When his father was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer in 2025, William Morrison immediately went into caregiving mode.

“We were in the hospital every day,” he said. “I was really playing the intermediary between the medical staff and our family and kind of helping have those conversations and push for those answers.”

One in 10 ...Read more

The morning of July 4th is so quiet around here, you might wonder if the entire subdivision entered the witness protection program.

But around 9, garage doors start rolling up. Bicycles, ride toys, wagons and strollers emerge as Operation Decoration begins. Red, white and blue streamers wrap handlebars, balloons are anchored to Big Wheels and ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I came to see a parent workshop you did, and I used the strategies that you taught. It has changed my life and my relationship with my daughter. The problem is, I am divorced from her father, who has shared custody. He doesn’t have these strategies; he is mean, and he yells at her a lot. I try to tell him how to do what I ...Read more

Q. My son’s father and I separated eight months ago and it’s taken a while for us to get adjusted. One thing I have noticed is that my son is very unorganized around the house, and his teacher recently told me he is very unorganized at school. I have trouble getting him to settle down and do his homework. He’s also very forgetful and doesn...Read more

Every so often, when dirt, grime and mildew build up, a good power washing is in order. But it would be too messy, so I took a shower.

I had the house power-washed instead.

It had been a long time since our humble abode got such a thorough cleaning. Before that, it was the same mold story: I was responsible for getting the green gunk off the ...Read more

When former President Barack Obama addressed the massive, merry crowd at the Obama Presidential Center dedication ceremony on June 18, a few lines landed like a balm.

“For us to give up, for us to give in now, after all this country has been through, to cynicism and division would be a betrayal of our founding ideals, a betrayal of our faith....Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- This time last year, Lee Carter was unemployed and unsure what a longtime barista fresh off a shattered dream could do with those skills.

He found the answer in a new St. Paul coffee shop that’s giving away its product in hopes of raising money to build a business tied to a bigger mission. The mission has become the name of...Read more

As a card-carrying member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Shadowland Giant Lone Star hosta.

Shadowland Giant Lone Star has winner written all over it. It is large and has thick leaves. When 12 straight days of rain brought out a rainforest of slugs and other forest floor creatures, the bane of ...Read more

CHICAGO -- We all have scars. Some are more visible than others.

One recent afternoon on the Chicago's North Side, Ben Wahhh was in the process of removing a scar from the lower back of a 41-year-old woman named Ella Nelson.

Her scar was in the form of a name, seven letters — P-A-T-R-I-C-K — slightly faded since it was tattooed on her back...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a bi/pan woman who’s been married to my husband for 11 years. I’ve always known I wasn’t straight but never explored it much. I had one relationship with a woman early on, and that was it. I’m not looking to open my marriage or date other people. I just want to find ways to honor this part of myself that’s always been...Read more

CHICAGO -- Sparked by her deep passion for Harry Potter, Akshara Rajan’s interest in Latin expanded as she delved into the language at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School. She’d chosen the Near North Side-based high school in part because of its robust curriculum and extracurriculars dedicated to the ancient language.

As Rajan and...Read more

CHICAGO -- Maureen Cleary likens the love lives of the African penguins at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo to a soap opera. Pilchard and Maynard would probably be the couple starring in such a drama, said the zoological manager of birds.

The same-sex duo arrived in 2016 as additions to the zoo’s newly opened penguin habitat, Cleary said. Maynard, ...Read more

CHICAGO — When the painter Shane-Jahi Jackson was researching the employment records of Pullman porters and maids during his time as an artist-in-residence at the Newberry Library, he had no idea he would find a personal connection.

“I got down to the last two boxes, and I came across my family name,” he said. “And I know it was my ...Read more

Like it or not, dating apps are the most ubiquitous way to meet new people these days. In my 15 years of being a dating coach, I’ve seen thousands of happy relationships start this way. But I’ve also heard all the shortcomings: “It takes up too much time.” “I’m not getting the matches I’m looking for.” “There’s no one good.�...Read more

CHICAGO -- Zelle Tenorio remembers the moment they became a birder.

Three years ago, on a walk organized by both Chicago BIPOC Birders and Out in Nature, an LGBTQ+ outdoor meetup group, they watched a Caspian tern catch a fish.

“I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” Tenorio, who uses they/them pronouns, said.

Since then, Tenorio has ...Read more

Stone tablets are so yesterday.

A professor from Princeton recently shared that his Ivy League students had to have the Ten Commandments explained to them. Yes, that is the same New England college where the famous Jonathan Edwards was once president.

For the record, I went to Princeton. Once. I walked the campus when one of our kids lived ...Read more

Q. Now that school has ended, our 5-year-old daughter has the chance to go to her father’s in the mornings before he goes to work at noon or go to extended learning at her school where she can play with kids and do crafts. I decided to ask her what she wants to do and she said, “Go to school,” so I signed her up. Her father is furious ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I live in a neighborhood with a lot of families, and we often end up with other people's children playing at our house. Having these playmates is great for my 8-year-old daughter, but not so great for me, because I end up parenting everybody else's kids. Is it appropriate for me to use the same behavior strategies on other ...Read more

CHICAGO — Isabela Torres Reyes often finds herself waiting thoughtfully before she speaks — something she didn’t always do six months ago. At the start of the school year, the recent DePaul University graduate was so eager to share her thoughts that she sometimes jumped into conversations early. Now, after completing a 10-week dialogue ...Read more