It quickly became apparent to me last week that I was not going to get a post of any type published. However, I have one for you today! As many of you know, I live in the Houston metro area. Last week we—and pretty much all of Texas—experienced a brutal winter storm. I grew up in Colorado, so I know that those of you in the north have … [Read more...] about Be Prepared: Thoughts On and Lessons From the 2021 Texas Freeze
Reflecting on Life
Printable Weekly To-Do List
For all of my adult life I’ve used printed planners to keep track of appointments and schedule important tasks. I’ve kept daily to-do lists in these planners, and this has been essential to my productivity. Last year I realized that this approach was no longer working for me. I’m almost always accompanied by my three young kids, so carrying my … [Read more...] about Printable Weekly To-Do List
2020 Year in Review
In some respects, this post should be easy to write. This is because it feels like, due to COVID-19, we didn’t do a whole lot this year. At the same time, we did do a whole lot this year. Even though we’ve spent a lot of time at home and have faithfully adhered to physical distancing guidelines, it has still been an eventful year. Here … [Read more...] about 2020 Year in Review
An Open Thank-You Letter to Grocery Store Employees
There are so many individuals to whom I owe a debt of gratitude because of their sacrifice and hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic. I could go on and on thanking essential workers including healthcare workers, truck drivers, first responders, farmers, sanitation workers, and public health professionals, but today I am going to focus on … [Read more...] about An Open Thank-You Letter to Grocery Store Employees
How to Have a Positive Mindset About Aging
Earlier this year, as thousands of older nursing home residents were dying of COVID-19, I wrote a post about how Americans view older adults. One of the things I noted is that Americans generally have a negative view of aging and the aged. We view aging as being synonymous with decline and apply a number of negative stereotypes to older … [Read more...] about How to Have a Positive Mindset About Aging
7 Tips for Having Constructive Conversations About Politics
In Ecclesiastes, a short book in the Old Testament, a wise teacher states that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The longer I live, the more I see this statement validated. For example, four years ago I shared tips for having respectful conversations about politics because the political scene was volatile, with candidates … [Read more...] about 7 Tips for Having Constructive Conversations About Politics
How to Avoid Falling for Urban Legends, Rumors, and Conspiracy Theories
The spread of misinformation is not a new phenomenon. However, because we have access to multiple tools (email, text messaging, social media, etc.) that quickly spread messages to numerous individuals, urban legends, rumors, and conspiracy theories spread more quickly and reach more individuals than they used to. These forms of … [Read more...] about How to Avoid Falling for Urban Legends, Rumors, and Conspiracy Theories
The Most Wonderful Things About Summer
Given the unexpected and challenging things we are facing this year, I have even greater appreciation for how the change in seasons provides stability. We’re still about a week from the official start of summer, but I’m thinking about it today. In many ways, summer can be miserable around here. I live on the Texas Gulf Coast, so our … [Read more...] about The Most Wonderful Things About Summer
