Morning Cuppa Joy

Fall is a season for gathering and preserving, but not everything precious can be stored away. An afternoon with Mom, a collection of o nearly 100-year-old family photographs, and a story called “Make the Chili” remind...

In remembering Dolly Parton, I find myself drawn not only to her music and generosity, but also to the way she saw people. She recognized beauty where others placed shame, intelligence where others saw limitations, and...

A potluck for an old friend got me thinking about the story of Stone Soup , the communities that have moved through my life, and the different ways each of us contributes. Some people have a gift for bringing people...

How well do we really know the people whose lives intersect ours? Sometimes it takes an empty chair to make us wonder about the person who used to sit there. The deaths of two fellow Rotarians—and memories of my son...

Sometimes we think we need more—a little more space, another shelf, maybe one more bookcase. But what happens when we stop looking at what we're missing long enough to really see what we already have? A $10 Facebook...

He was fired for reading a poem to nine-year-olds. I had to know the rest of the story. When I dug deeper, I discovered far more than the story of a young teacher losing his job. I discovered Jonathan Kozol—a man who...

Sometimes the greatest gift we can give another person is helping them see something true and beautiful about themselves. A kind note from a podcast listener, an old rabbi's story, and a remarkable novel reminded me of...

None of us gets through life without a few before-and-after moments. We all have them—those defining moments that divide our lives into before and after. Some arrive with celebration. Others come with a phone call we...

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn A barren corner at a familiar Sacramento intersection stirred a memory from forty years ago about a remarkable woman known as the Flower Lady. Fran Yermol’s...

How do you define play? Does it require a court, a fairway, or a field to count? What if your playground is your kitchen...your sewing room...or your garage workshop? A morning spent making pepper jelly with friends...

Send us Fan Mail What do a 250-year-old nation, a worn Thanksgiving tablecloth, and a neighborhood Fourth of July celebration have in common? More than I realized. Sometimes the most ordinary things remind us of the...

Send us Fan Mail What stories do you hope your children or grandchildren will remember long after you're gone? A reunion with old friends, a conversation with my son, and memories of my mother and grandparents reminded...

Send us Fan Mail What if someone had shown your sixteen-year-old self a photograph from your future and everything in it seemed impossible? Father's Day can stir up a wide range of emotions. In this week's Cuppa Joy, I...

<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>Why do stories of kindness touch us so deeply? And what happens when children are invited to put those lessons into action? This week I'm sharing the story behind Steve Hartman's Kindness 101...

<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>What helps a child survive life's hardest seasons?</p><p>A story about orphan trains led me down an unexpected path—through the childhood experiences of my grandparents, the beloved pages of...