Category: Life & Living

“It is always sad for someone to leave home, unless they are simply going around the corner and will return in a few minutes with ice-cream sandwiches.” - Daniel Handler, American Writer and Musician. There are many reasons why someone would leave home. They’ve graduated high school and are heading off to college. They’re getting married and creating a new home with their spouse. They’re relocating for a new job opportunity in another state or country. These are but a few examples, and I’m sure you can think of many more. But perhaps the saddest reason to leave home is less a choice of opportunity and more a result of circumstance. My wife and I have a dear family friend who is 89 years old, though you’d never know it…

Your primary residence might be the only property you own. But the reality is that buying a house is essentially investing in real estate. At some point, either you or your beneficiaries will profit from its sale, and often updates and remodels will add to its overall value. Over the years, as my wife and I would discuss updates and remodels to our home, some would always say, “make sure you think about the ROI,” which stands for “return on investment” for those unfamiliar. The suggestion always reminded me of my great aunt’s house, where her kitchen featured a fire-engine red enamel sink with white-washed cabinets and red handles. While certainly not my taste, and no doubt would cause anxiety to some HGTV hosts, my aunt absolutely loved her kitchen…

Many of us believe that the subject of one’s mental health is only attributed to those individuals who’ve received a clinical diagnosis from a licensed professional. But the truth is that mental health issues do not discriminate, and struggles are often easily identifiable in so many of us today. According to MentalHealth.gov, “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.” Over the last few years, we’ve all struggled on some level with how we think, feel, and act – not to mention how we’ve managed stress.  A global pandemic has infiltrated the normalcy we all take for granted while pitting neighbor against neighbor in what has become…

From board rooms to classrooms to living rooms all across the country, a topic that continues to ignite conversations with little resolve is why Americans don’t want to work? The answer most people respond with when posed with such a question is that Americans are lazy and complacent living off government assistance programs. Businesses continue to blame labor shortages for slowdowns in manufacturing and ultimately how quickly and efficiently they can get their products into the hands of consumers. I’m certainly not denying that struggle is real and is impacting our global supply chain. But the question of why Americans don’t want to work is more complex than many realize — including me. In fact, it wasn’t until I stumbled upon a recent article in The Washington Post that I began to…