GenZ

A woman-owned small business

~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

If you could start a new business right now, what would it be?

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I’m retired and have no plans to start a business. However, I’m super proud of my daughter who has turned a passion into a career.

She is a professional astrologer with her own successful business—lunarxluci.com—and a large following on social media, particularly TikTok and also Instagram. She has been featured in publications such as Good Housekeeping and has endless excellent reviews from clients.

In addition to written and video readings, she recently created a downloadable, self-paced Astrology 101 course. It includes 10 in-depth video lessons (about 7 hours), companion workbooks, PowerPoint slides, and 3 celebrity chart breakdowns. By the end, students will understand how to read a birth chart and have the confidence to interpret their own and others’ charts.

Link in bio

So, if you have a new or longstanding curiosity about Astrology and how it can empower you, please check out my daughter’s offerings. A reading or the new Astrology 101 course would also make a great gift for someone in your life who likes Astrology and wants to learn more. You’d also be supporting a hardworking young woman entrepreneur (and mom) with her own small business.

Use the code THANKYOU for a 15% discount on any order.

Thank you!

😊

Mary

♊️ ☀️ ♏️ 🌙 ♑️ ⬆️

(Gemini Sun, Scorpio Moon, Capricorn Rising)

Brooklyn

~ MaryG ~ 25 Comments

I have returned from a busy weekend in Brooklyn—the borough of NYC from which my mother’s parents hailed. They left Brooklyn for another great immigrant city—Worcester MA—long before I was born, so I had never been to Brooklyn before. All my prior trips to NYC were Manhattan only.

We were there to celebrate the marriage of a beloved nephew in his early 40s and got a glimpse into his life there. A very urban life.

Due to Amtrak cancelling our train, we had to drive from Massachusetts. A last minute detour sent us over the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, from which we could see the Statue of Liberty, which was very cool. It almost made up for all the traffic we hit in Connecticut.
This part of the Brooklyn waterfront is called Pebble Beach. There are great views of both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges.
Manhattan Bridge
Blue steel is a feature of the Manhattan Bridge
Jane’s Carousel, built in 1922
View of the financial district from under the Brooklyn Bridge. That’s the Freedom Tower with the black spire.
Lady Liberty in the distance
A bison puppet in Brooklyn
A herd of bison puppets 🤷‍♀️
My son and his girlfriend in front of a chain link fence with a heart on the Lower East Side/Chinatown (Manhattan), where we went for an interesting dinner
Both jellyfish (top) and chicken feet (bottom) were served as appetizers. I tried both.
I couldn’t bring myself to try the “live fish” because I was too afraid of getting a bone stuck in the back of my throat, which happened to me once as a kid.
The happy couple sharing their absolutely beautiful vows 🥹
Weather was pretty rainy so this lovely patio area was a bit soggy, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

We made it back to Massachusetts in much better time. (The traffic gods were with us.) But my ears are still ringing. Brooklyn was loud. From the constant sirens to the extremely noisy restaurants and bars, I’m happy to be home and can’t say I’m dying to head back to NYC anytime soon.

The Girl Next Door

~ MaryG ~ 17 Comments

My son grew up with the girl next door. He was three when we moved here and she was the only other little kid in the neighborhood. She’s two and half years older than him, but when they were small, that didn’t matter.

They played in leaves, they played in snow, they played in sand, they bounced on her trampoline. They played video games or did legos together when it was too cold to go outside.

“Can I call Maddie?” was his #1 question in life for many years.

Eventually they grew apart, but she was his first best friend.

The Girl Next Door.

John and Maddie in 2005. She turned 28 yesterday and I reached out to her Mom with this photo. Her Dad still lives next door, but we don’t see him much.
The friendship lasted through several years of grade school.

Vaccines and bathing suits

~ MaryG ~ 35 Comments

What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?

I feel like the older generations have messed things up so thoroughly that our “best advice” should be taken with a grain of salt.

However, here are a couple of things my kids have brought up recently in a “you were right” kind of way:

My daughter said it was good that she got ALL her vaccines including the HPV series that some other parents declined. It prevents unnecessary complications later in life, including during pregnancy—a time when you absolutely do not need extra things to worry about!

