My husband, Dustin, retires from the Navy one year from now. We started dating after he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1997, and we were married in 1999 while he was in flight school. But we’ve known each other since 1976. That’s the year I was born and our dads were deployed together on […]

This year Mother Nature, if she were a middle school student, would be at best a tease, and at worst a bully. Or maybe the Wicked Witch of the West. She gives us warm and sunny — then threats of snow or hail. Come on, spring, let’s get with the program. We have veggies we […]

DES MOINES, Iowa Keira Kelly squirmed with the tenuous excitement of a girl readying to open a soda can she’s just finished shaking. Dressed to the nines in a black and gold University of Iowa cheerleading uniform and clutching a Hawkeye-emblazoned backpack, Kelly focused with rapt attention on the nondescript dance studio’s door, The Des […]

DETROIT As the skies darkened and streets quieted in a Detroit neighborhood on a recent Friday evening, a cozy brown brick home swelled with light and sound. The residents at the newly opened Moishe House in historic Indian Village had invited visitors to celebrate a Shabbat dinner to end the workweek. Organizers hope to make […]

Is your lettuce lagging? Your spring greens tired of cold, gray days? You can make a self-heating “hot box” in your garden using a cold frame, some fresh horse manure and some hard work. Lots of hard work, actually. But your lettuce and spinach will reward you sooner rather than later. A month ago I […]

My husband, Dustin, is the fun parent. Part of this is because, as the parents of only sons, he more easily identifies with our children and their interests than I do. (I’d rather chip paint than play Axis & Allies.) But most of my husband’s parenting persona is due to the fact that he has […]

FORT WORTH, Texas Austin Underwood opened the back latch of his truck and swung open the doors. He grazed the shining surfaces with his hands, and his face broke into a big grin. “This is it,” he said. “This is where we’ll do our cooking.” Fort Worth’s newest food truck is the creation of the […]

HARTFORD, Conn. Two words, five syllables, thrust Sumbul Naqvi into a dark depression. “Ewing’s sarcoma,” a rare type of cancer that gnaws at bones and soft tissue, typically in the pelvis and legs. The diagnosis rocked Naqvi’s entire household. But fate can be cruel, and the one who received the news couldn’t grasp its gravity: […]

If you have not heard the term “me-ternity,” you likely got through last week without feeling discouraged about today’s entitlement culture. Here’s what you missed: The world met Meghann Foye. Meghann had a career as an editor, but she was jealous of female colleagues who went on maternity leave when they had a child. Meghann […]

Some gardeners grow flowers for their beauty in the garden. Others for their magnificence in a vase. A few select species largely for their scent. My friend, Nelia Sargent of Claremont, is in this third category, largely because she is blind. I called her recently to see what flowering shrubs she likes best. Nelia loves […]