Family

A cancer diagnosis meant a lot more time together for one mom and daughter.

A cancer diagnosis meant a lot more time together for one mom and daughter.
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Ad Council + AARP

When her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, this medical student knew what she had to do.

She dropped out of school for a year to be with her mom and help her navigate the procedures, helpers, hospice workers, medications, and so many other things that suddenly occupied her mother's life, 24/7.

All images from AARP/YouTube.

"I decided to take a year off from medical school and spend the time with her, and I just feel like I want to grasp at every moment I can, really. A typical day of caring for my mom usually includes preparing meals, running errands, grocery shopping, and picking up prescriptions. I work a lot behind the scenes organizing the nursing, a nursing assistant to come and help us." — Hannah Roberts

It's not something that everybody can do.

It's grueling, wonderful, painful, life-affirming, terrifying, rewarding, and many more things, all wrapped up into one big ball of ... life.

I really hope when my mother reaches the end of her life, I have a chance (and the ability) to be there for her in the same manner.

Watching a relative go through something like this is probably not in anybody's top 10 list of things they really want to do with their lives, but helping them cope is certainly in the realm of being a loving human being.

Getting them through it with grace and dignity — I cannot think of a greater gift to give.

Some facts, all from National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP:

  1. Nearly 1/4 of all of America's caregivers are Millennials, between the ages of 18—34, and they're equally likely to be male or female.

  2. The value — that is, if it were paid — of caregiving by family members was approximately $470 billion per year in 2013.

  3. 40 million family caregivers helped another adult or loved one carry out daily activities
  4. More than half (55%) of family caregivers report being overwhelmed by the amount of care their family member needs.

Caregivers are the unsung heroes of modern life, and sometimes we forget that they're also grieving and suffering as they help their loved ones.

They need our support in any way we can offer it.

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Why buying refurbished devices is better for the planet

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Back Market

Between the new normal that is working from home and e-learning for students of all ages, having functional electronic devices is extremely important. But that doesn't mean needing to run out and buy the latest and greatest model. In fact, this cycle of constantly upgrading our devices to keep up with the newest technology is an incredibly dangerous habit.

The amount of e-waste we produce each year is growing at an increasing rate, and the improper treatment and disposal of this waste is harmful to both human health and the planet.

So what's the solution? While no one expects you to stop purchasing new phones, laptops, and other devices, what you can do is consider where you're purchasing them from and how often in order to help improve the planet for future generations.

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Country musician Tyler Childers share's a powerful racial justice message from Appalachia

Tyler Childers/YouTube

Biases, stereotypes, prejudices—these byproducts of the human brain's natural tendency to generalize and categorize have been a root cause of most of humanity's problems for, well, pretty much ever. None of us is immune to those tendencies, and since they can easily slip in unnoticed, we all have to be aware of where, when, and how they impact our own beliefs and actions.

It also helps when someone upends a stereotype by saying or doing something unexpected.

Fair or not, certain parts of the U.S. are associated with certain cultural assumptions, perhaps none more pinholed than the rural south. When we hear Appalachia, a certain stereotype probably pops up in our minds—probably white, probably not well educated, probably racist. Even if there is some basis to a stereotype, we must always remember that human beings can never be painted with such broad strokes.

Enter Tyler Childers, a rising country music star whose old-school country fiddling has endeared him to a broad audience, but his new album may have a different kind of reach. "Long Violent History" was released Friday, along with a video message to his white rural fans explaining the culminating track by the same name. Watch it here:

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Global mayors are declaring their commitment to divest from fossil fuels and invest in a sustainable future

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$200 billion of COVID-19 recovery funding is being used to bail out fossil fuel companies. These mayors are combatting this and instead investing in green jobs and a just recovery.

Learn more on how cities are taking action: c40.org/divest-invest


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It is possible to be morally pro-life and politically pro-choice at the same time.

The legality of abortion is one of the most polarized debates in America—but it doesn’t have to be.

People have big feelings about abortion, which is understandable. On one hand, you have people who feel that abortion is a fundamental women’s rights issue, that our bodily autonomy is not something you can legislate, and that those who oppose abortion rights are trying to control women through oppressive legislation. On the other, you have folks who believe that a fetus is a human individual first and foremost, that no one has the right to terminate a human life, and that those who support abortion rights are heartless murderers.

Then there are those of us in the messy middle. Those who believe that life begins at conception, that abortion isn’t something we’d choose—and we’d hope others wouldn’t choose—under most circumstances, yet who choose to vote to keep abortion legal.

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Horrified priest reveals surprise ending after finding creepy note inside car at night

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Father Alek Schrenk is known as one of the "9 Priests You Need to Follow on Twitter." He proved his social media skills Sunday night after finding a creepy note on a parked car and weaving a lurid Twitter tale that kept his followers on the edge of their pews.

Father Schrenk was making his nightly walk of the church grounds to make sure everything was fine before retiring to the rectory, when he found a car parked by itself in front of the school.

Curious, he looked inside the car and saw a note that made his "blood run cold" attached to the steering wheel. "Look in trunk!" the note read. What made it extra creepy was that the two Os in "look" had smiley faces.

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