Costs are soaring for people who care for their older parents and other family members, according to a new study.

Out-of-pocket expenses are nearly 60% higher than they were just five years ago for family caregivers, who now spend an average of $11,508 a year on caregiving, according to a report released this week by AARP, a nonprofit that ...Read more

ELKHORN, Wis. — Bray Road runs for 3 miles through Elkhorn, Wisconsin. At the south, it begins not far from Lake Geneva. Enter off U.S. Route 12, curl east, and other than a slight jog, it’s pretty much a straight shot to State Route 11. Hence all the snaking peel-out marks left by amateur racers. Foliage rustles in the autumn wind here, and...Read more

In case you haven’t noticed, you have been living through an explosion of new varieties when it comes to hydrangeas. It has been like a wonderful tsunami of shrubs that we could not have even dreamed about.

Today I looked at the Proven Winners online catalog and there were 66 varieties. Can you imagine how many there would be if you counted ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m 29, and my fiancee is 28. We’ve been together for five years and are supposed to get married next spring. Since I proposed about a year ago, her mental health has gotten progressively worse, and she’s not seeking any kind of treatment for it. She eventually quit her job and now spends most of her days at home. I work full ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- Emily Hanford is a superstar in education reporting. Four years ago, her APM Reports podcast “Sold a Story” rocked the K-12 world. Soon after its launch, more than two dozen states, including Minnesota, passed laws or policies intended to change the way schools teach reading.

You can see the seismic effects of her reporting ...Read more

Ever since Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Plug and Play Solar Act last month and opened the door for Californians to plug small solar panels directly into wall outlets without utility permissions, people have been asking: Can renters use this technology?

“It’s a bit of an open question,” said Joseph Kaatz, senior staff attorney at the ...Read more

CHICAGO -- When she was in fifth grade, Lexie Ippolito watched her mother get married in a stunning Michelangelo-style strapless wedding dress. Ippolito, now 28, always imagined that she, too, would one day wear that same beaded gown and matching sheer veil. Once she got engaged, she wanted her mother’s to be the first wedding dress she tried ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Is your memory faltering, or are you experiencing early signs of Alzheimer’s? Does your family history mean you are more likely to develop the disease?

Learning your Alzheimer’s risk — and taking steps to curb it — is getting easier in South Florida with less invasive, more accessible, and more accurate testing...Read more

A client of mine recently was set up on a date through friends. She walked into the bar to meet him, and she said he immediately started peppering her with questions. At first, they were innocuous enough:

Where are you from?

What do you do for work?

Then, she said, the questions started to get a little deeper:

Do you like your family?

Do ...Read more

Q. My child tells me that she can do various things at her mother’s home that she can’t do at mine. It seems to me that there are no rules over there, and it makes me look unreasonable. I think my ex is doing this on purpose, so the kids will prefer her home. What’s good ex-etiquette?

A. My first question is, how do you know?

You said ...Read more

We often race one another clearing the table after dinner. It’s not an overt race with running shoes, numbers strapped to our chests and the crack of a starting pistol, but a low-key, passive-aggressive, run-walk type race.

I move toward the sink with a dish holding the scattered remains of a lone chicken enchilada. He pulls back his chair; I...Read more

Last week’s column was all about how allowing kids to be resentful (the bitter indignation of having been treated unfairly) and entitled (the belief that one is deserving of certain privileges) is the best way to make sure your kid lives a life of misery.

In case you make a terrible weekly life choice and don’t read this column with perfect...Read more

KEWANEE, Ill. — The educators made their way into the white outdoor tent first, decked out in master’s regalia that provided a bit of warmth on the nippy October morning and accessorized with wide smiles. In purple robes and tassels displaying Northwestern University’s seal embossed on a metal medallion, 18 women followed, the sound of �...Read more

The greatest insurance sales pitch I ever heard was uttered by Groucho Marx in “A Night at the Opera” when he told a potential client, “I have here an accident policy that will absolutely protect you no matter what happens. If you lose a leg, we’ll help you look for it.”

That’s the kind of solemn promise you don’t hear in all ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- It's Thursday night, and sitting at the top of the football bleachers after a two-hour drive from Mission Viejo are JT and Kathy Reis, grandparents of Palos Verdes High twins Christian and Weston Reis.

While one fan shouts criticism at an official's call at Mira Costa High, Grandma and Grandpa Reis calmly and confidently root for...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Research spearheaded by a Texas Christian University professor shows students can benefit academically from having an hour of outdoor play per day. But convincing educators to budget this much time into the school day is a challenge.

Professor Deborah J. Rhea’s LiiNK Project — which stands for Let’s inspire ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- One night at the Kung Fu Necktie bar in Fishtown, Lauren Herman spotted an intriguing man across the room. Most patrons were dressed in black, to match the night’s Emo theme, but he was wearing an outlandish blue suit and a matching feather-topped hat.

Herman, an extrovert with a direct approach, walked over and asked the ...Read more

When I committed to running the Chicago Marathon this year, I also committed to learning a new life lesson from each of the 16 weeks of training.

I wrote about a few of them in earlier columns, hoping they’d resonate with some of you since they aren’t really about running as much as they’re about perspective and persevering and gratitude....Read more