Can you imagine showing up for a family celebration dinner, sweaty, dirty, and stinking? It’s just not what’s done, right? No matter how much I loved him, I would not find it a very appetizing meal if I had to… Continue reading

Parenting teens is seldom fun, almost never easy, is it?  Bev and I aimed for a balance between love and respect.  We tried to affirm a sincere ‘try’ even if it failed, but also let our teens live with the… Continue reading

On my front door is a little device into which I enter a code to unlock the door. My family and a few of my friends know the code. It is implied that they are welcome to just ‘’walk in”… Continue reading

Staying connected!  It is one of the things that I most appreciate about the technology that fills my life. My phone signals the arrival of text messages dozens of times each day; everything from the mundane, “Won’t be home ‘til… Continue reading

Long ago, when in college, I had friends who showed up in class who obviously had not slept much the night before.  They were up into the small hours of morning ‘cramming,’ trying to absorb weeks of material in preparation… Continue reading

Mention death and watch the reactions – fear, uneasiness, discomfort, even shock. Acknowledging that death is inevitable is the last unmentionable, it seems. American Baby Boomers (yes, my generation) are living longer due to medical intervention.  The percentage of Americans… Continue reading

Robin Leach, best known for a program on TV that aired in the 1980’s, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, died last week. He entertained by giving people a look at celebrities and their wealth, his signature line being about… Continue reading

Tuesday was not a grand day at my house.  There were the petty irritations– a broken appliance, a missed appointment. Then there was a phone call that brought the news that a person I care for had taken yet another… Continue reading

There are days when I wonder if I am ‘good enough’ to even call myself a Christian. I get fearful and I plot to run away to some retreat. Sometimes I get short-tempered and regrettable angry words out-run my self-control.… Continue reading

Life kicks into gear for a new week. Millions are headed back into classrooms at start of a new school year. In the middle of it all, we can feel small, insignificant.  Senator John McCain, who died on Saturday, was… Continue reading