The holidays can be a tricky time for parents. On top of the pressure to give my kids the childhood memories of pine-scented trees and stocking-clad mantels (never mind the fact that we don’t have a fireplace mantel), there’s the struggle to fight the bursting-at- the-seams excess of the holidays…
I heard the news about Orlando in bits and pieces yesterday morning. A headline on Facebook. A talking head on the television. A conversation at brunch. But I didn’t understand. Maybe it was a self-protection mechanism. I was in DC for a conference — flying home that afternoon –…
The last thing I need is another holiday with its overinflated expectations and endless chores. So when Jackson suggested a new family holiday – that would be celebrated monthly – I was a bit skeptical and apprehensive. Like most holidays, Giving Day (as our new holiday is called) has not…
“If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not deter or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” ~ William Penn **************************** A version of this post was originally written and…
“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’” — Kurt Vonnegut Years ago I used to work in a big office building in downtown Chicago. Most weekday mornings, I…
I am at a loss for words. And as a writer, the inability to find words can be a problem. Yet, here I am, in front of my computer, requisite candle flickering beside me, and I can’t come up with the right word to describe the way that I am…