Passionate Patriots: Valentine’s Day in Colonial America

This is a post I wrote in 2016, but these valentines speak to an era we seldom think of as romantic. They deserve another look, don’t you think? Passion conjures up images of Valentine’s Day more than it does the Fourth of July. The Founding Fathers were serious men about the serious business of changing the world through revolution and a brilliantly written document. But these men were passionate about their women, too. Just look at the love letters between John and Abigail Adams, for example. Addressing her as “Miss Adorable,” Adams wrote: “By the same Token that the Bearer Read More

Recognizing Passion in the Pokémon Go Craze

Our daughter and grandkids just left after a five-day visit. It was Grandma heaven. We spent one afternoon at the beach on Lake Michigan. The waves were perfect—high whitecaps that never ended. Molly and Papa Rich were in the water for almost two hours. Tommy joined them occasionally, but was more interested in following Pokémon Go along the beach and pier. I accompanied him once so he could venture out to the end of the pier in search of Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.   As I followed along behind him, I had to steer him out of the path of Read More

One Little Word: Passion

My One Little Word for 2015 was Embrace. I needed really long arms to embrace all that came at me this past year. It’s been a year of huge life changes, much joy and some sadness. My husband retired, we sold our home in one city and moved to a new home in a new city where two of our three children and their spouses live. Embracing this move was easy. We love being near our kids, it’s a lively, artsy, diverse city, and our new home is perfect for us. The flip side, of course, was leaving behind wonderful Read More