Solo on Purpose

A personal account of cold injury, nerve recovery, and learning to let the body lead. My first ski day of the season. The second run of the morning. And everything changed. It was around 19 degrees at the base, colder as the lift climbed higher. A typical New England winter day. Nothing I hadn't handled before. What I didn't account for was stillness. Unlike normal skiing, where your body is constantly generating heat through movement, I was suspended, unable to move, unable to warm myself. Prolonged exposure without movement is a completely different animal. Cold is cold. A mechanical failure left me stuck on that chairlift, in cold, wet conditions, for about two hours. By the time ski patrol reached me, I wasn't okay. At the time, I didn’t realize this would be my last full ski day... What surprised me What I didn't expect was that it didn't end when I was rescued. In the days that followed, my body was still processing what had happened. T...

There was a moment when everything felt like it ended at once. Loss Change Silence The kind of silence where a home no longer feels like home, where the next chapter isn’t clear, and where even the simplest decisions feel heavy. I remember packing up my life into boxes, sitting in the quiet, and asking myself one question: What now? I didn’t have a plan But I had a pull Something inside me said go. Not to escape, but to find something I couldn’t name yet. That’s what brought me to France. And eventually, to Portugal. There were moments that didn’t look like healing at all. Putting gasoline into a diesel car the day before Christmas. Navigating unfamiliar streets, languages, and systems alone. Wondering if I had made a mistake. But then there were moments I will never forget. A cold, damp morning at a gîte in France, exchanging quiet smiles with strangers through a kitchen window. A woman on the beach in Sesimbra who shared parts of her story she had never told anyone before. Mor...

From Portugal to Paradise: Finding Zen in Chacala, Mexico Where’s Waldo? Remember the beloved character created by Martin Handford , brought to life in the 1991 animated series with Townsend Coleman , Jim Cummings, Brad Garrett, and Julian Holloway? That’s honestly how my travels have felt lately, bouncing from one place to the next, always searching for the next adventure, the next moment of wonder. I believe we left off in Portugal , which was a wonderful place to be indeed. So wonderful, in fact, that I’m heading back in September. But after Portugal, I went somewhere completely different. Mexico . My warm-weather bags were already packed, so the transition was easy. I landed back in Boston, stayed for four days, and then it was off to find my version of “Zen.” This trip was exactly what my body and spirit needed, a chance to reset and reconnect through yoga, nourishing meals, long walks on the beach, and early morning volcano sunrises. I flew into Puerto Vallarta and took a ho...

  A Season of Yes: Reflections from Sesimbra, Portugal There is a season, turn, turn, turn, And a time to every purpose under Heaven… The last few days here on the beaches of Sesimbra have been nothing short of euphoric. Yoga, hiking, and a two-hour Tai Chi massage with a master who studied in Thailand , all surrounded by serene, endless ocean views. This morning began with an invigorating run-walk, thanks to my new amiga Becky. It was exactly what my spirit needed. On one of my many walks, I wandered along the beach, followed the boardwalk past the boatyard filled with fishermen, and made my way toward the lighthouse. That’s where I met Becky, the run-walker. We connected instantly. We talked and walked all the way back to where we were both staying. Later, we sat outside for a late lunch and toasted to new friendship. Becky is a native and currently lives in Lisbon . She has two loving parents and is sandwiched between two brothers. She was also generous with local ideas, histo...