So, I’d say get yourself and your kids all the vaccines you’re offered, including the annual flu and Covid shots. And people 50+, get the Shingles vaccine for God’s sake. It works and Shingles SUCK. (My husband had it and it was awful.)

In general, avoid the “I do my own research” crowd, especially followers of that quack RFK, Jr. Listen to actual doctors and scientists.

My son said he broke one of my “life rules” on a recent business trip and I laughed. He had forgotten to pack a bathing suit and it turned out his hotel had a lovely pool. I LOL’d, but it’s true, I always say pack a bathing suit, wherever you go. They take up so little space and you just never know when an inviting pool, pond, lake, stream, ocean or hot tub will present itself to you.

As a corollary to that, I think everyone should learn to swim well. Make your kids drown-proof. Get them swimming lessons, even if it’s a hassle.

I love this dish towel my daughter got me. 🤣

Remember names

~ MaryG ~ 11 Comments

What’s your top tip to be successful in life?

Try your best to remember people’s first names when you meet them or talk to them on the phone. (Yes, the phone! Use it as a phone, young people.)

Then, when you say goodbye (or see them again) use the name.

If you didn’t understand or forgot their name when they first said it, it’s OK to ask them to repeat it – once.

If it’s a difficult name, most people have a trick for you. For example, I met a guy named Goker at my local convenience store. (He works there. I see him a lot.) First time I met him, he said “Goker – rhymes with joker.” Now it’s locked in my brain.

Doing this will make you more engaging, likable, caring, and friendly.

Our fellow humans are really all we have to help us get through this life “successfully.” Learn their names.

Yesteryear

~ MaryG ~ 24 Comments

I read the book that “everyone” is talking about—Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. This debut novel reportedly received a low 7-figure advance and was optioned for a film starring Anne Hathaway before it was even finished. (How does a new author do that?)

In case you haven’t heard, it’s about a tradwife influencer (think Ballerina Farm) who mysteriously finds herself back in the old western pioneer days with no electricity or modern conveniences. The plot twists are compelling and au courant—both in the modern world and in the pioneer one. (Raw milk, going viral, the manosphere, immigrant farm workers, “organic” food, nepo babies, homeschooling, Target—it’s all in there.)

So it’s definitely a page turner, but I can’t say I loved it. The problem is that the main character is so unlikable. And maybe that’s the point. Women my age have been complaining for decades that we were taught to be “nice” and likable above all else. When we grew up, we realized that being nice all the time led to an awful lot of getting taking advantage of, harassment, and even abuse. So we taught our daughters to be strong, confident and to make their own money—in many cases, for their safety. (You shouldn’t need to rely on a man for anything!)

And now there is a myth (I think) that some of those girls then grew up to “hate men.”

But honestly, are there really a bunch of childless “Girl Bosses” running around Manhattan just despising men and their former friends who decided to be stay-at-home moms?

To be perfectly honest, I have said a disparaging thing or two about women in my town who did not do any paid work while raising their kids. Obviously they were fairly wealthy…who else could afford to not work? And I felt that some of them tended to get exceedingly wrapped up in their children’s lives. (Like, the results of travel basketball tryouts could send them into a tailspin for weeks.)

But back to the book…the main character really doesn’t like anyone. Not her sister or the women she grew up with, not her Harvard classmates, not her dumb rich husband, not her babies, not her fans.

It’s almost like the author is saying that women can’t win, no matter what they do.

Maybe they will make the main character more sympathetic in the film. Anne Hathaway can be complex, right?

I’m sure the setting—in the mountains of Idaho—is going to look spectacular.

That’s my two cents. Let me know if you read it.

“We Don’t Want Kids”

~ MaryG ~ 14 Comments

Veering into dangerous, personal, none-of-my-business territory here…

I know very well how difficult life is for young people these days. Truly unaffordable for many—especially those with debt. Combined with global warming, gun violence, rising authoritarianism, and a million other things, there are many excellent reasons to not procreate. I get it.

Also, some are not blessed with good enough health and/or a supportive partner in the child bearing years—two excellent reasons to remain childless.

BUT, I will say (and did say to my nephew and his fiancé), life is short, but it can also be looooong. You might live to be 90+ like my parents. That’s 50 years beyond 40! That’s a long damn time to not have children, and therefore grandchildren, and even great grandchildren.

