Iris Krasnow

Mar 28, 2024 | capitalgazette.com | Iris Krasnow

With the cherry blossoms erupting in shell-pink splendor, we usher in spring, a season of hope and renewal. As Easter melds into the Passover holiday, we celebrate spiritual rebirth and a surge of rising hope. This, while we are poignantly aware of the fleeting beauty of blossoms, and how time and the seasons of our lives spin by in a finger-snap. Savoring the flowers, thickening trees and new life outside our kitchen windows, we are also painfully aware of the wars raging in countries far away.

Feb 16, 2024 | capitalgazette.com | Iris Krasnow

As we settle into a post-Valentine’s Day psyche, the holiday originally designed to honor courtly romance in the Middle Ages, I am thinking about this: What is love anyways? It certainly isn’t the commercialism that pumped nearly $26 billion into the U.S. economy last V-Day. I love getting a good piece of jewelry or a dozen red roses as much as any short-term girlfriend or long-term wife. But give me a box of Godivas and I definitely feel courted —  and adored.

Dec 31, 2023 | capitalgazette.com | Iris Krasnow

Teresa Hui, wearing 2024 glasses, poses in front of a sign with the 2024 numerals after an illumination ceremony in Times Square on Dec. 20 in New York City. (David Dee/Getty Images)Growing up, I was given some great parental advice, and most of it came when I was disappointed or sad. From my mother, “Things could always be worse.” From my father, “What was, was. Move onward!”Others offered good advice.

Dec 27, 2023 | aarpethel.com | Iris Krasnow

You love to dance and haven't danced since your son's wedding — 15 years ago. Instead of exercising you have developed an addiction to Pringles, which now come in seductive flavors like Pizza Crisp. Your spouse travels constantly, and your kids live across the country. You are uninspired and blasé and unhappy. Can we train our minds to be happy like we can train a dog to sit on command? Not so easily.

Dec 7, 2023 | capitalgazette.com | Iris Krasnow

The buildup to Christmas is breathless and exhilarating, as our neighborhoods are ablaze with lights and blown-up reindeers prancing across lawns. Then why do so many of us feel wistful, and even blue, as Hanukkah is upon us and Christmas comes next? For me, it is the nostalgia of the season. Six decades later, I remember running to my Patty Play Pal, the giant doll I requested when I sat on Santa’s lap. She was waiting for me by the fireplace when I was 7, as my beaming parents stood nearby.