When my children sat in a puddle of tears or pouted over the unfairness of cleaning a mess, I gave them my go-to response: “Where’s your happy face?” I didn’t dismiss their frustration or sadness because I wasn’t compassionate, although they might have disagreed. But because so much [...]
I have a soft spot for birthdays. That day you enter the world, new, soft, and loved. You often hear, “Live each day as if it was your last.” Suleika Jaouad, author, musician, and artist, believes that is terrible advice. As she faced overcoming, more than once, and [...]
My grandma lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, and hot summers in South Texas. Not once did I hear her complain or whine about her endless daily chores of milking cows, tending chickens, or baking bread. I watched Grandma do all those things and more, but [...]
The light blue Princess phone waits on the repainted bedside table surrounded by paperback novels, scraps of poems, and the peacock blue ballpoint pen. The remnants of the distant life of a quiet, teenage girl. The phone speaks . . . a ring so quiet you might not [...]
I had an imaginary conversation with a five-year-old: Me: “What are your hobbies?” Child: “Hm?” Me: “Well, what do you do when you’re not at school?” Child: “Play! But I play at school, too.” Have you ever asked a child to list their hobbies? Probably not. Adults usually [...]
Smells. What do they conjure, and why do they trigger a moment in time? My nose perked up reading an article by Margaret Talbot, “Remembrances of Scents Past.” She wrote about a new exhibit at the British Library in London allowing visitors to experience the scents of thirteenth-century [...]
I started the day with a simple task. Call the bank. All I wanted to do—talk to a real, live, breathing, speaking human. I did not want to read the FAQ or talk to Alfred, the non-entity chatbot who could only respond to questions in the FAQ. My [...]
On May 22, “Inspiring Your Best” weekly post turned five years old. I began sharing words of joy, kindness, happiness, and hope during the dark days of the COVID pandemic. The world had enough bad news, and I wanted to counter the morose cycle with lighter and more [...]
I fumed after reading my doctor’s note following my annual wellness visit. “Lose weight.” His advice? Eat more protein. Been there. I’ve passed through the hallowed halls of every diet plan available. My shelves are full of books, cookbooks, gluten-free, low-calorie, no fat, no sugar, no carbs. No. No. [...]
Three bodies wiggled in close. “One more, please, mommy, read one more!” The educator in me delighted in the interest my children took in the picture books we read every night—some every night. They each had a favorite. Tired from a long day, I enjoyed these quiet moments, but [...]
