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GOOD ADVICE FROM ‘THE EXPERTS’

Good advice comes just in time, right when you need it. First you’ve got a problem that stumps you, then you discover the solution. You read about it online or overheard a conversation in line. And you acted on that good advice that came from . . . ?

TIME OUT FOR YOU, YOU, AND YOU

The first ‘time out’ I ever heard came during a grade school basketball game. Coach: Do you know who you’re supposed to be guarding? Me: No. Coach: Guard the other team, not ours. Me: Oh. Okay.

NURTURING YEARS, OR CHECKING OUT

Nurturing years change over time. From the duties of planting and raising nasturtiums in third grade, to raising kids in your thirties, the stakes rise. Then everyone grows up and no longer need nurturing? No, that’s not how it works.

STORY TIME FOR AN INVITING TREE AND BABY

Story time begins a long, long, time ago when a little girl picked up an acorn, but not just any acorn. This one had a special shine so she buried it in a special place. The oak tree from the special acorn grew faster than the other acorns the little girl planted. As the years […]

CURIOUS CAT: REPORTS OF ITS DEMISE GREATLY EXAGGERATED

A curious cat looking for the right answers starts a journey. But where does it really begin? If it starts with reading, which books give the best answers? Young parents know this drill: Ask around at the library.

NATIONAL SIBLINGS DAY FORGETS THE ONLY CHILD

Does National Siblings Day mean anything to an only child? I’ve heard talk from only children, about how they long for a brother or sister, how much they miss family when they see others together. If you have brothers and sisters, and hear an adult only child whine about their aloneness, what is your response? […]

FATHER’S DAY REMINDER: WHO’S YOUR DADDY?

  When my kids were young we played a game of ‘Who’s Your Daddy’ one Father’s Day.   It started and ended with one question: “Who would you rather have as a dad than me?”   I had their answers all planned out. Of course they’d favor me?   Instead of a simple “You” as […]

THREE AGING MEN, AGING BODIES. LADIES’ MEN?

    No one likes admitting it, especially aging men.   Who are the top aging men on the scene? Even though he’s newly married and expecting a baby, George Clooney must be driving that bus. He’s aging? You’d never know. But who ever thought Paul Newman would get old? Or Robert Redford? Instead of […]

7 BILLION AND COUNTING? THAT’S A LOT OF BIRTH UNCONTROL

Facing birth uncontrol with “Tell me what to do?” For starters, don’t do THAT!   Personal uniqueness and individuality? Check. Fully armed with human rights? Check. Warm and dry and fed? Check. Ready to listen to the other 6,999,999,999 scream out to be like you? Sorry, man, you’re breaking up. You wanna repeat that? ‘Cause […]

BUSY HANDS TELL THIS STORY

Hers were busy hands. She was a woman who did more than she took credit for, gave all she had, then made more. Joan needed busy hands. A baker’s daughter, she learned lessons early; how to mix and cook and clean up afterwards was in her DNA. Memories shot through a hospital room in a […]