My nephew’s response was that you can’t have “just one baby,” so therefore they aren’t going to have any kids. This rationale is misguided in my opinion. I think only children are wonderful. Many GenXers had just one child and they’re great. Three-person families are fantastic. My book group was comprised of all women with just one awesome daughter (until I changed my mind and had a second child later in life). I love my son beyond words, but if I’d never had him, we’d be a happy family regardless. No sibling rivalry or fights and more disposable income. We probably would’ve taken a friend on vacation with us, so my daughter would’ve always had someone to play with.

And let’s face it, adult siblings are a mixed bag. Some get along. Many do not. And things can get complicated when parents get old and die, if the siblings are not on the same page. In some ways, one supportive, well-adjusted adult child is better than two or more who do not get along.

So yes, you CAN have just one child. And if you choose to remain childless, that’s fine. We love you still. But please do not compare your dog (or cat or goldfish) to our kids and grandkids. It’s really not the same. Like…at all.

Sweet tooth

~ MaryG ~ 8 Comments

My daughter discovered this. Or maybe she saw it on TikTok.

Melt a dark chocolate bar.

I do it by breaking it up and microwaving for 30 second intervals at 50% power.

The secret is to quit microwaving while you still have lumps. Just stir the chocolate until it’s perfectly smooth. You don’t want to burn the chocolate in the microwave.

Prepare a small pan or large plate with a piece of wax paper. Dip sumo orange slices, banana, pineapple, strawberries or other types of fresh fruit in the chocolate and place them on the wax paper. Put the pan in the fridge until the chocolate hardens. It doesn’t take long.

Chocolate-covered fruit can be stored in Tupperware or ziplock bags in the fridge for a few days.

Fruit & dark chocolate is such a good combo.

Kids must leave

~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

My son has been out of the house for a year now. He moved into his first apartment with friends, this time last year. Because he did a year of “pre-first” grade, he was 19 years old when he graduated high school, 23 when he graduated college, and 24 when he moved out on his own. I thought that was late, but many of his friends were still living at home. (“Saving money” was the usual reason.)

I gave both of my kids a nudge out the door. Not that I wasn’t going to miss them, but I just feel like you can’t fully become an adult, until you live out in the world on your own. To be clear, I did not want my kids to move to a different state. I wanted them nearby, but independent (with roommates their own age).

Being in your twenties is fun, but it’s also hard. A lot gets decided then. Career choices, romantic partnerships, work-life balance, health/fitness habits, etc. Once I left my parents’ house at age 22, I never moved back in. If I had needed to, I could have, but I’m glad I never did. In addition to independence, I think it gives people motivation. You don’t really know what you value and want most in life until you’re paying all your own bills.

I recently helped my son get a primary care doctor and he actually went to see her for a check-up. His dentist’s office bugs him to get his teeth cleaned every six months, so that’s off my list. He filed his state & federal tax returns on his own (motivated entirely by a potential refund – which he got).

I think if they can possibly afford to live on their own, give them the boot (in a nice way).

My son hit the road to the big city on April 1, 2025. First Major Adulting Hurdle: renting, driving, and parking a UHaul in Boston. ✅

Stand-up

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

My family of origin has been upsetting me a lot since January. (I believe it’s unintentional, but still—not fun.) Thankfully, my own family are all doing well, except that my husband has been significantly challenged by his recoveries from two total knee replacements.

On top of that, I am personally upset by the shitshow in Washington. The absolute incompetence of the people running our country right now is downright frightening, as are the real impacts on all of our lives. My son inherited my mother’s gas guzzler SUV a few years ago when she upgraded and recently paid $75 to fill his tank. These prices are not sustainable for young people just starting out. And he and his roommates all sat down together to watch one of Trump’s incoherent updates on the war with Iran because they are worried about getting drafted.

Long way of saying, I could use a laugh. Maybe you could too.

Here are three stand-up comedy specials I’ve watched recently and truly enjoyed. I laughed out loud many, many times.

Marcello Hernández: American Boy (Netflix)

Julio Torres: Color Theories (HBO Max)

Ramy Youssef: In Love (HBO Max)

They happen to all be young men, but all grew up outside mainstream, straight, white American male culture. Their perspectives are unique and in many cases, hysterical. 🤣