His Quote Of A Lifetime: “I would rather have days where I am happy to be alive as opposed to days where I am lucky to be alive.” ~David Schilke (seated near the man who allegedly attempted to ignite explosives aboard the Christmas Day 2009 Amsterdam to Detroit flight) Melanie Hack Author of Who Killed […]

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.  It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written.” 1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No […]

Ever have those ho-hum days where you just don’t feel 100% so you start thinking about the past and you have no energy…you just don’t feel upbeat and you’re not really sure why you feel “down”! I was having a day like that until one of my brothers (thanks Ken) sent me an email with […]

Dear Ann: I am flat broke from overspending at Christmas time. But I need to go shopping again soon because I am completely out of self-respect. I’ve said things I wish I could take back and I am not feeling too good about myself. I also want to exchange a carton of self-righteousness for an […]

Well, it looks like the snow is finally here to stay for winter…and I’ve had a jolly old time shoveling our driveway because it’s so much smaller than the driveway of our previous house! And as I was cleaning off the patio and the gazebo roof out back I had to take a long-leaning-on-the-shovel moment […]

I believe… …That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief. I believe… …That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon. I believe… …In love and the unceasing wonder of life. I believe… …It requires constant practice to achieve a sense […]

At Christmas time my children, like so many others, have a wish list a mile long. I decided that I wanted them to know that not all children have a wonderful Christmas. We took them to one of the “wish trees” at a local mall and had them each pick out a child that was […]

Did you ever wonder why you never see dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica? Ever wonder where they go? Wonder no more. It is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird that lives an extremely ordered and complex life. The penguins have a very strong community bond. They are very […]

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness…you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation…you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. If […]

One day a woman’s husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn’t ‘anymore’. …No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more ‘just one minute’. Sometimes […]