He is the Legend; I am His Legacy
On Tuesday, December 8, 1992, a young Idaho farmer spent his 33rd birthday in a labor/delivery room. He was cheerfully filling out Christmas cards while his wife was in labor. …
Together We Can Do Anything Better
Anything I Can Do, We Can Do Better Remember Annie Get Your Gun? Sharpshooter Annie Oakley has a confusing relationship with her love interest and rival, Frank Butler. She loved…
A Tale of Two Stories
Just for a minute this morning, between the shock of waking too early and the rush of getting ready for the day, in the early bright light of a still…
Universal Child Care Is Not What Most Parents Want—or What Children Need
Most families view one stay-at-home parent as the ideal arrangement for raising children, and most parenting-age Americans would prefer direct cash assistance over subsidized day care, according to a recent national survey.…
In My Own Little Corner, In My Own Little Chair
This is the title of one of my favorite songs from the Rogers and Hammerstein Broadway musical Cinderella. In this song, Cinderella muses that she can “be whatever she wants…
A Note on Loss
In the last couple of years I have written and received too many condolence letters. And I wonder about them, these artifacts of sorrow and grief, inscribed with a litany…
Currents August 2020
I grew up firmly in the grasp of my mother’s extended family. We gathered monthly at the home of her grandmother or an aunt or uncle and the adults visited…
South Sudan Cottage: Making a Difference, One Family at a Time
Nyachangkuoth Rambang Tai, also known as Tai, is the cottage president of the South Sudan Cottage. She recently shared how the donations from Big Ocean Women made an important start…
The Subtle Way Our Society is Built on Family
The role of families in our society is more subtle than we realize. When we look at the function of society, we probably focus on the setup of our government,…
Our Family Capital
We generally think of capital as an asset something great to have, definitely desired, valued, and respected. I wonder if we’ve ever stopped to view our family in the same way? Imagine…
There’s Been a Change in My Family
What we know as the definition of the traditional family has largely centered around age and life cycle functions for hundreds of years. Couples are married, bear and raise children,…
Are There Green Oranges on Your Family Tree?
This week we ordered oranges to support our local scouts. We had ordered them a few months ago and they were wonderful. We were surprised this time that most of…