I was lying in my living room the other afternoon, enjoying a fire and the coziness of a warm house in the winter, with the sun shining into the windows. Because of the holidays, we had moved our sofa into a new location, and I had an unusual new perspective of the living room at this hour of the day.

Dear Friends, Happy New Year! I hope that all of you had a very happy holiday season. At the Mahon household, we have been having a wonderful few weeks filled with teenagers returning from Peru, New York, and Florida, and departing for France, extended family visits in person and by phone, presents, and a few [...]

Dear Friends, December is here, and with the holidays upon us, we have opportunities to connect with old friends, close family, extended family, and new acquaintances. To kiss or not to kiss, to hug or not to hug? Sometimes it can be a little awkward. I don’t come from a family of huggers. Most of [...]

Dear Friends, I hope that you are enjoying this beautiful and mild fall as much as I have been. Last weekend, my dear younger sister came to visit with her husband and her four small children. It was a lovely visit, although one day was dreary and rainy, so I had the bright idea to [...]

Dear Friends, I am sitting in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains looking out into the trees and watching the setting sun. It’s so incredibly quiet here. I’m sure you’ve felt this before, this sense of restoration that can happen in nature, and especially when we rest in nature. When I spend even one [...]

Dear Friends, When my kids were young, I loved September. The weather would start cooling off, school supplies would be purchased, and it felt like time to start over with a clean slate. This year, however, September feels different. This year, we have two graduating daughters leaving home for college and gap experiences, and one [...]