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My brother and I are having a disagreement. We’re both grown adults with grown children, so our disagreements look like discussions with the occasional pointed jab that recalls old childhood tensions. This disagreement started when the three of us – me, my brother, and our mom – were sitting around

Financial planning clients tend to fit a specific demographic – they’re usually retired or approaching retirement or thinking about financial independence. A few younger people (and I mean those in their 30s and 40s) might want a financial planner to help them make decisions about company stock, the sale of

I was preparing for a last-minute holiday get-together—making pasta salad, arranging cookies, setting the table—when I heard a beep. A minute or so later, I heard another beep. I stopped what I was doing to change the battery in the kitchen smoke detector. A minute or so later, there was

When I was in marketing management, my least favorite part of the job was organizing the end-of-year party for a thousand employees and their guests, a third of whom would sign up but never show up. Those who did attend seemed to be having a marvelous time, gobbling plates of

When I told my daughter I was doing noon workouts at the local pool, she was shocked. “What?” she said. She thought I had said, “nude workouts.” As a matter of fact, just about the only suit I put on these days is the one I wear lap swimming. I

My 85-year-old Mom got a call from Publisher’s Clearing House. The caller told her she’d won $3.7 million and a new Mercedes Benz. The car was going to be delivered to her house that afternoon. All she needed to do was go to the store right away and get a

It’s been a while since I’ve attended a wedding. This summer I was invited to three. There seems to have been an outbreak of post-pandemic pairing among the niece and nephew generation. Wedding ceremonies are all about love and commitment and the coming together of families. As I watched the

You don’t have to be superstitious to believe you can predict the future. In fact, if you think about it, you’re making predictions all day long. That doesn’t make you clairvoyant. For example, when I need to go somewhere, I assume that I can rely on my car to take

Last week my daughter called to ask about the best way to cook a salmon fillet. My mom called for help setting up a new app on her computer. And I called a friend to ask her advice on how to use ChatGPT in my writing. Isn’t it great to

There’s a place in Alaska that’s been in our family since 1939. A beautiful lake-front spot on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s eight acres of land originally purchased for $500. Not long ago the old miner’s cabin was torn down and replaced with a big log cabin. The cabin was a

I chuckle when I hear people talk about parenting as an eighteen-year responsibility. Eighteen? I passed that age more than a few decades ago and my Mom still takes care of me. Okay, and I take care of her, too. I also don’t expect to be turning off the tap

I like answering surveys. They’re kind of a professional curiosity for me, like a baker tasting chocolates. But lately, I’ve been stumped by one of the questions at the end of the survey. It’s the one that asks about employment status. The choices are: Employed full time, employed part time,