Do we need a partner to be truly happy? — Perhaps you’re part of the 33% of people who view Elon Musk like he’s the Big Bad Wolf blowing up your straw bales. Maybe you’re on the waiting list to uterus-house his baby. …

It’s so subjective even scientists can’t agree — “What even is happiness?” you ask, pulling the weighted blanket from my wingback over your thighs. “How is it that you’re always showing up here?” I inquire. “No, never mind. You’re here and you want to know what happiness is?” “Yeah,” you mumble, gesturing for me to bring you some…

You wanna know what it’s all about, hey? — “There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” Thich Nhat Hanh Hello. Howdy. Bienvenue. Pull up a bean bag and pour yourself a bevvie. We’re about to get down to business. “Business?” you ask, with a twinge of shy. “What do you mean, Jen? …

I’m going for ‘good enough’ — “Perfectionism is stealing your passion and killing your joy.” Entertain your brain Before I pushed publish, I wanted the perfect image splashed across my pub banner. The perfectly inspiring message. The words of wisdom so enthralling and perfect that they were, well, perfect. I fought with pixels and images until…

I don’t know if this is true but I’ll claim it — It’s a miracle! Nah, I didn’t win the lottery or solve world hunger or find a cure for menopausal chin hair or anything… The miraculous mention is that I’m writing! My awkward digits are chilling out with the keyboard. …

No one likes making mistakes, do they? — “All I know is one of us is right and the other one is you.” David Didau I hate being wrong. Who doesn’t? My simple advice: Get used to it. It’s as much a part of life as death, taxes, and “deez nuts” jokes. This morning I made a boo-boo…

What else is my body gonna do to me? — I see them. Sitting on the deck, my eyes wander from the piece I’m editing to the dog leaving pathways of lick-spit on my forearms. The sun reflects off the saliva and it really is quite pretty. Just then, a vehicle on the roadway honks repeatedly and the dog almost…

A purring ball owns you? Keeps feet warm, nips nose, nestles on lap? Cute! Fun!

The only advice needed when raising adolescents — There are thousands of wise pieces of advice on how to forge your acne-ridden adolescent into a wonderfully polite and prudent adult. This is not one of them. After waving goodbye to my sister and her wife at the airport I suggested to my almost-16-year-old that since we were near…