One simple hop can be the next best step
The scratching sound overhead startled me. I could only think that the animal scampering on the roof was trying to gain access to attic space in our house. It was not something I wanted to deal with today – or any day, for that matter. I scanned the ceiling above me as the odd scratching sound continued, and a moment later a bird gazed through the skylight window. Its head darted about as it hopped, its golden beak wagging with a sense of urgency. I sensed a frantic look in its dark eyes, as if it did not know why it came to be on the roof or how to get back to the ground. It was a silly...
Read MoreThe truth about hugs
It had been six weeks, four days, three hours and thirty-odd minutes since I had last hugged my second born. I clung to the memory of that rather fleeting moment in the courtyard just outside her Boston dorm, knowing it would be the longest I had ever gone without being able to hug her at will. Excuses for delaying my departure had run out; her father and brother had said their goodbyes and left hours before. Now, she had a roommate to befriend, people to meet, places to explore. I had a three-plus hour drive back home to my son and husband, with whom I would navigate a new reality of two...
Read MoreWhy I choose kindness
The votes have been counted, the victor declared. The election is over. Some mourn, some celebrate. Yet as with any competition, how we behave in the aftermath matters. It’s time to stop with the hatred. It’s time to stop with the divisive language. We will be nothing as a country if we won’t try to find a way to come together to move forward. Maybe that’s being simplistic, maybe it’s viewing this through rose-colored glasses. But please, our children are still watching, and they see how we treat each other in victory and in defeat. We are all role models for the voters of the...
Read MoreGrateful for the scent of laughter
My son rounded the corner into the laundry room, an impish look on his face. “Mom, does it kind of smell like up-dog in the house?” A flurry of thoughts ran through my brain as I paired socks from the latest clean load, and I asked a seemingly logical question: “What’s up-dog?” “Not much, what’s up with you,” the 11-year-old replied, visibly pleased I had so easily fallen for his joke. I laughed out loud, and it felt good. Today, I am grateful for my son’s sense of humor.
Read MoreWhat Mom is really saying
“It’s supposed to get to 50 degrees today,” my daughter said as she grabbed her backpack before heading out the door to school. It has been an unusually tame winter, but 50 degrees was almost inconceivable for February in upstate New York. I noticed she was wearing a short-sleeve shirt under her jacket, and questioned her in a way that was interpreted as disapproval. “Mom, I sometimes wear short sleeves even if it’s freezing,” said the 17-year-old as she pulled on shoes, her tone conveying slight annoyance. I nodded. That was true, and as she kissed me goodbye and headed to the garage, I...
Read MoreGratitude = Happiness
Check out the New York Times piece, “Choose to Be Grateful. It Will Make You Happier” by New York Times Contributing Op-Ed Writer Arthur C. Brooks writes. Brooks writes: Be honest: When was the last time you were grateful for the spots on a trout? More seriously, think of the small, useless things you experience — the smell of fall in the air, the fragment of a song that reminds you of when you were a kid. Give thanks.
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