A currently running TV commercial shows two teens arriving at their grandparents home.  Instead of hugs for the kids, Grandma and Grandpa shove a handful of tech gadgets with dangling wires  into the  hands of the teens and greet them with, ” We are so happy to see you. None of this works.” The commercial perpetuates the myth …more

Green! That is what I remember most about that day; the vastness of the empty space, the long trudge to the grave site, and the green lawn sprawling out in all directions. What a lonely place, I remember thinking, for my grandfather to be laid to rest. I was seventeen years old and had just …more

I first started going there when I was about four or five years old. Way early in the morning while it was still dark, my grandma would load up a cooler with Shasta pop and bologna sandwiches and put them in the trunk of the car. She would make sure there were plenty of blankets …more

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Are you ready to retire? Today’s financial advertisements promise that, if you make the right choices, you will be able to live a life of leisure. Leaving the drudgery of an eight to five job should be the promise of a better life—shouldn’t it? The truth is, this message is playing on our desires to …more

Growing up on the shore, we sometimes went to an inlet from the sea with an old bulkhead. As the tide went out, we searched for crabs clinging to the decaying wood. Back home in my parents’ kitchen, my younger brother and I played with the crabs on the floor as my mother boiled a …more

There are watershed moments in your life when you realize that time is moving way too fast. One of those moments came to me on a sunny December morning as I sat on a north bound plane and watched the city of Phoenix fall away from me. I was going home. Going home to close …more

I always thought I was a good mom. I attended every teacher/parent conference; endured freezing cold, blistering hot, and life-threatening thunderstorms just to watch soccer/baseball games; stayed up all hours of the night finishing last-minute (they said) homework projects; and did all other ups and downs a parent is supposed to do.  I adored my …more

Every year about this time, families all over the world get together to share the holidays. For many, it is a great time for memories and catching up, reconnecting with family members seeing the grandchildren as they grow, welcoming new people into the family and so on. Unfortunately there are thousands of other families who …more