My eyes were shut tight, but I could hear his approach. His guttural breathing came out slow, deep, and just loud enough to let me know he was too close. I tried to be still,… Fight, don’t freeze

ost people don’t like endings. They like beginnings because they’re exciting. Or they like the middle of a story, when the action is typically at its most intense. But endings are important, too. A good… Once upon a year…

This morning as I was settling into my desk chair to begin work, our dog Cooper walked over to me with the “kill” in his mouth. I’ve seen him do this more than 100 times… Fox and the hound

Dear Santa, Don’t worry. This isn’t another letter full of requests like the millions flood your North Pole mailbox each year. It’s just a quick note to see how you’re doing. Are you exhausted? Because… Letter to Santa (and parent helpers, too)

I don’t often write “follow-up” columns, mostly because life moves quickly, and I can barely remember what I wrote about last week, much less several months or years ago. But I’m making an exception today… Stitch in time

Last weekend, Tom and I went out to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. An acquaintance we bumped into said congratulations and then asked us “So what’s the secret?” Honestly, I didn’t have a quick answer.… 20 secrets to the 20-year wedding anniversary

In June of last year, I wrote about a tiny turtle my kids rescued from a swirling pool filter and turned into a pet named Zippy. For the record, I was in favor of releasing… Zippy meets Ruby