2010-02

Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day.

That’s how relationship and personal growth expert Dr. Barbara De Angelis describes marriage: a union that must be nurtured through constant tending.

Easier said than done…especially if you’re a parent.

For many of us, finding that special someone began so innocently — easy-breezy laughter and silliness, long talks and longer walks, holding hands and candlelit dinners. Love comes easily and follows a natural progression in our daydreams: a fabulous wedding, an enviable marriage, perfect children, and growing old together rocking on the porch. But for so many in this country, those picket fence images all too often fade into divorce. The estimate for first marriages ending in divorce currently sits between 40% and 50%. Divorce happens for myriad reasons, but for a lot of couples the unexpected stress of having children is a big one.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.
—Mother Teresa

By the time you read this, some 200,000 people in Haiti will have been buried, their bodies crushed by an earthquake in a land already devastated by hunger, lack of education, and political unrest.

Some who call themselves representatives of God would have us believe that the devastation is punishment for past evils.

I think that kind of thinking is, in itself, evil.

What holiday is less connected to its historical roots than Valentine’s Day? Jesus gets a strong shout-out on his birthday. President’s Day may be the perfect occasion for an underwear sale, but at least Washington’s face graces the newspaper ads. Even Punxsutawney Phil got a movie deal. But where is St. Valentine? 

Weeks before February 14, local stores celebrate enthusiastically with cheap jewelry, heart-shaped placemats, heart-themed pajamas, and enough chocolate to keep dentists busy through 2020 – yet Valentine himself is treated more like Voldemort.

It was a winter day in Austin and the rain had fallen for days, a surefire recipe for cabin fever. Nature needed to be explored, blue lips notwithstanding. After all, this is Texas, and before we know it we’ll be longing for a chilly breeze. Besides, there are a few young pirates around these parts who hanker for buried treasure.

And buried treasure is exactly what my three pirates found, when we combined forces with our friends John and Donna and asked them to introduce us to the world of geocaching. After spending a good part of the day chasing down boxes large and small in locations ranging from a solitary hiking trail to a hidden corner of a busy parking lot, we almost felt like we had rediscovered Austin. I think we might be hooked!