“This is my life—and your imperfect life too,” says Vivian Shudde, CEO of The Brookwood Community, to the roomful of parents whose children have various intellectual and physical challenges. “Believe me, our sorority sisters and cousins and neighbors and school friends have imperfections in their lives too. But they’re easier to hide.” As a small…
Favorite Travel Shoes
When I look around, I’m beginning to see hope. I had my second vaccine last week, I’m visiting my parents next month, and I’ve booked a trip to California’s wine country. Life—and travel—is revving back up again. But a recent article in the Wall Street Journal stopped me in my airport-racing, museum-trotting, city-sightseeing tracks. It…
Dr. Ann Neely – Picture Book Expert
“Before we get married, I want you to take Dr. Neely’s children’s lit class,” one of Dr. Ann Neely’s students announced to her fiancé. “It will help to make you a better father.” For 35 years, Ann, one of the premier experts on children’s literature in the country, read books published for the younger set—for…
Nancy Fox – Equipping a Rental Home
To cut costs and recoup expenses, many property owners rent out their city apartment or lake house or condo at the beach. Although some balk at the idea of other people sleeping and lounging in their vacation home, the rental process can work and offset the cost of a second residence. Nancy Fox, property manager…
How to Help an Ailing Friend
My walking buddy and I meet every Tuesday for our weekly dose of sanity. We power walk through a neighborhood or a park, catch up with our lives, and solve the problems of the world—and those of other people too. Last week, she tripped over a bump on the sidewalk, slammed her knee to the…