Christian Science Monitor | The Home Forum

Insights from a pile of manure

Her un-anniversary was fast approaching, but how to reinvent that day remained elusive.

A fire within

His teenage son, with a propensity for T-shirt and shorts in winter, faced the cold in the most surprising of ways.

A labor of logs

As small farm buildings succumb to age and neglect, their sturdy timbers find a new life.

The four-legged gardener

With natural pruning skills and a thorough love of dirt, Ricky offers enthusiastic, if unskilled, assistance.

A hopeless romantic meets her match

Touring Greece's antiquities, a traveler comes face to face with the temples of the ancient gods – and her childhood dreams.

Planes, trains, and vacation love

A trip brings out a husband's ardor for his wife as he gushes compliments in her direction.

Do we need spaceflight for the perspective?

An astronaut's life-changing lesson from a moment in orbit.

Teacher's pest, redeemed

He was wildly smart and witty but also picked fights and stole.

Point of view: Wedding photo fantasies

In Beijing, a wedding means an elaborate photo shoot, complete with props, ladders and lighting equipment.

My son gets his (driving) wings

Today's driving schools for teenagers are a far cry from an older cousin taking on the teaching duties.

Cowboy culture in suburban Bavaria: 'Wilkommen pardner!'

In suburban Bavaria, cowboy culture is greeted with a howdy -- and a German twist.

So, just where is this omnibus taking us?

The Monitor's language columnist ponders how a word that once referred to horse-drawn carriages now refers to legislative packages with something for everyone.

A wartime bomber part becomes a memorable Christmas gift

The giant inner tube created hours of buoyant fun, even as it destroyed the lawn and threatened to launch the children across the yard.

A cracking good present

The seventh-graders stood around eagerly as their teacher unwrapped the box.

R U there, Marcel Proust?

Faded letters and photos may transport us where texting cannot go.

The limits of duct tape

A Mr. Fix-It finds the entanglements of the heart less prone to easy solutions.

Malcolm X: A side rarely seen

A chance interview with Malcolm X showed a leader who had learned to use his anger only when it was needed.

'Swag' joins waste, fraud, and abuse

A presidential order calling for the government to trim spending has cast the spotlight on an old term with a new meaning.

'Easy like Sunday morning'

The search for a wedding song took almost as long as finding the right girl.

Bumps in the night

Hearing the prolonged creaking sound and occasional clump, an imaginative boy surveyed his options.