After we were first married, we moved about 300 miles away to New Mexico. On Christmas Eve, my wife and I started to drive back to stay with her (not-so-nice) parents over the holidays. More >>

...Finding joy in life is not terribly difficult, but it is a learned skill. First off, being in a state of joy is not the same thing as being happy. Joy is more of a deep and profound type of feeling. More >>

Dr. Laura: I thought of you when I saw this humorous email in my inbox today from my wonderful husband... More >>

The Christmas of 1964 comes close to bringing tears to my eyes even today. We only got presents twice a year: birthday and Christmas. We each got three presents. Often what we got was clearly a cheaper version of what we wanted, but imagination made up the difference. More >>

One of my golden rules is to settle (within my mind) negative situations and interactions, and agree/disappointment within 4 days (one day just to be mad, if needed, and then 3 days to address and settle the situation.) More >>

...[T]o prepare for this trip I had to leave our "children" (two black labs) at a local kennel. I found this very stressful... More >>

We lost my 10 year old son for about a half an hour this weekend at our town's crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony. I have never been so terrified and heartsick in my life! More >>

Ever since I lost my Mom to ovarian Cancer 3 years ago, I've felt a sense of loss of not having a mom, and a couple of weeks ago while listening to you on SiriusXM, I realized you had become my "mom", and that you were providing some things that I miss the most about my Mom. More >>

Although high school yearbooks have categories for 'Most Likely to Succeed' and 'Class Clown,' there is no superlative for 'Most Shy.' The teenage years can be a difficult transition period, especially if you're not an outgoing person. If your teen is shy, I've got some tips to help them break out of their comfort zone. More >>

My daughter is 15, and, like most teens is concerned with the social aspect of high school... She is shy and feeling overwhelmed with not being outgoing enough. More >>