When I first married my husband, he bought me a book called “Basketball for Dummies.” He was an assistant men’s college basketball coach at the time. I was more interested in the team’s colors and cute apparel than in what was happening on the court. We clearly had some work to do.
I asked him to buy me the book for ... Read More
I wonder sometimes about the messages I send even when I am completely unaware.
I have been known to roll my eyes and huff at my youngest son, “Can you please remember to bus your own spot after dinner this time?” I wonder if I am secretly saying to him, “You can’t remember to do anything.”
The thought is sobering and if ... Read More
My dad had a stroke in the summer of 2016. For more than a year, he’s been a resident of an assisted living home. It’s a lovely place, but my heart hurts because I know that isn’t where he wants to be.
I got to return to Wisconsin to visit him a few weeks ago and was delighted to see that ... Read More
A few weeks ago, I posed a question about the difference between helping others because it’s the “right thing to do” or because you want to do an act of kindness. I’ve already published some answers in this column, but I received one more letter in the mail that I couldn’t let go before sharing with you. It’s from Jean ... Read More
I walked into the gas station with my debit card in hand. “Hi! I had fuel on pump one.”
The young woman behind the counter looked at her register and then looked at me. “Which pump?”
“Pump one.”
Again she looked at her screen, this time with a confused little arch to her eyebrow. “I’m sorry, but there’s no balance on pump one. ... Read More
If someone tells you to “go fly a kite,” you can pretty much assume he or she is not leading with kindness and a future get-together is not in the works.
Much like the phrases “bug off” or “take a hike,” the origin of “go fly a kite” is a little hazy.
Some people believe it came from the stock market crash ... Read More
Taryn Skees is a mom just like me. She’s a writer and a speaker who is passionate about the power of kindness.
But Taryn’s drive to spread the message of kindness didn’t come from a spontaneous act of kindness that transformed her life. It came from the birth of her son.
Taryn’s 9-year-old son, Aiden, has a rare craniofacial condition called Apert ... Read More
Last week I posed a question that had come across my desk from a Fargo mail carrier. He asked, “Where does citizenship end and kindness begin?”
His job often puts him in positions where he feels compelled to help. A lost cell phone, a wandering child or an emergency that requires a call to 911.
We are taught to be nice and ... Read More
You know what I just realized? I do not know the name of the woman who delivers my mail.
Usually my mail carrier just leaves the letters in the box by the road and eventually I wander out and collect them. But every few months, she pulls her truck into my driveway and hops out to hand me a package or ... Read More
Children’s hearts are precious. They love big, forgive quickly and are incredible readers of the emotions around them. Sort of like a magnet, they attract the feelings of others and wear them as their own.
Sometimes that’s good and sometimes that’s bad. It can be bad when it locks up the mind in fear and confusion, but it’s incredibly beautiful when ... Read More
