One of the quiet milestones of life is the day your kids stop asking for advice. It sneaks up on you like a thief in the night. For years, you were the designated problem solver. The one with the answers, or at least a valued (and sometimes unsolicited) opinion. The person who helped narrow down the decision on which college to attend. A trusted advisor on how to set up a monthly budget. The one they called when the faucet was leaking (in truth, that was never me). And the on

Most afternoons, I take a walk with our dog, Rigby. Depending on which direction he decides to explore that day, we end up passing through the local park or along the quiet streets of our small village. In the fall and spring, those walks almost always take us past youth sports fields. Little League baseball. Lacrosse practice. A girls’ high school softball game. Parents line the sidelines, leaning forward in folding chairs or pacing along the fence line. They shout encourage

What is it about the ocean and the waves on the beach that speaks so clearly about the relentless march of time, and how our lives are little more than momentary footprints in the sand? We are here for only a moment, until the waves, arriving with the steady beat of a metronome, wash away our presence and return the sand to its natural state. As if we were never there at all. And yet, we were, if only for a moment. The snow is piling up outside my window here in Central New Y

This past week, the last of 2025, found me coming back to a familiar set of images. Once again, twenty-foot waves are pounding the eastern shores of Lake Ontario. Gray skies, a staple here in Central New York, and wind howling with gusts exceeding 60 mph. Water smashing into the rock and concrete of the Oswego Harbor Lighthouse with zero interest in whatever is standing in its way. And like it always does this time of year, my mind goes to Gordon Lightfoot and his haunting so

For me, fall is a season of reflection. Maybe it’s the falling leaves that signal the end of a cycle. Perhaps it’s the subtle hint of cooler air settling over Central New York. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the road I’m traveling on now. The distant shimmer of red and gold on the hillsides feels familiar, like a favorite song I’ve heard a thousand times before but still don’t skip. This past week, I found myself on Interstate 81, somewhere between Binghamton, NY, and Scranton, P

It’s been a little quiet around here at The Sunny Side of 57 . Seven months since my last post (but who's counting). And no, I haven’t retired from retirement. I’ve just been busy doing something I never expected to be doing in this chapter of life: writing a book. What started as a few reflections on this blog has grown into something bigger, more structured (well, mostly), and more personal. It’s still me, still sunny-side-up, but with a deeper dive into what life after car

If I am being honest, the news this past week of Jimmy Buffett's passing hit me right where it hurts. Maybe it was a sense of my own...

In the past two months this summer (July and August) there have been two lottery jackpots each eclipsing $1B in pre-tax payout. The...