All of us encounter adversity at some point in our lives. It may come in the form of a person, an adversary, but often adversity is a difficult circumstance. We’re rarely patient with adversity. In fact, the more common response is anger, a desire for revenge, or a woe-is-me attitude, replete with complaining. So how […]

Many years ago, a man who worked for my father used the term “disremember.” He’d apologize when he failed to do something by saying, “I disremembered to do that.” While this terminology brings a chuckle and stretches the bounds of made-up words, it’s actually not a bad idea to stop ruminating on certain memories and […]

Following the inauguration, a segment of the population made their displeasure known, yet again, by marching, demonstrating, and ranting, ad infinitum, on social media. While they are totally within their rights to voice their opinions, I’m beyond ready to just get on with life. I’m tired of verbal fingers wagged in my face, being called […]

Recently, I attended a baby shower for my daughter-in-law. It was a fun event with good food, lots of love and laughter, and plenty of presents  to stock the nursery. As I helped her load her car, I thought of all the time and preparation that went into the shower, but also the preparation involved […]

The new year is like a clean slate, a blank computer screen, an empty journal page yet to be filled. For some, a new year is exciting and refreshing, full of potential and possibilities, but others view it with dread. What holds us back, makes us fear, and prevents us from moving forward with joy […]

For some, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day involves travel, visiting, and busyness. For others, it’s a time to rest and recover from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Either way, the week after Christmas flies by and the new year rapidly arrives. How do you view the coming year? Do […]

Joy to the world. Peace on earth, goodwill toward man. Be of good cheer. These phrases are often mentioned in conjunction with Christmas, but do we actually experience any of these during December? I’ll confess, some years, I struggle to experience joy because the Christmas season feels like more added to the already burgeoning to-do […]

One of my fondest memories of Christmas is secret gift missions with my father, adventures that we referred to as “elfing around.” I remember the year my dad decided to have a local craftsman make a grandfather clock for Mama. Once the clock was finished, the challenge became how to get it home and keep […]

Over the last five months, our house has been a construction zone. We lived through the demo and reconstruction or several major areas and experienced unforeseen circumstances, delays, miscommunications, reassessments, errors, and do-overs.  But we’ve also seen the work of skilled craftsmen who care about quality and pleasing the customer. Now, we are enjoying the […]