Relationships

Baking Day during the holidays is one of my family’s favorite traditions. And traditions are soooo crucial for strengthening family bonds and creating lasting memories.

As I reflect on my 70th birthday, my heart is overflowing with gratitude for all the experiences, joys, blessings, and challenges that have shaped me.

I believe most of us are good people. Knuckleheads? For sure, in abundance. However, most of us — “the better angels of our nature,” in Abraham Lincoln’s words — incline society toward cooperation, peace and kindness.

You know the news. Charging wind, water and mud from Tropical Storm Helene devastated western North Carolina and left communities in ruins. Help arrived. Big time. But help is still needed.

There is no wisdom save in truth. Truth is everlasting, but our ideas about truth are changeable. The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it, but that is often not the path followed.

Doing your best, despite roadblocks, is not just about personal achievement; it’s a transformative act that can ripple outwards, inspiring change and engendering progress. Your actions, no matter how small, have the power to shape the world around you.

Lately, I’ve found myself reflecting on our kids. I suppose that’s a natural place for the mind to go, especially when advancing in years.

With the significant calendar flip freshly behind us, I thought not so much about resolutions but instead about what one simple thing we might embrace to help us get on solid footing and make our collective 2024 be all it can be. Looking up.

A 50-year high school reunion is a magical event for a zillion reasons.

The value of good neighbors can’t be overstated. They convey the calmness that comes with someone always having your back who also makes your life just a little bit richer.

Does the secret of a happy marriage remain a secret? Hardly. A Happy Wife certainly helps, but a harmonious relationship is the responsibility of both partners.