This post first appeared on, where I serve as one of the bloggers. I braced myself as I walked in the door. I knew it would be dark, so dark that I’d have to squint to read the faded gray numbers on the price tags. And I knew it would be loud, so loud that I’d have...
Her new boss is pretty demanding. And he gives zero affirmation. Even on days she knocks it out of the park, he shows no appreciation. He just starts whining about the next thing he needs from her. She never imagined having a boss who is bald, who drools, and who...
I asked a friend yesterday what she was planning for Valentine’s Day (I was fishing for ideas to steal), and she said (in essence), “Are you nuts? I don’t do Valentine’s Day.” I had just come from another gathering of friends, and they...
By: Shanon PopkinWhen did I feel most loved by my husband this month?It wasn’t when he gave me the gift card which came with his new credit card. (Though I’m really looking forward to using it.)It wasn’t when he got up early to take our daughter to...
My friend’s son was a 9th grader when a girl suddenly began inserting herself into his life in a big way. She came to his games, invited herself over, sent him texts (lots of texts). She was everywhere. My friend became concerned by how much her son was enjoying...
“Do you know Ken Popkin?” I asked my friend, Chris. Since Chris was the youth pastor, I figured he might know the guy from our church whom I was being set up on a blind date with.Chris did know Ken, but not well. He promised that if he had a Ken sighting...
When I was expecting our first baby, I had driven to see my parents in Michigan for a few days over spring break. I was on my way back to Milwaukee–about an hour into the trip–when a car beside me started honking its horn.I glanced over to see a man...
The other day, Cade (age 8) said to me, “Mom, I really love it when you tell me that you love me. You know, like when you give me a kiss at night and say you love me? It makes me feel all warm when you say that. It gives me hope.”Then yesterday, when he...
My friend, Melanie, stopped by last night to show me her new engagement ring that Jonathan gave her. Great guy. Beautiful ring. Happy girl.I remember talking to her a year or so ago about the guy that she had been dating. He had a promising career, sent flowers on a...
At the meat counter, my friend, Angela, heard an elderly woman say to the deli attendant, “I would like some turkey, please.” The young man said, “Ok…. What kind of turkey? Smoked? Honey? Roasted?”She replied, “Oh… Well, I don’t know. I just need some turkey.”He said,...