November 2015

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”  –Nelson Mandela Janeva Smith was nineteen and living in a car with her newborn baby. Terrified social services would take her child if the agency knew about her circumstances, she did…

Veterans Day holds significant meaning in our family. My father was in the Air Force, and my grandfather served in the Army during World War II. In fact, he met and married my grandmother, who served in the English Army, in Great Britain during the war. So essentially, without that…

As Evan McKeel waited to take the stage for his blind audition on NBC’s The Voice, he began jumping up and down, trying to burn off his excess energy. He threw some playful air punches and grounded himself. This is the moment he had been working toward, waiting for all…

For about a year after we moved into the house we live in now, I had a peculiar habit that to this day, no one in my family knows about. (Minds out of the gutter, please. Nothing illicit going on in suburbia.) Here’s what I did: While meandering out to…

Two days after my son turned fifteen-and-a-half, he had his driver’s permit in his hand. As a parent, my reactions veered across a wide spectrum of emotions. On one hand, having another driver in the house will undoubtedly be a relief in the ongoing scheduling game that we play. Like…

I remember that first morning when we stood in this doorway and took in all the cabinets, counters, and ceramic tile that finally belonged to us. We had no groceries in the fridge or utensils in the drawers, and almost all of our stuff was still stacked in boxes around…

Like over 46 million other Americans who plan to travel fifty miles or more over Thanksgiving, the Thompsons are hitting the road for the holiday this year. And not to be outdone by those fifty-milers, we’re going all in, all 3,000 miles across the country to California. We’ll spend the…

On November 20, 1909, the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia voted itself into existence. It was the first women’s voting rights organization in Richmond and it had just eighteen members, including Adele Clark, Nora Houston, the novelist Ellen Glasgow, and the formidable Lila Meade Valentine as president. This sisterhood had their…

Look at the trees and plants all around you – especially the ones you and your family didn’t plant. How do you think they got there? How did the flowers from your garden start growing in your neighbor’s yard, too? Just like people and animals, plants are designed to have…

Q: We’re expecting our second child in two months. Our firstborn is two-and-a-half and very excited at times, patting my tummy and talking to the baby. At other times, she seems very upset about the baby, becoming clingy and teary. How can we help everyone have a smooth transition once the baby…

When 5-year-old twins, Trevor and Lucy, along with their older brother Jordan, lay down at night, there are smiles on their faces and a shared feeling of comfort that they haven’t had in a long time. Life hasn’t been easy for the three siblings who were in foster care until…

There’s a good chance you know someone who has had or is battling prostate cancer. This malignancy is the most common solid organ cancer in men, and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. Approximately one in thirty-five men will die of prostate cancer…

Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad Heat oven to 400°. Peel 4 medium sweet potatoes and cut into 1-in cubes. Cut 1 large red onion into 1-in cubes. Put sweet potatoes and onions on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, toss to coat, and spread…

For any new investor wondering where to start, the number of options, decisions, and issues can be daunting. Having worked at a banking center across from a major university early in my career, I can tell you that most of the college students I interacted with did not have a…

Domestication means an animal species has been changed by humans over generations, so those animals can live in close association with us. These animals live better, longer lives with humans than without them. As a result of domestication, dogs and cats offer many benefits to people – perhaps the most…

Few things are more exciting than looking for a new home for your family. It’s the ultimate symbol of fresh beginnings and future possibilities. A nice new stainless steel fridge, granite countertops, and incredible walk-in closets can surely make you fall in love with a house. But when you’re looking…

In 1874, an international order of Roman Catholic nuns came to Richmond. Founded in 1839 by a French woman who welcomed a blind, starving wanderer into her home, the Little Sisters of the Poor were dedicated to serving the indigent elderly throughout the world. Within two years of arriving in Richmond, the…