I don’t even care that I have breast cancer right now. I really don’t. Do you know what I’m distraught about? I’m grieved that the parents of two Park Christian students had to bury their sons this week. I’m grieved because it feels like the entire nation is divided over recent decisions by the Supreme Court. I’m grieved because a ... Read More
Tag: column
An Act of Kindness Could Last for Generations
We’ve all been there, in line at the grocery store, when either we came up short or the person in front of us did. Maybe that’s why last week’s column about the woman who paid for the elderly man’s groceries resonated with so many of you.
In the past week, I’ve been delighted to hear your stories. Each act ... Read MoreStage 1! Or maybe 2, but who’s counting?
I have information! Now I just need to figure out what to do with it…
The doctor tells me I have invasive lobular cancer. I always like to be known as special, so thankfully, that same doctor tells me the type of breast cancer I am carrying is pretty rare– found in only 14% of the cases.
It is positive for hormone ... Read More
Unseen Sacrifices Count as Kindness
I got invited to a new friend’s house for dinner the other day. She has boys the same age as my 5-year-old son, Ben. Twin boys. Yikes.
Anyway, the boys are truly delightful and have all become fast friends in preschool.This fall, Ben and the twins will part ways as they head to different schools for kindergarten, so we got our ... Read More
Challenge Yourself to Kindness
There is a woman in California who may love kindness even more than I do.
I know, it’s shocking. Her name is Marla and I’m thinking of road-tripping to sunny California to see if it’s true. I may even be able to write off the trip off on my taxes next year under the heading “research.”
Anyway, when Marla emailed me about ... Read MoreKindness Eases Loneliness for Those No Longer With Us
A woman I haven’t seen for 15 years just emailed me out of the blue.
Kris and I met at the wedding of a mutual friend, and although we barely knew each other then, and certainly not at all now, Kris had something on her heart that she just knew I’d understand. Kris is lonesome.Our mutual friend, Heather, died of cancer ... Read More
Job Seeker Finds Big Kindness on Facebook
Sometimes social media is nasty. I mean really, truly, ruin-a-person’s-day nasty. It gives people the opportunity to say whatever they want with little, if any, filter.
Some people need excitement in their lives, so they try to “stir the pot” by being downright rude. Then they wait and watch to see how the world will react via the anonymity of the ... Read More
Season of Thanksgiving Unlocks Kindness
The other night I put my kids to bed an hour and a half before their regular bedtime so I could sit on the couch, eat Ben & Jerry’s and watch a Hallmark Christmas movie alone in silence.
I’m not sure what kind of message that is sending to my family, but I’m sure it’s not a good one.
I’ve got a ... Read More
Handyman’s Act of Kindness Changes His Life
A man came to my house the other day to repair all of those little things in a home that are too difficult to fix myself, yet not so difficult that they involve cutting my losses and just moving.
He actually came the first time to convince the mice who had moved into my basement that they’d be better off finding ... Read More
Friendship and Kindness Can Cure Anything
It’s been six months since the moving truck pulled out of my driveway in north Fargo and made the 16-hour trek to Athens, Ohio.
Six months. That seems like such a long time. By all outward appearances, we are settled into our new life: my husband’s face is on posters all over town announcing the basketball schedule; my kids have play ... Read More
