Laura is my youngest child, and from the time she was four or five she woke up before dawn on Christmas day. Her excitement and anticipation made it difficult to sleep. As she got older, this sleepless pattern extended to include the nights before tryouts or before big events like the high school prom or […]

I was working outside on a glorious spring day when out of nowhere I started thinking of the words to an old Easter song by Irving Berlin that I remember from my childhood: “In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,  You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade.” And then I […]

To celebrate well, we must plan to celebrate. Weddings, birthday parties, graduations; baby or building dedications, grand openings, awards ceremonies; all require weeks or months of planning. We brainstorm, research, make reservations, recruit friends to help or hire event planners. Easter is next month! Would you be willing to do some planning to make your […]

Easter is the holiday that sneaks up on us and finds us unprepared.  Why does it happen every year? Here are a few reasons that might help put it all in perspective. While Christmas has nearly six months of anticipation–decorative and gift items start appearing in stores in late summer—Easter gets little advance marketing support […]