The waterfalls.

The jungle air.

The rivers winding through the trees.

Fresh fruit in the morning.Long conversations at night. Laughing until our stomachs hurt. Watching monkeys swing through the trees while the ocean breeze moved through the palms.

There was something about Costa Rica that felt different from anywhere I’ve ever experienced.

Not just beautiful.

Alive.

I recently traveled there with my daughter, and somewhere between swimming beneath waterfalls, floating through jungle rivers, visiting animal sanctuaries, hiking through breathtaking landscapes, and sharing healthy meals together…

something inside both of us softened.

Life slowed down.

We became more present.More connected. More grateful.More joyful.

And honestly…

I didn’t realize how much I needed that.

One of the things you hear constantly in Costa Rica is the phrase:

Pura Vida.

At first it sounds like a simple saying.

But after spending time there, I realized it is much more than that.

It is a way of l...

I have just returned from a place where the air feels like a physical embrace. Standing on the edge of a cloud forest with my daughter, watching the mist dance between ancient ferns, I realized that some places on Earth don't just host life—they celebrate it.

This was no ordinary vacation. It was a pilgrimage. My daughter and I were celebrating a milestone that, three years ago, felt like a distant, flickering hope.

 We have both navigated the dark tunnels of life-threatening health challenges recently. We fought through the fear, the treatments, and the exhaustion, emerging on the other side with a fierce, renewed gratitude for the simple act of breathing.

As we look toward the horizon of new decades—

her approaching 60 and me approaching 80—we knew we needed a setting that matched the magnitude of our gratitude. 

We needed a place that understood resilience. We found it in Costa Rica. This was our first solo trip together since my grandchildren (now 27, 24, and 22!) were born. A...