I recently ran across this flash fiction story I wrote a few years back. It demonstrates how a difficult loss can prompt a change that motivates a life shift. This story makes me happy because it shows how making one small change can often lead to a series of other positive changes, which create a…

I had planned to write for one month only on one thing daily that made me happy, but I discovered something in the process of writing those “happy” posts. That simple decision to redirect my focus helped me to shift from all the negative events and occurrences in the world to the many people, places,…

I delivered the eulogy below yesterday evening at my friend Walter Johnson’s Requiem Mass. It was a true honor to stand before a church full of old friends at St. Thomas the Apostle and speak about the love, kindness, and longstanding service of our beloved Deacon Johnson. He was a good friend of mine and…

Did you know that in 1950, the average life span was 68 years old?  Now, it is 79 for men and women and that number will increase consistently with more medical advances. The age gap between men and women’s life expectancies is also narrowing.  That is good for men and for women, too, since that…

My nephew, Jim Agutter, is celebrating his birthday today. He’s 57 and I remember changing his diapers when he was a baby. He is my sister Leslie’s son, and he lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Karri, and two kids, Eli and Sophie. Jim is an architecture professor at the University of Utah…

Recently, Luna read me the story below, which she wrote in 40 minutes during California testing. I was very pleased and proud that my sweet little 10-year-old granddaughter (not so little since we’re now the same height) had composed this well-written, true story. In fact, I continue to be so happy about it that I…

As deadlines loom, I have been working long hours with my high school and college seniors who have been writing their college essays and graduate school personal statements to include in their applications. Early Decision and Early Action applications were due for many by November 1st and The University of California schools have a deadline…

Today, my brother Sam and his wife Jaime had a long layover in LA after a fourteen-hour flight from Australia. Sam texted last night and asked if there was any way to arrange a visit for this afternoon before they headed home to Nashville this evening. Ray and I quickly rearranged our schedule to make…

A few days ago, I read a short piece of flash fiction to a writing group I was participating in. Among the comments about the piece, one of the members said to me, “You have a great ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.” She was speaking about putting myself into the shoes of…