet. Indeed, a stranger motivated me to start this blog while I was returning from my Cabo vacation last year. Interestingly enough, in San Francisco some strangers really taught me something.

On this vacation, I learned to follow my heart instead of holding back. I observed a couple who was into one another and oblivious to the world. I met a woman who was on her fourth marriage and still hadn’t given up on love. I also met someone else whose matter of fact approach to life inspired me in a way that familiarity could not. For someone struggling to find her own path these strangers taught me an important lesson.

I could bore you with the details of that lesson, but certain things a lady never tells--not because they are salacious, but because they are secrets. Anyway, the details aren't important. What's important is that I have learned, I have grown, and I have been liberated.

They say that we only regret the things that we haven't done. Until now, I have said "no" more often than I have said "yes". That practice has caused me to have many regrets. I am now committed to doing more and regretting less. Let’s hope that my courage continues, beyond vacation.

So here I am, post San Francisco, full of hope and satisfaction. Thanks to all of the strangers for the lesson…


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