You just had the MOST. AMAZING. EXPERIENCE. EVER. And you just can’t wait to tell your friends and family about it, because you know they will want to join you next time, once they hear how AWESOME it was. As you enthusiastically explain, they look at you as though you are crazy, that there can’t […]
When there’s a fork in the road, eat croissants
July 9, 2012 By 50 Comments
Don’t you just delight in the sweet, sweet taste of summer family vacations, where joy and laughter are generously slathered over every moment of the day and sprinkled with children playing happily together, their delightful voices adding perfectly delectable notes to each and every deeply satisfying day? What’s that? Are you saying that […]
3 Simple changes to grow a happier family
June 25, 2012 By 36 Comments
You carefully prepare the soil and plant two identical gardens. In the first, the little seedlings are nurtured, fertilized, mulched and weeded with an abundance of love, patience and attention. The other plot gets nothing from you except for an occasional condemnation: “Why can’t you grow up big and strong like your sibling?” Oh, fine. […]
10 Lessons in happiness from a yard sale
June 18, 2012 By 39 Comments
Have you ever thought that your idea of happiness would be to spend a week’s vacation preparing for and holding a yard sale? That you would be just beside yourself with delight at digging through boxes that hold years of foolish purchases, projects you were going to do, and clothes you bought and never wore? […]
When little is big
June 11, 2012 By 22 Comments
It’s a conundrum, really. How can something little actually be bigger than it initially appears? Well, consider this: Have you ever helped a friend with something simple, perhaps picking up something at the grocery store, and they gushed with appreciation? Have you ever given a small gift that the recipient treasured more than it’s actual […]
Finding gratitude amidst the storm
June 4, 2012 By 43 Comments
Gratitude can be a funny thing. We let it roll glibly off our tongues when life is good: I am so very grateful for this brand new car, my beautiful home, the college graduation/wedding celebration/baby shower with the abundance of amazing gifts. Those are the easy ones because we are happy at our good […]
In grateful remembrance
May 28, 2012 By 1 Comment
June 6, 1944, D-Day, marked the day our military landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, and Operation Overlord began. Thousands of our service persons died in that initial assault and over the course of World War II as we battled against evil. That willingness to serve to the death is what Memorial Day is […]
If I’m not ok, will you offer me your loaves and fish?
May 14, 2012 By 18 Comments
Polite society demands that when we run into a friend, we ask how they are doing. Polite society then requires our friend to respond with a short and sweet, and often untrue, answer. What good does that do any of us? If we are not willing to open up and admit our infallibility to say […]
Big gift in a tiny package
March 30, 2012 By 6 Comments
I look back over the rocky chasms and green fields of the past almost 30 years, and zoom in on those beginning months that were shaping me to be a parent. Yes, we were excited to be having our first, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, well, I didn’t like being pregnant. It wasn’t magical […]
Five Minute Friday-Grit
February 24, 2012 By 10 Comments
Ahh, the feel of the warm sand at the beach as you curl your toes and gather up its gritty wonderfulness. The joy of watching your little one toddle around with glee, her round bottom plopping down as she bends to discover another treasure, her chubby fingers grabbing a small handful of the seashore and […]
