A subscriber sent in the following comment which reinforces last week’s Reminder: “When my husband passed, and I was getting out of the house again, the kind of greetings that undid me were ‘how are you doing?’ Or, ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ I was trying to keep it together and it just opened the…
We’ve all experienced those awkward moments when we want to greet someone who is going through a difficult time and we’re not sure what to say. Advice columnist Carolyn Hax shared some anonymous advice from one of her readers on this subject in The Arizona Republic. “A man in our office was dying. The last…
My oldest daughter, my wife and I decided to take our two oldest grandchildren, who are five and eight years old, fishing at a place called Rancho Tonto Catch-a-Trout. It’s a gorgeous place with a huge pond that is stocked with big and lively rainbow trout. Each time one of them caught a fish, they…
I received the following email from a close relative: “Carol T and I are at our log home on the North Shore of Lake Superior. A couple of weeks ago, we went back to White Bear Lake (220 miles one-way) for a funeral. I had not received my April bank statement from U.S. Bank, so…
I came across this phrase in a magazine I was reading. I thought, “Wow! This makes perfect sense!” Tongues are not made for belittling people, insulting them or making them feel bad. None of these actions make the world a better place. On top of that, they drain us of positive energy and make us…
As I was taking a break from work, I looked out my office window and saw a half-grown starling perched on the branch of an olive tree. It seemed as if he hadn’t been flying very long and appeared to be excited about his new-found freedom. He hopped from place to place on the branch,…
All of us would like to be happy for a number of very good reasons. Research has shown that happy people live longer, are more productive, less selfish, experience better health and make more money than those who are not. In addition, they feel better about themselves, are more creative and have closer personal relationships.…
There was a time when I had to go to a hospital twice daily for seven weeks to receive an infusion of an antibiotic. On one occasion there was a man receiving a blood transfusion who was going through chemotherapy. His wife was there with him. Sitting next to me was another woman who was…
When someone smiles at me, it makes me feel better and it puts a smile on my face as well. The same holds true when I smile at someone else. Smiling is a powerful behavior that causes many good things to happen to us. Research has shown that people who smile feel better, look better…
American chef, Sara Moulton, dedicated an episode of her Public Television show, Sara’s Weeknight Meals, to her former mentor Julia Child. Sara said she learned many things from Julia that she still carries with her today. The things she mentioned are excellent advice for living a happy and successful life. First, “always strive for excellence.”…