The beauty of being a columnist is that I can write whatever I damned well please. That is, as long as every column is interesting, timely, unique, well-written, accurate, properly attributed, thoroughly researched, thought provoking, honest, inoffensive, witty, intelligent, and no more than 700 words. Piece of cake, right? Frankly, writing columns isn’t easy. In…
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Punked by my GPS
Last week, I hobbled over our frozen lawn toward my salt-encrusted car, balancing a to-go cup of coffee and two bags slung over each shoulder. It’s a hassle running errands during the doldrums of winter. Opening the gritty driver’s door, I set my coffee in the center console’s cup holder, then decided to hurl my…
Girls Will Be Girls: The Hidden Dangers of Social Aggression
Lilly was our easy child. As a baby, she sat contentedly on my hip while I did home therapy with her developmentally delayed older brother, or while I argued with her stronger-willed big sister. In school, Lilly made friends easily at every duty station. Her teachers would move Lilly’s desk away from her pals to…
New Surveys Point to Cause of Low Military Morale
I want to know why news reports over the last decade have indicated a steady decline in the well-being and satisfaction of military service members. I don’t want the same pat answer, that military families need a better quality of life. Let’s dig deeper. Is there a real solution to continuing dissatisfaction? The recently-released results…
Military Families Hit Harder by Inflation