A funny thing happened on the way to writing this column. With my daughter graduating high school next month, I started writing something practical to graduates on how to navigate their next steps, something about leading with character. Then, the latest addition to our family—our Terrier mutt-of-a-dog named Beaux—started a brawl with our more docile dog Atticus … [Read more...]
The Joys of Home Building
Tell people you are planning to build a house, and you’ll get all kinds of reactions. Some say, “Making 17,000 decisions sounds daunting.” Others say, “Picking everything out yourself will be so much fun.” Still others say, “Your marriage might not survive it.” With dreams of a bigger house on a lot we didn’t want to leave, that’s just what my husband, Jeff, and I set … [Read more...]
The Hope of Easter
There seems to be a sense of hopelessness pervading our country today. I have read a great deal about the disturbing rise of deaths of despair (drug overdoses and suicide) among our younger generation. In a New York Times article, there was a discussion about the escalating suicide rate, and Robert Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard, put his finger on what appears … [Read more...]
Let the Battle Begin
Our daffodils are not only up and blooming, they are about to wilt back into the soil. I don’t recall them showing their sunny yellow faces this early in the past, but my memory is not what it once was. I’m not even sure when “once was,” was. I’ll attribute both the early arrival and my lack of memory to climate change.Seeing them reminds me each and every year that the … [Read more...]
My Gift From Summer Camp
I admit it. Now that my older kids are starting to leave my home, I sometimes hold on to my younger ones too tightly. In fact, when I receive information about registering them for summer camps, part of me wants to ignore it all and just move through the summer beside them like a family wolf pack. Then I remember a gift I received in the summer of … [Read more...]