The husband has a "Best Grandpa Ever" hat. I happen to know that the same kids who gave him that hat also gave one just like it to their other grandpa. "Best" isn't as exclusive as it used to be.

I wonder what would happen if every grandpa wearing a "Best Grandpa Ever" hat or T-shirt ran into one another at a large gathering. Would they have a ...Read more

Many families are debating if, when and how they might travel in the weeks and months ahead. If you are pondering the possibility of air travel, here are five ideas to consider:

1. How important is the trip?

Before making final preparations for air travel, discuss the relative importance of taking the trip now. Can it wait for a few months? ...Read more

While the stay-at-home orders may be testing people's patience with their significant others, most romantic relationships are surviving and thriving in close quarters.

That's according to a new Monmouth University poll, which found that half of couples in the United States predict they'll come out of this coronavirus quarantine with a stronger ...Read more

I have come up with a new psychological diagnosis, one that I won't, however, be submitting for approval to the powers that be: simply, odd. My "odd" is to be distinguished from ODD, the acronym for oppositional defiant disorder, an invention that enables mental health professionals to obtain payment from insurance providers ... but that's ...Read more

We are opening back up here. Slowly. At the speed of a turtle. Make that a turtle in its shell, but it is happening.

Some want a faster open, some want continued closure. Some say it is time to get on with it, others would wait until the last coronavirus micron has been eradicated.

We have become a nation of armchair quarterbacks. We will all ...Read more

O Facebook, my Facebook, you multibillion-dollar social behemoth critics love to hate, where would my pandemic-panicked soul be without you at 2 a.m. when I've woken from another world-is-ending dream?

Where would I be at 10 a.m. when I realize I've not only consumed my sugar allotment for the day, but possibly my RDA of caffeine and fat, I'm ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Samantha Brown is pretty tired these days. OK, make that very tired. She's not alone.

"This is the hardest thing I've ever done, trying to do a full-time job and having a toddler home all day," said Brown, a professional fund-raiser and now full-time mom to almost-2-year-old Ethan.

Pre-COVID-19, Brown got to spend three, maybe ...Read more

Watch the TV news and every night you'll see the growing tally of coronavirus cases -- and the increasing number of people who have died from it.

Attorneys are seeing a growing interest in people who want to draft or update their wills. And online sites that help people with those documents are seeing a boost in interest as well.

"COVID is a ...Read more

We are going to need a refresher course in social graces before rejoining humanity when this virus thing cools down.

I get dressed every day, but usually in workout clothes. Workout clothes don't have zippers and waistbands. Do you know how dangerous that is?

If you saw what I wore every day, you'd think I am an exercise nut. You'd be wrong. ...Read more

Travel, around the block or to places we dream about, offers the prospect of a sensory feast.

On your next trip, whether it be close to home or beyond, encourage family members to be aware of their senses. Here are five ways to deepen the day's experience and expand awareness:

1. What do you smell?

Campfires, coffee brewing, freshly cut grass...Read more

EDGEFIELD, S.C. -- Ninety-six years full of life just couldn't go by without a celebration.

William Logue would have wanted a big funeral. He would have loved being the center of attention. He would have loved having people he loved surround him. He would have tried to feed them all.

The World War II veteran died Monday afternoon, and on ...Read more

KENT, Ohio -- The campus in the center of town where my husband taught, where our children earned degrees, where our family attended countless concerts, plays and sporting events, is eerily quiet now, its well-tended spring lawns a verdant contrast to the 23,000 students who vanished in March.

The COVID-induced silence, echoed in the "Closed ...Read more

Last year on Mother's Day I was taking notes on my cell phone in church as fast as my fingers could fly, hoping auto-correct would render them intelligible.

Our pastor had invited people to share about their mothers. He began, pausing occasionally to swallow a lump in his throat. He remembered passing his mother's bedroom door seeing her ...Read more

We are on the brink of what, traditionally, has been the summer vacation season. Yet, many of us have canceled or put our plans on hold. If you are inclined to travel, here are five ideas to consider:

1. Take a road trip.

Some experts are calling this the "year of the car," a time frame during which we will forgo international travel and "See ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- In March, not long before the Safer at Home order was extended to May 15, my 18-year-old son took part in a drive-by birthday caravan in the San Fernando Valley where he saw his friends for the first time since his school closed abruptly because of COVID-19.

If you've never heard of this touching act, it can be described as a ...Read more