When Trying Harder Fails Lessons from the Bowling Green I was off to a great start. It was a hot summer afternoon on the bowling green, and I was playing pennant bowls, feeling quietly confident. My first few ends had gone well—I was reading the green accurately,...
Pleasant Memories of Food Poisoning It started innocently enough—a meal shared in good company: Tandoori chicken, naan, and some spicy, side dishes. A few hours later, I found myself locked in an epic battle with my own digestive system, doing anything but...
Talking About My Death A Conversation That Matters. This past week, something unexpected happened. My eldest son called me, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but the direction our conversation took was. After chatting about his plans to visit, he surprised me by...
Managing Jesus? A strange and humbling role reversal happens as we grow older. Somewhere along the way, our children start to become ‘our’ caregivers. They give us advice on how to eat better, remind us to take our medications, and worry about whether we’re getting...
Throughout my life, I’ve known a number of people who have struggled with bipolar disorder or psychotic mental illness — a colleague, an employee, friends, even a son-in-law. These have not been people on the fringes of life. They were — and are — intelligent,...
