My friend, Heather, died of cancer when we were 30. I remember walking through a deli with her when she was deep in the battle. I noticed how other people looked at her out of the corner of their eyes.
When my friend noticed another woman wearing a scarf over a bald head, Heather marched right over to her, said “Hello!” ... Read More
Are you okay? Is everything alright? Are you waiting for someone?
Yes. Yes. And yes.
The last place I expected to find myself last Friday night was on a curb outside a Speedway gas station in a town with no posted population.
But there I was. Desperately wanting to be home after a week on the road and instead stranded in a parking ... Read More
We have a guest blog today from my dear friend, Christa (Miss Christa as we call her in our house). She moved to NYC from little ole Athens a few years ago. When she first moved, she saw everything through the eyes of an Ohio girl. Lately, she has noticed her vision narrowing, so she decided to do something about ... Read More
He turned in his keys, his parking pass, and his staff ID. My husband is no longer employed at Ohio University. I won’t say he was fired because as a general rule I don’t use the “f” word. His contract was up and the Athletic Director decided to go in a different direction. A gentlemanly parting of ways, if you ... Read More
There is a brave mom in my town who is a warrior. She never would have considered herself a warrior, but when it comes to our kids, we can often find strength we don’t know we have.
This mom has a son who was hating school. Now I don’t mean hating, I mean HATING. He would get physically ill before ... Read More
I spent last Friday afternoon in a women’s prison. I was there visiting someone I’ve started to think of as a friend. She’s the mom of a little boy I love.
Why she’s there probably isn’t important. Why are any of us where we are? Maybe we said “Yes” one too many times or our “No” came too late to count.
Anyway, ... Read More
I’m on a little fishing trip with my 8 year old and we had an interesting conversation about exact change that led me into thinking about kindness.
And here’s Ben’s big catch…
There is a woman in my town who does a lot of good. I mean A LOT. She and her husband have been blessed with a successful local business, and they are constantly pouring into the community. The thing is, they do it so quietly, unless you’re really paying attention and perhaps digging a little, you’d never know the identities ... Read More
I have yet to meet someone who says, “Nope. I’m not a kind person and I have no intention of changing.”
We might agree that we have a little work to be done in the kindness area, but generally people seem to think they are doing a pretty good job of treating others well.
In a study of 100 young people with ... Read More
They say there are ties that bind, things that happen in our lives that leave us forever connected and intertwined with others.
But what happens when decades begin to deteriorate our communication with those people?
As Caryl Kiser from southeastern Ohio shares, those ties not only continue to hold, they grow stronger with each knot of kindness.
“Five years ago, after moving back ... Read More
