My morning routine always began with my husband’s alarm.  He got started before me and was often getting out of the house just as I was getting up.  His alarm said – “you’ve got time now, go slowly if you’d like.”  It worked really well – for me.Fast forward to last week.  I overslept three times.  Not by a few minutes -- by enough time to start that anxiety about being late. You all know what I’m talking about. 

Social media gets a bad reputation but, sometimes, it can be a powerful tool for good when used thoughtfully. Every year, when I have my mammogram, I always post on social media and  remind other women to schedule their own potentially life-saving screening.  Every year there is at least one of my friends who thank me for the post and write that they are going to schedule their own.  Those sort of comments warm my heart. Sometimes, a simple post can cut through procrastination and fear in a way that public service announcements sometimes cannot. 

If you win Gotham's Annual Battle of the Bands® , you earn a real opportunity to play the same venue once graced by legends including Jimi Hendrix.  The musical extravaganza — sponsored by Skody Scot & Company CPA PC in memory Michael Skody and the 9/11 Fund — returns live for the third year in a row, Sunday June 7, 3:00 to 6: 00 p.m. at Groove, 125 Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village in New York City. Six bands will compete for three prices:

For the last four years of my mother’s life, she did not know my name.Dementia slowly took many things from her. Memories faded, and conversations became shorter if we had them at all. At first, that loss hurts. You realize the person who once knew everything about you can no longer remember something so simple.But over time, you learn that memory is not the only place love lives.

One of the reasons I have written my Friday with Fred blog, every week, for over 20 years is the feedback it sometimes engenders, in the form of Comments, be they written or face to face. The best occurs when I am introduced to someone and they recognize me and say "I read your blog."This is so exciting to me, worth its weight in gold!Written comments are great too and they offer the opportunity for me to respond and further the conversation.  

At yesterday’s meeting of NewYork Health and Longevity, Fred was asked how he was doing. His response…”Everyone has something” brought to mind something I heard a long time ago.Everyone has an “Achilles Heel”.In Greek mythology, Achilles was dipped in the River Styx to render him immortal. But his mother held him by the heel leaving him vulnerable in that spot. The immortal Achilles was killed by a poison arrow to the heel.Hence the term “Achilles Heel” - a weakness or vulnerability that can lead to downfall.Everyone has one. 

Friends are the people you know you can count on to have your back when the cream cheese hits the mix -master. They are the people you want in the foxhole with you and the ones who pull you back when you get to the proverbial ledge. It occurred to me how difficult it can be sometimes to be that friend when someone you care about is doing something you don’t think is a good idea. Sharing an honest opinion can be risky.

Have you ever thought about what happens in silence? The conversation takes a pause (or a breath so to speak) and we scramble to fill it. Imagine you are alone in a room with no music, no phone to scroll, no television – you get the idea.Is silence a bad thing? I don’t think so. Silence isn’t the enemy. I would venture to say that if two good friends are together, a quiet moment actually speaks volumes.  And a quiet moment alone -- device free --  can turn into an important time of reflection.