How many graduations have you traveled to this month? I arrived home this past week from northern Virginia and the graduation of a granddaughter—Salutatorian may I add!—just in  time for Father’s Day weekend with family members on their way to help celebrate, and the annual South Carolina Ridge Peach Festival.   Staring at my still unpacked suitcase, unwrapped gift for     read more

My dog can’t resist a good squirrel chase. A favorite begins with a stare-down at the bird feeder. The squirrel looks up from stuffing its cheeks, twitches its tail, and it’s on! There’s time for one more greedy grab but the delay requires a super-squirrel escape. The thief crouches, springs from the high porch rail, and finds safety in the     read more

  If, like me, you’re a people pleaser you’d probably rather eat bugs than employ confrontation as a healthy means to resolve a conflict. But sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed. Here are 3 things that help me “cowboy up” and face a confrontation when there’s no other way out. I remember I’m not equipped to live in a minefield. I’m     read more

  It started on the bus with the school bully. “What’s the matter,Penny? You’re mother so cheap she couldn’t name you nickle?” Then the chant began, caught on, and went on for days.. “One cent, one cent – nothing but a one cent.” My grandfather took one look at me and knew I was really hurting. When blue-eyed blondes cry     read more

Long weekend alert! The last Monday in May—Memorial Day—is just around the corner. What special meaning will it have for you? This may come as a shock, but do you know Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor and remember the men and women who have died in active military service?  It’s not a day set aside to     read more

Here’s where to begin when unwanted change has you feeling as if you’ve been T-boned by an eighteen wheeler, left on the side of the road to die, and you feel like a total loser.   Decide if this is a fight or flight situation. Resolve to fight your way out of this mess and get back on your feet.     read more