There is no unhappiness like the misery of sighting land (and work) again after a cheerful, careless voyage.—Mark Twain When engineer Robert Fulton changed the world with his invention of the commerci ...

I have always felt dads underestimate their importance in kid’s lives. I grew up in the Midwest, in a very traditional, upper-middle-class family.  My dad was the breadwinner and my mom stayed at home ...

Sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor I thought to myself, “Why does it take a crisis for me to pick up the phone and make an appointment?”  This is common practice among the moms I know, I ...

Too often, especially over the past decade, we have seen or heard about young people turning to violence, bullying, and self-harm behavior. According to the website stopbullying.gov, the following per ...

It was February of 1960 when the phone call that would change the American beauty industry for decades was answered at Margaret Vinci Coiffures salon. Modern Beauty Shop magazine asked to speak to own ...

It was the 1 a.m. phone call that nobody wants. Mama cell. From a dead sleep to my greeting of what’s wrong, the reason for the call was the most bizarre thing we could have ever imagined. My sister’s ...

Tom’s dad recently passed away.  Skip was in his early eighties, he’d been ill for awhile, however I don’t know if anyone can really prepare for a parent’s death. My in-laws live in Wisconsin; it just ...

In a day and age when grandiose kids-themed birthday parties and gender reveals are now bordering on P.T. Barnum level, the overlooked online birthday greeting seems to be diminishing in moxie for bei ...

It has been a year since I first introduced you to the book The Turquoise Table by Austin author Kristin Schell.  In a nutshell, this book is the story of a woman who had a desire to slow down, connec ...

On October 16, 2005 Vice Admiral Thad Allen entered the door of Mother’s Restaurant in New Orleans’ central business district and walked through the cafeteria-style line without a single customer in f ...

I think most of us would agree when we are in the midst of raising kids that life can get pretty busy and tiring.  Whether we are in the phase of beginning our family and sleep deprivation taxes us, o ...

When I punched in the code, the double French doors began to open. There was my mother waiting for me. “Where is she?” I said. “She’s on the porch.” Before too long, my 90-year-old grandmother appeare ...

Traditionally, this is the time of year when we ask ourselves, “What did I accomplish?” Which is often closely followed by, “What are my goals for the coming year?”  Am I the only one who thinks we sh ...

The Texas State Fair has something for everyone.  So as not to get burn out, we only attend about every three years and it’s like all things are all new again.  There’s no shortage of some fresh takes ...

I have to be honest, over the past several years the holiday season has become less exciting.  When our kids were little I very much enjoyed the process of getting various toy catalogs in the mail (us ...

I have always had a hard time making friends, I don’t know if it’s because I consider myself to be an introvert who doesn’t mind being alone, or if it’s because I am shy, or maybe it’s because I don’t ...

It’s been said the lesson shows up over and over again unless we learn it.  It’s also been said that our children are our greatest teachers.  I believe these statements are true because I’ve experienc ...

Bless me Father for I have sinned, my last confession was two weeks ago. These are my sins…. A thick French accent responds to me in a voice capable of being audible to himself as well as everyone els ...