My twenty-four-year-old daughter recently moved from our home in Virginia to Los Angeles, California. During the year Alex lived with us after her college graduation, we often talked about the logistics of her planned move to the west coast. How would she…
Purposeful Kindness
“I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” ~Gandalf (J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit) I went into marriage with a chip on my shoulder…
The Gifts of Middle Age
This time of year, I’m always reminded how much I really, really dislike Easter grass. If you are the Easter basket maker or cleaner-upper in your house, you are familiar with the mess. Whether you purchase the plastic grass or…
Choosing Grace
“Grace always shocks. Grace always stuns. Grace is always what we need. It’s what everyone groping around lost in the dark has to know: turn toward grace and you turn on all the lights.” ~Ann Voskamp She was waiting for…
Growing Up Versus Being a Grown-Up
When I was in my forties, I asked my mom, who was in her sixties, “Mom, at what age did you finally feel like a real grown up?” “I’ll let you know,” she said. “It hasn’t happened yet.” I thought…
Conversations That Matter
“Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.” ~Margaret Wheatley We looked around the room, eyeing each other nervously, the twenty of us strangers at a weekend training course. Some of us attempted to make awkward conversation with the people on…
