“Look up there,” I whispered to Luna, my four-year-old grandniece. We were exploring the backyard while the adults were visiting inside. “You can show me Roo’s (Luna’s great-grandmother) patio and yard,” I said as I leaned down, grasping her fingers in mine. So Luna took me on a tour, and I invited her to find …
Why is it so difficult to remember the good stuff while we let all the negativity hang around like tiny grease spots on a tie? The more attention we pay them, the bigger they seem to grow. My wife, Lori, and I write in our thankful journals almost every morning. I was giving her a …
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I don’t know who said it first: St. Francis Xavier, St. Ignatius Loyola, or Aristotle. All three are credited with it. When I first read it, I questioned its truth, especially when I learned that among the three, only one had a child. (Hint: It wasn’t one of the saints.) So, excusing the gendered language, here it is: “Give me a child …
“Amazing, just amazing,” I observed repeatedly with each photo of the northern lights. We were waiting for the children to begin their ballet routines. The parents sitting next to us at our granddaughter’s dance recital showed us their pictures of the northern lights on their cell phones. Lori and I oohed and ahhed at the various purple, …
The little things often derail us, preventing us from reaching our desired destination. In his book, A Walk Across America, Peter Jenkins tells the story of his pedestrian journey across the continent. After he had completed it, someone asked if any of the obstacles prompted him to consider quitting. Was it the wind in his face, the …