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New Year’s Reflection: Your Soul and Ritual
Image courtesy of Flickr The year that I spent living on the coast of Oregon has come back to me in the last several days, and seems an appropriate reflection for the start of 2014. It was fall when I moved there, and near Christmastime when I met a wise woman at church whom I befriended simply because she happened to be there each time I went, seeking solace because I was so far away from home. She was twice my age, literally, and in January that year invited me to join her and a group of other women who fellowshipped together once a month. I was clearly a…
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Latest & Greatest :: Robert Redford stars in All is Lost
Academy Award®winner Robert Redford stars in All Is Lost, an open-water thriller about one man’s battle for survival against the elements after his sailboat is destroyed at sea. But with the sun unrelenting, sharks circling and his meager supplies dwindling, the ever-resourceful sailor soon finds himself staring his mortality in the face. Written and directed by Academy Award nominee J.C.Chandor (Margin Call) with a musical score by Alex Ebert (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), All Is Lost is a gripping, visceral and powerfully moving tribute to ingenuity and resilience. All Is Lost opened in NY and LA October 18, and nationwide October 25th. Here are some of the reviews so far: “OFF THE SCALE BRILLIANT” – Emma…
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Family :: One Mother’s Journey
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month, did you know that? What did I know about cancer in 1993? My grandma had breast cancer a few years earlier, but she was “old”. I adopted special-needs kids; surely my kids wouldn’t have to worry about something like cancer, right? Well, much to the chagrin of the pediatric neurologist who overlooked all the signs, my oldest son, Drew, developed brain cancer. Few people remember that Drew died at age 9 as a result of medulloblastoma, one of many brain cancers found almost exclusively in kids. Suddenly I remembered a boy named Jimmy dying when we were in middle school. I remember…
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Helping Your Child Stay Safe While Home Alone
Kids have stayed home alone for decades. The term “latchkey” kids was created in the 1940s during World War II. Because of the absence of men due to the war, many women were forced to work outside the home for the first time, leaving kids to fend for themselves after school. During this period of time, a kid would often hang their house key from their neck for safe keeping, which led to the creation of the term “latchkey kids.” Today, many families are two-income households or single-parent families, meaning “latchkey kids” are just as prevalent today as in the 1940s, and it is a situation that often times…
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Dandelion Moms Project Kindness :: September
What is dandelion moms project kindness? We created this project in order to help spread more joy and kindness out into the world. Much like dandelion seeds blown into the wind, you can never know where your acts of kindness might land and how much they will impact someone. We feature individuals, companies and nonprofits who are working hard to bring joy, kindness and help to those in need. Please join us if you can and help in any way you are able. Dandelion Moms Project Kindness for September: Childhood cancer is one of the most scary things to even think about for a parent. I have…
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Father’s Day Shopping Tips: Gift Ideas for Every Dad
Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington came up with the idea for a day to celebrate her father, William Smart, in 1909, according to the U.S.. Census Bureau. Apparently, she thought of it after hearing a Mother’s Day sermon. Her young widowed father was also a civil war veteran and a local farmer. After his wife’s death, he raised all six of his children on the farm by himself. The nation’s first Father’s Day was held on June 17, 1910, the same month as Sonora Dodd’s father’s birthday. The mayor of Spokane announced the official first Father’s Day celebration. In 1966, President Johnson established Father’s Day on the third Sunday…
