Heather is an essayist, editor, CMO, mommy, and wife seeking stillness while in a state
of nearly constant motion. She lives, walks, and eats in the greatest city in the world: Chicago.
Last year I wrote about seasons of resolutions, which is my approach to adopting new habits a few months at a time in the New Year. Each quarter is an opportunity to grow and learn, and this process keeps me motivated throughout the year. I usually approach it with a spirit of renewal and change, with clarity and resolve.
This year, resolve has new meaning.
Read MoreThat’s the thing about hate.
It starts off innocently enough, the tiniest sapling. You think you can ignore it, so you do. It doesn’t seem so dangerous, really. Maybe it’s not your problem. Someone else will take care of it. Then suddenly, there’s no light. And there’s no sign of what grew there before. The roots now run deep. It will take some sweat to claim back our garden.
Read MoreDoomscrolling is SOOO July. Do you remember July? China started sending us random seeds, Ghislaine Maxwell was finally arrested (we do not wish her the best), and Trump wore a mask in public for the first time, and it wasn't even Halloween. So. Brave.
Read MoreI noticed that even though my cookbook shelf was full, it was dominated by white authors and western-European cuisine. As someone who embraces new food, new experiences, I was embarrassed by the glaring omissions of the culinary foundations of American cooking on the shelf. Time for more change.
Read MoreA few months BC (Before COVID), I read Year of Yes, by Shauna Rhimes. The premise is deceptively simple: Despite incredible professional success, the Queen of Shaunda Land felt lonely and unfulfilled. On a dare from her sister, Shaunda spent a year saying “Yes” to everything – speaking engagements, parties, working out, salads, events – and she found her new life surprisingly rewarding and exciting in ways she hadn’t imagined it could be.
I was inspired and energized as she told her story, but as I considered my own life, I felt like I was very, very far away from So Much Yes.
I said no. A lot.
Read MoreI Googled what to do when a bird hits your window. Make it comfortable, the Audubon site says, leave it alone if it doesn’t seem injured. If it does seem injured, contact animal control. There is no information about what to do if a bird hits your window during a global pandemic.
Read MoreI started writing this essay with the intention of providing advice for my sons as they grew into men. Some tips were specific (Change your socks every day); some general (Learn to be OK with failure), and some were based on my own life experience (Don't get married until you're 30). But as I observed my sons with a journalistic eye, I realized how much they can teach us all.
Read MoreWhen I did the post-first-date phone debrief with my sister, I confessed: He might be too nice for me. I am not that nice, what if I am terrible and break the heart of this nice man?
She admonished: You will go on at least three dates, and you will have fun. You deserve someone who is nice, who is nice to you.
So I did, and I did, and he was, and he is.
Read MoreWelcome to the New Year! Time to get off the couch and back to the real world where you are expected to wear pants and function in society once again. This year I’m setting goals through seasonal themes to keep me motivated beyond the New Year’s burst of enthusiasm. This structure offers a chance to check in throughout the year, rather than going out in a blaze of glory when Oreo launches a new flavor in January. (Side note: Chocolate marshmallow? That hardly seems fair.)
Read Morelove Christmas, every part. Cookies and food and seasonal music, yes, please. I make menus and gift lists, and I obsess about all the details. The kids and I count down to Santa’s visit, and the Elf on the Shelf (his name is Bubbles) is in full effect every night.
This essay should be right up my tinsel-laden alley.
But not this year.
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