I engraved it on a necklace to wear around my neck. “Choose Joy.” The letters glitter when I look down at them. I’ve always loved the idea that I could choose joy in any circumstance, whether or not the “feeling” of happiness was happening to me a...

Every time I pushed my one-year-old’s stroller outside our home at Shi Fan Da Xue, I felt like we had become our own parade. My light skinned, blond-haired baby laughed and smiled as fascinated strangers pointed and waved. My son was such a magnet...

Bleary-eyed after an all-night flight from Bangkok, I waited in, okay, I admit it, grumbling misery, for the final leg of my trip. Schipol is not an awful airport, but I was tired and grumpy and had too much time to kill. Eventually, I headed to t...

The last box was carried into the house. It was stacked with the others making a wall that lined a path to the kitchen. I knew what was inside the boxes. Some had toys and trinkets for the kids. Others had dishes and glassware. Some had books. One...