My husband and I bought the matching brown velvety chairs the year after we married. They’ve been with us for forty-six years. The fabrics are worn, and the mechanisms, replaced twice, are grinding again, but, like dear friends, we can’t…
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to discuss the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal. I’ve done this since April. Although fancy journals are available, I didn’t invest in one. I simply use a small spiral notebook to jot down five…
While hiking along the Wisconsin River, I see raccoon tracks. They’re distinctive because they’re shaped like human hands. I’m near the same ridge where, earlier in the spring, I heard the frantic cries of a baby raccoon in distress. I…
I’m happily whipping about, my arms full of sheets, when I turn the tight corner into the laundry room. Crash! My mood plummets. I grumble as I dump the sheets in the washer, grab the waste basket, and drop down…
I asked Veteran Marine combat engineer Joseph White Eagle, who enlisted in 1988 and served in Desert Storm and Desert Shield, to share stories about his military experience that would make us laugh, cry, and reflect. He generously did that…
I start the pork chops browning in a skillet. The weather has changed and with the onset of autumn and the stressful presidential campaign, I’m wanting comfort foods. As I turn the pork chops over so they brown on the…
I’m hiking into the woods near my home in the Dells at night, feeling eyes on me. My mission is to see if I can get the resident barred owl to call back to me, an annual event that, to…
The Cheery Sunflower “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what sunflowers do.”—Helen Keller. I’ve always loved sunflowers. They remind me to look on the bright side and they bring a smile to my…
I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. A famous columnist, blogger, speaker, podcaster, playwright, consultant, teacher, multiple Moth StorySLAM winner, and the internationally bestselling author of nine books, including Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life…
I’m retrieving balls at the Baraboo High School tennis courts before my partner and I begin a second set of doubles. Just outside the fence, three young girls sit cross-legged on the cement. Ah, the wonder of being that young…