Hi. Welcome to 2013. I'm sitting in the quiet kitchen at my mom's house in a tiny town in Ohio. There's a pair of blue jays clamoring for bread outside the window and a small brown wren just landed on our snowman's twiggy arm. (I'm surprised she was brave enough to go near him;...

I'm creating a "no-need-to-do" list that includes these things: *No need to make anything look perfect: Banish Norman Rockwell and bask in my own norm. * No need to stop taking care of myself during the holidays: the more I take care of this body, the more I have to give to every...

Last October when life gave me the idea for my 48-48-48 Kindness Project, I got to meet a wonderful woman, Laura Shovan,  who requested an act of kindness for her daughter. I was happy to oblige. And then — surprise!— I received a "backatcha" act of kindness from Laura:...