My dad knew how to smile. His smile was bright, wide, warm and genuine. Plus he was generous with it. He loved engaging with people, everyone. Do not misunderstand, he was not always happy. He had his struggles, and they could get him down at times. But, no matter how…

On a cold dark December evening in 2021, I met my mom in a Park and Ride lot off a highway in Wisconsin to share some Christmas cheer. Bundled up in her heavy coat, hat, gloves, boots and COVID mask, she joined me in my car, where I was…

Today’s Great Resignation is unprecedented and seems scary. But in many ways, it’s awesome. People are not just grumbling, they are taking action. A Microsoft survey of 30,000 workers in 31 countries, found 54% of Generation Z workers, 41% of the entire global workforce are considering resigning from their current…

Dr. Peter Boghossian posted his resignation letter from Portland State university last week. He resigned because the university culture has come to hinder his ability to do his job, which is to teach philosophy, and in particular, critical thinking. …

Recently, I finished a large technology project with a virtual team of close to 100 people. As we were wrapping up the effort, one of the team members who was ending her professional career of over 40 years took the virtual floor. She explained to us that in her career…

Thanks to a last minute pivot, our son’s college graduation ended up being in-person. Like many other events this year, you could see that the organizers attempted to keep traditional components, and but needed to get creative when restrictions limited them. Not knowing what to expect, we entered the National’s…

“What game are we playing tonight?” asked Julia, my 10-year-old niece. Each day the answer was different — charades, spoons, dominos, the dollar game, smash ball or our own version of Shanghai rummy. Our extended family vacation never felt as sweet to me as it did this year. Not even…

One of things I miss the most about our sons’ high school hockey games is the music. It often made me smile, and it always made me want to dance. Parents volunteered for many of the chores needed to bring each game together — from scheduling the games, running the…

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about inclusion, and why people exclude others at work. It has made me think about pie. I’ve bought many pies over the years, especially when I’m at the grocery store picking up a few things for our dinner. I’ll see a pie and…