Helping others is medicine for pain
A friend endured a terrible loss last year when a family member died suddenly. This was the third such loss in three years for his family. Shortly before the h…
Stories by Jennifer Hansen
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‘We three lambs of Arkansas are ... ’
Several days after New Year’s, most Christmas trees were down or coming down. As I sipped my coffee that morning, I contemplated the task and rejected the idea.
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Tool can identify top work strengths
With so many fascinating books and blogs out there, it’s easy to learn about yourself and others.
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Tensions deflated by retreat
Over Christmas, our plan was to keep it simple and quiet. With my mother-inlaw visiting, both children at home and all of us in need of a rest, we decided to s…
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Year will require humility, fortitude
When Mrs. Appleyard showed up last year bearing New Year’s gifts, it was the first time I understood that spiritual gifts are made available to us when we need…
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Blessings of grace, growth, gratitude
Not all the gifts are under the tree, and not all of them look like presents.
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Lamb birthing timely, true gift
Between hunting season and our heavy workloads, my husband and I haven’t seen much of each other lately. So when the weekend came, we headed to the farm. Time …
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Terrific holiday, malady and all
It was the best Thanksgiving ever. No question. We were all sick and no one had much energy, so we coughed, sneezed and held our aching heads the whole day, ye…
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Canines present a united wish list
The minute my tired feet entered the kitchen I knew something was up. The dogs were lined up waiting, trying desperately to be patient, but Duke was the only o…
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Daily list develops grateful attitude
More than a year ago, I began a daily morning practice of writing down at least 10 things for which I am grateful. Even if the previous day was awful, there ar…
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How to handle change? Adapt
Fall arrived on a late afternoon hike through Devil’s Den State Park. We were halfway up a familiar trail with our intrepid, threelegged poodle, Baron, in the …
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‘Balance’ is more than just shifting
By the time you read this, elections will be over and the long process of rebuilding and repairing from Sandy will be well under way. But tonight, the storm is…
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Progeny explains texting mores
Conversations with colleagues who text throughout our discussions have me thinking about how ideas of courtesy have changed. What used to feel rude is now how …
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Attitude chosen like day’s clothing
Each day, we begin again.
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Setting priorities amid the busyness
When Marc and I decided to refinance our house recently, I took the lead on managing the paperwork. We trusted the company to keep us informed. As the closing …
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Whiners at work can be won over
Within days of being asked by two different readers how to deal with office negativity, I came across a Wall Street Journal article that summed up this workpla…
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Life shift means map gets redrawn
Slowly, slowly the tectonic plates of our family life are moving, rearranging the map that has been me. A month after my youngest went to college, repercussion…
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Sit. Stay. Absolve stranger. Hug. Go.
It was Saturday morning. I’d finally turned up for yoga only to find the class was canceled.
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HEART & SOUL: ‘Super’ is not really practical
Even though a healthy majority of mothers work outside the home, many of us still struggle with the myth of Supermom. We know we can’t do it all, have it all o…
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Woeful things come in threes
The freezer was almost empty, so I filled it. In an impromptu fit of preparedness, last Sunday afternoon was spent piling freezer food into a grocery cart. Chi…
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Parched gratitude for rain, finally
The first rain to break the drought left us disbelieving. It came so late and shared so little. The second rain got our hopes up.
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Blindness does not deter best dog ever
Sometimes we’re so close to those we live with that we can’t see how they’re changing. My family adores our pets and we like to think we take good care of them…
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‘Normal’ is in the eye of a beholder
A friend of my daughter’s asked why our family knows so many people with strange lives. “We don’t,” my 22-year-old answered. “Oh, yes you do,” said the friend.
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The last fledgling leaving the nest
My son’s move to college is fast approaching.
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Lessons from a snoring poodle
Somewhere between the oppressive heat outside and the lack of resolution inside, everything in my world felt like a chore. Forcing myself to sit and work was a…
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Revising history of abuse can hurt
Several years after her former husband died, a friend became concerned by how he was being remembered. It seemed the youngest children of his second marriage w…
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Stepping off a bus, bound for Tunis
During a trip several years ago, my connecting flight was delayed. The airline provided a bus to take passengers to another terminal, and during the ride I str…
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Puppy picking is pack project
Our search for a new dog to guard our hobby farm led us to Cindy, who raises and trains flock-guarding breeds for folks like us.
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Often, a hand up is exactly enough
Sometimes troubles can be so overwhelming that it’s easier to focus on an unrelated drama than deal with the problem at hand.
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Straying far from the herd
Sheep need shepherds and when the shepherd can’t be there, they need guardians. With the passing of our oldest farm dog last year, our team of four-legged guar…
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Changes take toll on mom, the floor
From my desk chair, it’s 10 paces to the back door. From the back door to the other side of the kitchen island is 27 paces. At a total of 42, you’ve made a ful…
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Snarky e-mail is reminder of grace
The day in question got off to a bad start. I didn’t sleep well so I started out tired. Every time I started work that required focus I was interrupted, so I w…
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Editing woods is writerly impulse
I’d prune the woods, if I could. Shaping the rough tangle to find order where paths should be, I’d ensure no sharply brittle branches hung at eye level. Carvin…
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Making tantrums teaching moments
Summer’s here and expectations are high. It’s supposed to be a season of fun, but the additional time spent with our children can also be highly charged emotio…
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Flexible attitude buoys the spirit
There are so many ways to make a positive difference in the world. Find one. Be selfless. Do something that challenges you. Be polite.
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A door closes as another opens up
To celebrate the last morning of my son’s high school career, I planned to surprise him by making him breakfast and seeing him off. This was a milestone in his…
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Bluebird is source of happy moments
The small bluebird in the large oak tree in my backyard darted to the ground. The flash of unmistakable blue pulled my attention to the brilliant creature. It …
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Marking endings is also a launch
Beginnings and endings are markers in how the human mind receives, sorts and recalls memories. Knowing this, the wise person pays particular attention to start…
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Counting off ways to relish weekends
At the end of a tough day, there’s still a mountain of laundry to fold. The easy road past my laundry room leads straight to bed and much-needed sleep.
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Songs of life are sweet, if we listen
Late afternoon at the park, tucked onto a quiet bench to think about this column, I saw the sky come alive with a mass of birds.
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Rolling with the changes eases life
If you’re an adult, you’ve spent your life adapting to innovations in technology.
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Reading the green tree mist of spring
During a quiet spring break, a late winter rain nearly flooded our neck of the woods. When it stopped, my husband and I hiked up into the quiet woods behind th…
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Burnout means time to draw line
The burnout sneaked up on me. After years of writing about how to balance our lives, I should have spotted the severe imbalance in mine. Then one day I stared …
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Minutes in a life; lifetime lessons
The gentleman I was to interview was delayed.
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Psalms leap up into life at farm
Several weeks had passed since I’d made it to the farm. On the drive up the long gravel drive, it feels like the farm welcomes me home. The woods are still bar…
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Studying buddies = success in college
What parents want more than anything else is for their children to be happy. Of course, different interpretations of what will accomplish that goal lead to dif…
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Mother just can’t curb her instinct
One of the gifts of becoming an adult is growing in discernment. This is something that’s supposed to happen as we mature.
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Claiming place on introvert spectrum
Most people are familiar with the idea of extroverts and introverts, yet extroverts are well understood and introverts often are not.
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Vision in overalls cultivates riddles
It hadn’t been much of a winter, but it was a windy, cold afternoon. Just in from walking the dogs, I was making a cup of tea when a breeze shifted the steam f…
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Drive-By Shooting Reported
Police are investigating a drive-by shooting reported on Braxton Drive on Friday night.