There’s a meme that I keep coming across that says that by the time your children turn 18 years old, you will have spent 90% of the time you will ever spend with them. I saw the meme again on social media for what felt like the millionth time a few weeks ago, right after... Continue Reading →
Run, hide or fight
The consultant looked like he had done this before. A few years ago, the company where I worked brought in an expert on active shooter preparedness to talk about how best to respond to workplace violence. The guy had bulging biceps, had spent some time in the special forces, and experience as a criminal profiler.... Continue Reading →
A lovable pup
I’ve written about Nittany, our 15-year-old Lhasa Apsa – Bichon Frise, a ton over the past several years. I most recently wrote in Every dog has its day about how she's getting older and how I worry about her. She's become my favorite topic. I love writing about her crazy tricks and "who-me?" attitude, but... Continue Reading →
Courage all around us
We see acts of courage — strength in the face of fear, pain or grief — in our lives all the time. I read this weekend about Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian journalist and human rights activist, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her fight against the systematic discrimination and oppression of... Continue Reading →
What my life might have looked like
When I was a teenager in 1985, the film Witness, starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, hit movie theaters. In the movie, Samuel, a young Amish boy (Lukas Haas) with his mother Rachel (McGillis) is the sole witness to a gruesome murder at a Philadelphia train station. Police detective John Book (Ford) gets assigned to... Continue Reading →
Saying the hell to conformity
I’ve never met Joon Park, a chaplain at Tampa General Hospital, but I feel like I know him well. Park, 41, was featured recently in a CNN article and has counseled thousands of dying patients and their families. In the article, Park explained that most of the regrets he sees from patients on Death's Door come... Continue Reading →
Looking for the right words of encouragement
My son texted us that he had a tough week. He had four exams all in the same week and was worried how he had done. I searched for the right words. I wanted to encourage him. I wanted to let him know that we were proud of him and to cheer him up. Of... Continue Reading →
Monkeying around!
I'm a big fan of the "story behind the story." I'm sure you know what I mean. For example, more than 600 million copies of the Harry Potter books have sold worldwide; more than 180 million copies have sold in the U.S. alone. It's common knowledge now, but I loved learning that the J.K. Rowling's... Continue Reading →
A wall of silence
I put on my best poker face and forced myself to look straight ahead. I was on camera during the meeting and willed myself to keep my mouth shut. The senior executive on the other end of the video conference looked back and waited a long time before he saw that I wasn't going to... Continue Reading →

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