A while back I asked my cousin if she liked coffee. She did not. She seemed apologetic and assured me her friend had taken her down that rabbit hole. It is an acquired taste, and she had not yet acquired it. I almost said, "Sweet baby lamb, who hurt you?" Coffee is, in my opinion, a warm hug from the inside out. It has been there for me in good times and bad. It saw me through high school, college, courtship, twenty years of marriage, four beautiful children, and a miscarriage. ...

Hospitality has always been an important part of my life. When I was young, my Mom sent me to the neighbor's house for an egg if she was out or a cup of sugar if one of the other Moms was in need. I knew what I had to do. There was no time for talk, no time for play. I was on a mission. I had to deliver precious cargo to one Mom or another, and there was no room for error. If I tripped and fell, the egg or the cup of sugar would be lost. There was no going back and getting another. I...

Recently, my Mother's health took a turn. She went from an independent woman, cooking and cleaning for herself to barely responsive, living moment to moment in a hospice facility in the course of three short weeks. There is a complicated history with my family, and I am doing my best to be my best under these circumstances. At home I am missed. I may be loud. I may be boisterous. I may be emotional. I may be colorful. I am never boring. And until recently, I am never absent. Being at...