Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/664168
25 TheSouthShoreMagazine.com by Erica Ford Sweeney ..Ever! work and perseverance have failed you, a meaningless platitude scripted across a man gazing out to sea will not. Failure is just another word for success that hasn't happened yet because you refused to give up and sweated the small stuff and sweat is just your fat crying (black and white photo of a runner's torso). So remember: life is a journey - not a race - and this too shall pass and, if it wasn't meant to be, it is what it is (lone wildflower). 5. Nostalgic junk is readily available No longer relegated to flea markets, you can easily find antiquated items that remind you of the good old days before you made all of those poor choices. The internet preys on this wistfulness and offers an unlimited array of old-school commodities. In minutes, you can buy Cabbage Patch Kids, Star Wars figures and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Feel young again by wearing fake vintage cereal t-shirts and playing Pong! Restoration Hardware is even selling Oscar the Grouch's trash can. It's not really his trash can; it's the "West Village Corrugated Can." A rusty, beat up 70's garbage receptacle that looks like it's lined with Hepatitis C. For 150 bucks, you can show off your ironic sense of humor and disposable wealth to your friends (see item 2, above). Next, they will be selling an inverted-yurt shaped wad of leaves, pigeon poop and broom straws resembling Big Bird's nest. Yours for only $380! With so many cyber-outlets for your middle-age angst, you can give Father Time the beating he deserves. And yes, there's a meme for that as well. 4 5 Erica Ford originally started her blog Mommy Klatch in order to cope with trading her life as a Boston lawyer for life as a stay-at-home mom in rural California. Her book Scotch Tape is Cheaper than Botox is a collection of articles covering everything from Industrial Revolution baby names, to yoga pant underwear etiquette, to how to decorate with antelope heads. Erica's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post, the New York Times, Blogher.com, The South Shore Magazine, and several diaries with kittens on them. Erica writes for Happify.com and Bundoo.com, and is the co-host of South Shore Live! on Boston radio WATD. She returned to Boston because she missed the nautical decor. Erica completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and received her law degree from Boston College. The highlight of Erica's life besides her three children was when she read her writing onstage with Oprah Winfrey at the Life You Want Conference in 2014.