An Olympic Event—Minus the Award Ceremony! The new school year is in full swing! Shortly before school started, I stopped by Target to grab a few things. As I turned into the parking lot, I realized almost every family with school-aged children in the city—one of the fastest growing in the nation—had decided to go […]
Category: Family Life/Caregivers
The Only Answer to 9/11 . . . and to Life
I had just hopped on the treadmill, my one-hour reprieve when Jon was little. Music flooded my ear buds as I picked up the pace. All was well. I glanced at the TV to see the morning news . . . typical drama. The screen was split. On one side was the news anchor, and […]
Why Being Crushed Is Essential to Creating a Beautiful Life
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Ever wish you could turn back the pages of time and do things differently? I felt this way the other day as my son Austin and I worked on a project. An old song1Waylon Jennings, “Old Church Hymns and Nursery Rhymes,” MetroLyrics, CBS Interactive Inc., http://www.metrolyrics.com/old-church-hymns-and-nursery-rhymes-lyrics-waylon-jennings.html, accessed Aug. 8, 2018. my dad and I love […]
Turning Disasters into Timeless Memories
They say there are two things we can be certain about in this life: death and taxes. Well, I don’t know who “they” are, but “they” left out a bunch of stuff . . . by a long shot. Last month we spent a weekend away celebrating my son Jon’s 21st birthday. Jon has numerous […]
Safety: Can I Count On You?
I first met Lawrence Daly back in 2010. Larry was working with a mutual friend of ours to investigate a sexual assault case. The victim was a child with disabilities. They were working out of an office next to mine, so I occasionally drifted over and asked questions. Okay, maybe it was more like a […]
Cool Games You Need to Try When Summer Is the Hottest
It’s only a couple weeks until school resumes, which—this far into summer—makes most parents jump for joy. When my kids were little, I don’t think they ever ran out of energy . . . E V E R! As summer approached, I would make little summer to-do notebooks. They were filled with all kinds of […]
Resting or Rushing: Why It’s a Life or Death Matter
It had only been 30 minutes, but I was already as fidgety and skittish as a wet, cold cat. Not long ago, my husband and I went on the Insight for Living Ministries 2018 Alaska Cruise Conference. That sounds lovely until you know I don’t travel well, and leaving my son Jon who has disabilities […]
When You Get Blindsided by “It”
The x-ray displaying the neck and skull on the computer screen was enormous. While waiting in the surgeon’s examination room, I studied the image of the contorted structure. The saying goes, “Someone always has it worse”—well, this someone had it worse: the neck curved in the wrong direction, and a small kink at the base […]
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Healing
Needed: Mercy and Grace from Those We Love
I often wonder what it would be like to get through one day without a jolt of terror running through my veins. One day without experiencing an off-the-chart startled response would be heavenly. A soft knock on my office door or my husband’s gentle kiss to wake me in the morning can cause me to […]
Tools for Those in Need of Mental Health Support
An Interview with Joe Padilla
Few things are more acutely examined than the human body. Of all its organs, the brain is the most complex. No other organ controls human functioning like the brain. However, what makes the brain totally unique is its connection to our overall well-being. The brain affects how we function physically, emotionally, relationally, personally, and spiritually. […]
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How to Find the Upside When Life Lets You Down
It can take immense work and strength to find anything remotely positive in an awful situation. Years ago, my dad and brothers planned a wild adventure: a hunting trip in one of the most inaccessible parts of Alaska . . . The Downside While my idea of bonding is shopping for fabulous shoes or choosing […]
“The Dog Ate My Homework” and Other Dumb Excuses We Need to Dump NOW
After three years of marriage, my daughter and son-in-law found a little “fixer-upper” and asked me to help them fix it up. They know I’m all about DIY stuff, especially when I see the miraculous things people do when they flip houses on TV. Those hour-long, “trash-to-treasure” shows appeal to my creative side. I couldn’t […]