
20 minutes
That's the total length of time a human being can focus on anything before moving on.

Phases
When you start smoking again after nearly five years, it's time to come to terms with celestial bodies, and your own.

Ending happy endings
A Friday night watching "Bridget Jones's Diary" (again) has its all-too-painful logic.

The alternative
Alternatives come in different shapes and sizes. But there's no telling if opting for one solves anything.

Bumps in the dream
The author grew up dreaming of America as the Promised Land she'd eventually get to. She still will, but the promise isn't the same.

Fear of falling
We all trip and fall in life, though most of us would prefer to pretend it doesn't happen.

The joy of a sunny day
For a farm-dweller in Le Marche, October two-in-a-day earthquakes, big shocks in a season of rattling, hit far too close to home.

Giorgio
When the man in your life doesn't click on your social media photos, you need to ponder what's important — to both of you.

He’s leaving home
A mother contemplates just what to tell her eldest son, who's about to leave the nest.

The answer
These days, cyberspace has all the answers. But it's the choices that can make you sick.

The great outdoors
A summer-long outdoor sleep-out makes for a change in plans in autumn