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Ex-etiquette: Birthday text from ex?
Q. I have been married to my husband for four years. My husband’s ex has an annoying habit of texting him on his birthday every year. They are flirty texts, not just “Happy birthday” and I find them way out of line. My husband and his ex have been divorced for more than 10 years and the kids are in college, so they have very few co-...Read more

Lori Borgman: Method to the basketball madness
I was one of the first to complete the family NCAA bracket this year. There’s not a chance I’ll win and I’m good with that.
Our son-in-law started the family bracket challenge, which includes his side of the family and our side, 15 years ago.
His side of the family loves sports. His dad even refereed for years.
When you love sports, you...Read more

9 novels that shine a light on the privileged class of society
Part of what makes novels so appealing is how they allow us to step into the lives of others. This allows us to not only escape the real world — like in science fiction and fantasy — but also to see the real world through a new lens. To see — to feel and experience — what it’s like to live a completely different life, even if only for ...Read more

'Casablanca' meets the spy world in WWII story of love and espionage
"The Librarians of Lisbon" is accurately described on the cover as “A WWII story of love and espionage,” and novelist Suzanne Nelson certainly delivers, as promised, a fine work of historical fiction for adult readers.
This former children’s book editor and award-winning author has previously written dozens of middle grade and young adult...Read more

A heart attack while shoveling snow. Then another emergency during cardiac rehab
Looking out the window of his home in Troy, New York, on a Friday night, Kyle Wessels made note of his first chore the next day: shoveling snow.
On Saturday morning, he saw that only a few inches of snow had fallen, but it was the wet, heavy kind.
Having grown up in Troy, then-47-year-old Wessels knew the drill. He grabbed his snow blower and ...Read more
Depression Doesn't Have To Be Part Of Aging Process
Q: My aging mother has been living in a nursing home for just over a year. She's always been a very positive person, but now she barely speaks to us when we visit her. Is depression a normal part of the aging process? What can we do?
Jim: Professional counselors say that, unfortunately, depression can be fairly common among people in your ...Read more
The Middle Ground to Happiness
If you trust surveys (and if you are an American, of course, you do not), you may be surprised to learn that we, as a nation, are a group of unhappy people.
The World Happiness Report, released recently, shows that the U.S. is the 24th happiest nation, continuing a steady decline from its highest point of 11th place in 2012. The data shows we...Read more

Family guide to new movie releases
'SNOW WHITE'
Rated PG for violence, some peril, thematic elements and brief rude humor.
What it’s about: This musical adaptation of the 1937 animated Disney feature has a modern sensibility and execution but a faithfully vintage style.
The kid attractor factor: Kids will be drawn to the fairy-tale story, cute animals, princess power and ...Read more

Ex-etiquette: Setting house rules
Q. I have two sons, 5 and 7. I do not allow my children more than a half hour a day on their iPad. My partner uses screen time as a way to appease his son, who is turning 8. Recently my bonus son lost his temper and yelled at me in front of my sons. I took away his iPad believing if I did nothing it might set a precedent. My partner came home ...Read more

Lori Borgman: Dropping the penny may make cents
I can’t call heads or tails on whether we should stop minting the penny. There are two sides to every coin, right?
Zinc and copper used to make a penny are worth almost four times the value of the coin. Bottom line: The penny is not cost-efficient. I empathize. Some days I’m not terribly cost-efficient either.
It’s hard to imagine life ...Read more

When midlife is a new beginning: Gen-X romance novels
Is there such a thing as too old or too late to find new love?
I admit that before I turned 40 almost a decade ago, I didn’t give much thought to this question. Though I was writing romance and love stories, my protagonists were my age or younger, because that was what I knew. The protagonists I read about or watched on film and television ...Read more

When her son was diagnosed with severe heart problems, she blamed herself. Could she get over it?
With her mother in labor, then-17-year-old Jamie Dawson sneaked past nurses and headed for the delivery room.
The door was cracked open just enough for her to hear baby brother Max cry for the first time. Dawson felt a surge of love like she'd never experienced. When she became the first person to hold Max other than his parents, the feeling ...Read more

CIA spies, political leaders and hotel chains are pawns on geopolitical chessboard in epic thriller
The fate of America sits in the crosshairs as Russia unleashes its most ambitious plan yet to deceive, distract, and sow chaos. But no Russian machinations have yet survived a run-in with Dan Reilly, international hotel executive and part-time CIA spy, as Ed Fuller and Gary Grossman reveal in the fourth installment of their popular Red Hotel ...Read more
Teens Need Extra Help Navigating Turbulent Years
Q: Ever since my daughter became a teenager it feels like I’m raising a little monster. Honestly -- and I’m ashamed to say it -- there are times I just want to pull away and separate from all the drama. Help!?
Jim: Having raised two sons to adulthood, I understand. That sweet child who used to meet you at the front door every night after ...Read more
For Non-Depressing, Non-Political News -- Turn to Science
Maybe you're getting a little stressed out. Let's say it's increasingly difficult to ignore the political news these days -- the stuff about the looming government shutdown, the tariffs, the Tesla sitting on the White House front lawn, the green-card-carrying legal resident of the U.S. being detained for being a member of a group who said some...Read more
Free Play Under Fire
No more free play!
That's the order at Bourke Street Public School in New South Wales, Australia. The reason? When kids were organizing their own games of soccer and basketball, the games were "not inclusive, fair or fun for everyone."
So reports Seven News in Sydney. Now, instead of spontaneous ball games, says reporter Taylor Aiken, the ...Read more

Family guide to new movie releases
'BLACK BAG'
Rated R for language including some sexual references, and some violence.
What it’s about: A pair of married spies spy on each other in this sexy espionage thriller.
The kid attractor factor: This is a mature thriller aimed at adult audiences.
Good lessons/bad lessons: Trust no one, including your spouse, but devotion is ...Read more

Debra-Lynn B. Hook: Extending love in hate-tinged times
I attend a spirituality group for an hour every week that holds loving kindness as its anchor.
During the hour, we read the poetry of such luminaries as Mary Oliver and John O'Donohue. We meditate, and we talk about the ways we find to extend loving kindness to ourselves and others.
The dozen or so gentle-spirited members of this group also ...Read more

Ex-etiquette: Going back to court
Q. My ex and I have been apart for six years. Our son is 9 and we share his time equally. For years we got along OK, but her boyfriend moved in last year and now she tapes all the exchanges. It upsets our son, and it upsets me. Today I received a notification that she is taking me back to court to revise the parenting plan we have had for six ...Read more

Lori Borgman: Friday with waffle fries and movie stars
We have just done a school pick-up; 14-year-old twins and their 12-year-old sister are in the car with us. In a unanimous decision, we head directly to Chick-fil-A because some days the main thing you get at school is hungry. Very, very hungry.
We ordered and are seated with waffle fries and ice cream, checking off vegetables and dairy for the ...Read more
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