Since Season 4 of "Ted Lasso" just came out (so far, so good… and I love that he’s coaching a women’s team!), I decided to re-watch the first three seasons. Good TV is good TV. What can I say?

While overall, the show is a comedy, there are some definite pieces of wisdom hidden in there if you look hard enough. One of these is, “All ...Read more

Dear Anna,

My girlfriend and I have been together for six years. We’re in our mid-30s. Like a lot of people, she’s spent most of her life wanting to get fit and lose weight, and for a long time it didn’t really go anywhere. This year her doctor put her on a GLP-1 medication, and combined with a new daily workout routine, it’s actually ...Read more

It had been a rough few months. Cynthia Tompkins was hospitalized in May for osteomyelitis — a bone infection — then spent six weeks in a rehabilitation facility. “It was a struggle,” she said. “I didn’t bounce back too well.”

Tompkins returned to her home in San Diego, but she was still taking antibiotics, along with a host of ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I have a nagging 5-year-old who won’t take “no” for an answer. I have done my best to turn off my brain and repeat the same line over and over, but I think it’s time for a consequence since he keeps nagging me and won’t stop. I’m just not sure what the consequence should be. Any suggestions?

Answer: Great work ...Read more

Next to Monopoly and Battleship, Get Grandma is one of the family’s favorite games. No rules, no limits, play as often as you wish, whenever and wherever you wish.

Years ago, both sons-in-laws began jumping out of closets when they realized I had a strong startle reflex and often screamed loud enough to pierce two time zones when surprised.

...Read more

Q: My ex's girlfriend has started texting me about our kids. Pickup times, homework, schedule changes, you name it. She's pleasant, and I don't dislike her, but I'm beginning to wonder why I'm co-parenting with her instead of my ex. Where do you draw the line? What’s good ex-etiquette?

A. Before you send, “I had children with HIM, not YOU,�...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- In the lobby of the Curtis Institute of Music’s Lenfest Hall, Olivia Li, in a frilly-sparkly red dress, is running back and forth through a turnstile. A few minutes later, she is at the piano transformed — playing Chopin eyes closed, a countenance most serious, and seemingly a decade more mature.

If her legs aren’t long ...Read more

Hey, boys and girls, and all of you adult drivers, here’s a song you can sing to the tune of the everlastingly popular but fantastically annoying kiddie ditty “The Wheels on the Bus”:

The wheel on the car goes thump, thump, thump

Thump, thump, thump

Thump, thump, thump

The wheel on the car goes thump, thump, thump

All through the town...Read more

DENVER -- On a normal day, losing a canister of film would be a bummer for Denverite and hobby photographer Ashley Bauer. But after a stretch of misfortunes earlier this summer, the missing film roll was absolutely crushing.

Bauer had been dealing with the stresses of work and moving apartments. She’d dropped her keys down an elevator shaft ...Read more

ST. LOUIS -- Cynthia Changyit Levin first noticed her mom’s political views shifting in 2008 when Barack Obama won the presidency.

Levin lived in Chicago at the time, while her mother, Lazette, lived in Oklahoma. The change surprised Levin. She had grown up in Minnesota, where her mom voted for Walter Mondale in 1984, the only state the ...Read more

On the day Dolly Parton’s family announced her death, I attended the 10th anniversary celebration for Arts DuPage, a nonprofit that advocates for arts and culture in DuPage County. I had been invited to write and deliver the keynote address about the role that the arts play in keeping our communities thriving and connected.

The news of Parton...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- During Operation Metro Surge, Anoka United Church of Christ became a hub for neighbors helping neighbors.

Six months after the surge in immigration enforcement spurred fresh civic engagement in Minnesota, some of the people who first came through the church’s doors to help are still walking in — now for Sunday worship.

Rev. ...Read more

DENVER -- Between the Artemis II moon mission in April, the recent cosmic light shows from solar and lunar eclipses, and the Perseid meteor shower, excitement for real-life astronomy is soaring among kids.

All you have to do, really, is look up. Star-driven, Hollywood blockbusters such as Matt Damon’s “The Martian” and Ryan Gosling’s �...Read more

If ever a summer called for tough-as-nails flowers in the landscape, it is 2026. As I write this, I am staring at a forecast with more triple-digit days ahead than I can bear. I grew up in West Texas, and 100-degree days in the summer were the norm. In Georgia the humidity adds its own touch to the misery index. These days beg for award-winning ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Ashli Watts’ gaze drifted between her children, attention split between her toddler in the chair in front of her and the three-month-old in her arms. They were part of the reason she sat in an academic building in Englewood Tuesday morning, listening intently, then smiling at the announcement she hopes will help her change the lives...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentuckians from all walks of life publicly mourned Dolly Parton’s death Tuesday, sharing photos, memories and tributes on social media that honored her as a philanthropist, musician, actress and spreader of sunshine.

Kentucky author Silas House shared a link where people can donate to Parton’s Imagination Library, which ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I'm 23, and I've been with my girlfriend for about a year and a half. It’s my first real relationship and I love her, genuinely. She stuck by me through a rough stretch when I was dealing with some family stuff, and I don't take that for granted. Things aren't bad most of the time. We laugh together, we're comfortable, we care ...Read more

Years ago, I had a client who was on Hinge, and someone she was interested in had a really cute picture of himself with a golden retriever. It was his last picture—the sixth of six. So, when she reached out to him, she said, appropriately, “What a cute pup! What’s his/her name?” Simple, cute, easy.

The guy replied (yay!) and, rather ...Read more

Parents with college-age children are preparing them for a rite of passage: moving into a dorm. But what do students need before heading off to college? We made a list of must-have essentials to make that transition to campus living as easy as possible.

We looked at recommendations from Amazon and New York Magazine to compile necessary items, ...Read more

Five police cars with flashing lights blocked the southern portion of a major intersection. Broken glass, debris and twisted metal spread as far as the eye could see. Partial remains of a horribly disfigured SUV sat on a flat bed. A mangled sedan was on its side in the middle of the pavement.

News reports said an SUV with four passengers ran a ...Read more