Columns

I once spent an entire summer reading Emily Dickinson’s work and analyzing it, from the literal meaning of her words to the historical context of her work and the constraints under which she wrote each line. At the end of that summer, I was positive about one thing when…

A name is not mere letters on paper or a screen, but a way to proclaim our existence. What we call ourselves lets the world know who we are. My name, Joe Keith, comes from my great-uncle (my grandfather’s brother). I take a great deal of pride in carrying on…

Mother’s Day is this Sunday. The day dedicated to honoring mothers began in the early 1900s. It’s a special time of joy and celebration, with families going out for lunch and mothers receiving cards and flowers. That’s the picture-perfect version of what Mother’s Day looks like in a television…

Brandi’s journey with hemophilia Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Brandi Worthington about her experiences as a woman living with hemophilia. Brandi was in her 30s when she received a diagnosis that linked hemophilia to her long-standing bleeding issues. This revelation came 23 years after the onset…

Having a family member admitted to the hospital throws the entire family’s routine into absolute chaos. We lose our control of time, as well as our privacy. While it is great to see a friend or to hear good news from the medical staff, we are unable to dictate…

I find myself stranded today. I had traveled from Texas to Denver for a week of classes before jetting off to Vermont for a speaking engagement. Before my arrival in Vermont, my return flight to Denver was canceled. What’s a girl to do? Having spoken at the New…

This month, we celebrated the two holidays of Easter and Passover. Many of my Christian friends describe Easter as a celebration of freedom over sin and death due to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. My Jewish friends gather to recount the story of Passover, a celebration of freedom from slavery…

We all enter history at a different point; our entry into the timeline of the world marks where the future of us begins as individuals and families. Sometimes, we accelerate into the on-ramp that launches us, and sometimes we bumpily move toward our mark. On our first date, my now-husband…

One of the best things about my relationship with my wife is our team approach to difficult circumstances stemming from hemophilia. I tend to remain calm at the beginning of a problem, while she is active toward the end. Our responses mostly happen automatically, like clockwork. We are grateful…

My youngest son Caeleb suffers from seasonal allergies. He gets severe headaches, congestion, a runny nose, watery eyes — it’s not fun. One of the telltale signs that he is genuinely sick is when he vomits from a headache; otherwise, I chalk most things up to allergies. On a Sunday…