values
The Absolute Value of Grief
In June 2025, I began the drive home to Maine, returning three days before my grandmother’s funeral. Though I often wished it would go faster, the drive from Atlanta gave lots of opportunities for staring out the window and wondering how much I could've bartered with fate. What if I hadn't moved? What if I'd taken a different job? If I called upon the fates and offered to give them better yarn, nice and soft, would they have marvelled at the color so much that they forgot to snip an end to my grandmother's thread?
By Sarah Penney5 months ago in Families
Childless
There are people out there who have never given a second thought to having children. For them, the answer was always simple: yes, of course I want kids. Or yes, I will have them because that’s just what people do. Some people dream about becoming parents from the time they are young, while others feel pressure from family expectations and fear disappointing their parents if they choose not to have children.
By Adrianna M. Braun5 months ago in Families
Niloufar Banisaied, 58, Says Family Has Always Been Her Greatest Accomplishment. AI-Generated.
For Niloufar Banisaied, success has never been measured only by business achievements or professional recognition. Although she spent years helping build a respected name through her involvement with Avalon Hospitality Partners, those closest to her say her true focus has always been her family.
By Darwin Del Fabro5 months ago in Families
The Greatest Weapon in the European Household.
This isn’t just the story of any sandal; this is a story of a sandal very much like the story of ‘The Little Engine That Could’, except that in this version, the sandal is a weapon, and it positively can — for it can turn a peaceful Sunday gathering into a right-bloody massacre. The problem isn’t that the sandal thinks it can — it’s that it knows it can! That is precisely the kind of Kapcie that I’m talking about.
By Delusions of Grandeur 5 months ago in Families
Signs that Emotional Abuse is Happening
Written by R. A. Stewart Emotional abuse may not leave any physical scars, but unlike physical scars which heal over time, emotional scars can last a lifetime. Those closest to people who are being emotionally abused or have been emotionally abused in the past are usually oblivious to this issue.
By Robert Stewart5 months ago in Families
Take the Car Keys, Leave the Newspaper
Forget taking their car keys, should we be taking the toxic news away from the elderly? My son, 31, thought so until he had me try it on my mother, 96, and learned that some of us would rather risk depression than be treated like a child.
By Lisa Suhay5 months ago in Families
Cleaning House
I keep dreaming about my parents’ house. The mess, the chaos, the shame. All of it floods me as I try desperately to clean it up before anyone can see. This is a frustration I’ve lived with my entire life and the helplessness is agonizing. When I wake up, heart racing, I find myself again in my own home. The filth vanishes and I gratefully breathe as I see the carpet. As I enter wakefulness, I am not surrounded by trash.
By Lindsay R.5 months ago in Families
