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MARRIAGE HEALTH: 5 KEYS TO LASTING HAPPINESS

1. Share Marriage Health Goals Husband: Stay married. Wife: Staying married. A marriage health goal of staying married may sound redundant, but not when so many marriages end early. Married couples need to ask one question when they are out without the spouse: Is this good for my marriage?

ENOUGH LEADERSHIP? WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?

    Talk to any reliable construction contractor about when enough is enough and they say two things: It’s enough when you run out of money to do more. And it’s enough when you run out of time and need to wrap things up. Ask any self respecting parent how they decide when enough is […]

FAMILY TIES OVERCOME SOME THINGS, NOT OTHERS

    Everyday I wake up I see a little gold tree with small family portraits hanging from the bare branches. Maybe you’ve got one that looks like the top image? That’s not mine. Mine used to be on my childhood fireplace mantle beside my grandfather’s railroad watch. Now I’ve got them both, and they’ve […]

Portland Welcome Mat: How To Walk Around Downtown Portland

    One of the great things about sponsoring foreign exchange students after your own kids have been out of college for years is rolling out the welcome mat.   The Portland welcome mat. And dragging everyone possible along the Portland Trail.   My wagon train always starts with Saturday Market and the sort of […]

Man Married At Age Thirty One Sees Image Thirty One Years Later

    The saying ‘Like a deer in the headlights’ must have been coined at a wedding. My wedding.   Things changed that day.   We’re going through a phase, call it the non-hoarding phase, and this came up in an album.

A MAY WEDDING AND ONE LOUD, “I DO,” LATER

A May wedding in a Fir Cathedral and still in the woods thirty one years later. Doesn’t every married couple have a theme song? They should, and it doesn’t have to be the same song forever. Just make it a song older than your marriage. And no Beatles. This ought to be the common default:

TWO MARRIED GUYS MAP DATE LIFE

What else would two married guys do? The beauty of public transportation comes with the people you meet. Two old men waited at a Portland bus stop. Late afternoon drizzle fell on the city through fading light. The sun made little effort to split the clouds over the Willamette River. Man 1: It felt like […]

ONE LOVE STORY

It Started Like Love Story, Then Everyone Said They Were Sorry. A nice man and nice lady met and became a nice couple. When they got married they were nice newly weds. They were nice parents when they had kids. A great family in the making, then things changed. One of the parents needed more, […]

SIXTY @ SIXTY IN THREE PARTS

1. Know your roots. Remember where you came from. Turning 60 means you’ve met lots of people. You’ve had time to meet people; if you haven’t, get started. More than once you’ve had someone give this answer when asked, “Where are you from?” “Lot’s of places.” If you’ve given that answer it’s time to stop. […]