My phone was abuzz one day last December with texts from my children asking what to wear for a concert we were all attending the following evening. Our eldest, a spiffy dresser since he was four, said I should inform his brothers that he was…

(1 minute, 54 seconds) I forgive you if you’ve never read At Home In Mitford. I’m just saying that you’ve been missing out. The protagonist, Father Tim, and his neighbor, Cynthia, who live in the fictional village of Mitford have cast spells on me that…

(APRIL 11-17, 1970)(1 minute, 56 seconds) In April 1970, fifty-five years ago, three American astronauts aboard Apollo 13 were happily and confidently mission-bound for the moon. They found themselves suddenly sideswiped by catastrophic damage to their spaceship, and in an instant their mission became one…

(1 minute, 38 seconds) One time, a kid doing donuts in a gravel parking lot kicked up rocks and shattered the back window of our SUV. The kid drove away fast. We went home with the heat on.Once, I threw a plate on the floor…

(1 minute 10 seconds) My artist friend Jane transforms blank canvases into splendor. It was my joy to tour one of her galleries recently with her as my personal guide, where I discovered the quiet power of seeing art through its creator’s eyes. I walked…

(1 minute, 24 seconds) High jumping is a complicated sport. I speak from experience. Crucial elements include: an accelerated arc approach, firm foot plant and push off with simultaneous dual arm swing overhead, arching one’s body in a giant “C” over the bar head first,…

January 2025(1 minute, 29 seconds) Stumbling into the Speedy Quick gas station, my husband and I desperately needed caffeine for the nine-hour drive ahead of us. After filling our cups, we waited in line. When I heard, “I can help who’s next,” I absentmindedly stepped…

December 2024(1 minute, 22 seconds) Two years ago, my dear husband was dealt an awful blow.After dedicating nearly 32 years to a company, his position was abruptly eliminated—with no inkling or warning. In an impromptu meeting, his boss, his boss’s boss, and an HR representative…

(1 minute, 8 seconds) My beloved Pastor Tom, who baptized me at 23 years old and performed our wedding ceremony when I was 24, is a Texan Baptist Preacher. From the pulpit one Sunday morning, towering in his cowboy boots, I clearly remember the booming…

(3 minutes, 15 seconds) The Appalachian Trail is a hiking path in the Eastern United States. The trail is 2,185 miles long, extends from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north, and passes through 14 states. In 2011 as an experienced hiker, Jennifer…