It’s 2:30 in the morning. I can’t sleep.

For the first time, I’m thinking about my parents’ mortality.

My dad will be having open-heart surgery in a few hours and I’m worried.

As someone who has survived her share of surgeries, lethal car accidents, and an assault, considering my own mortality is not a foreign concept. There have been a few times in my 40+ years on this earth when I thought I might not see the next day. But so far, I’ve been lucky.

So why did it blindside me when my dad announced he needed open-heart surgery?

Historically speaking, random acts of kindness are typically focused on what we can do to help strangers. But with social restrictions due to the pandemic, interacting with strangers is not only more unlikely than ever before, but it’s typically not recommended either.

So for Random Acts of Kindness Day this year (February 17th), I propose we show our appreciation for those closest to us. You know, the people we still see, speak with, or interact with in some way on a regular basis.

Your partner or spouse, kids, parents, coworkers, and Zoom-mates could all use a little appreciation, some small…

Hello, My Fabulous Friend!

I hope this mini-newsletter finds you happy and healthy.

On a personal note, there has been a lot going on at casa de Zada so far this month.

My father and husband both went in for surgery in the same week — one for open-heart and one for kidney issues. I’m pleased to say they are both recovering well — in big part because I have two amazing sisters.

I hope you all enjoyed St. Valentine’s Day yesterday. My honey and I watched parody movies most of the day. …

Book Review

Dr. Hassouri bares her soul in this memoir exploring her child’s gender transition. In its entirety, it is a book about her own journey as well as how having a transgender child affects the whole family.

It was interesting to hear another mom’s perspective on how she processed her own thoughts and feelings regarding her child’s gender transition. There were many similarities and a few differences between our transgender children.

Both our kids were ‘late bloomers’ in the sense that they didn’t share their possible transgender identity with us until mid-puberty. Dr. Hassouri shares how in the beginning this fact…

Hello, Fabulous Friends!

I hope 2021 has been kind to you so far. My corner of Ohio got its first big snow of the year today. I’ve been enjoying watching the glittery white stuff pile up outside my windows while staying warm inside.

My two dogs enjoyed pushing around the snow with their noses and chasing after each other though. I wish I could teach them to clear the walks and the porch.

Fat and sassy.

Those were the words I’d hear any time I asked my grandmother how she was.

For years I didn’t understand why that was her response when she was barely five-foot and might have weighed eighty pounds soaking wet.

But as I got older I realized Grandma was the definition of fat and sassy.

She proved it in the way she carried herself, the way she spoke, the way she did everything. And whether she knew it or not, she was my first fat and sassy mentor.

These are the five keys Grandma used to live a fat…

As an avid collector of quotes, I love finding ones that speak to my heart. This collection speaks loudly about the importance of gender diversity and equality.

But you don’t have to just take my word for it. Here are seven influential individuals from all different walks of life to tell you themselves.

Forrest Gump was not a misunderstood genius.

He only impressed us all in 1994 because of the childlike optimism he clung to during his personal odyssey over thirty years of American history. Even a slow-witted simpleton can sound like an authority on life given the right cinematic atmosphere.

Throughout the movie, Forrest imparts short nuggets of supposed wisdom that seem to reflect his adventurous life’s journey. The most memorable originally coming from his mother.

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.

But what Gump and his mom fail to realize is their…