Morning Cuppa Joy

How do you define play? Does it require a court, a fairway, or a field to count? What if your playground is your kitchen...your sewing room...or your garage workshop? A morning spent making pepper jelly with friends reminded me how important playing together is. As we age, our playgrounds change, but our need for fun never ends.  In this week's Cuppa Joy , I reflect on the revival of traditio...

What do a 250-year-old nation, a worn Thanksgiving tablecloth, and a neighborhood Fourth of July celebration have in common? More than I realized. Sometimes the most ordinary things remind us of the promises we inherit—and the ones we choose to pass along. As America celebrates 250 years of independence, I found myself looking at an old Bicentennial tablecloth my mother bought in 1976. What began...

What stories do you hope your children or grandchildren will remember long after you're gone? A reunion with old friends, a conversation with my son, and memories of my mother and grandparents reminded me that stories are more than memories. They carry our values, our faith, our resilience, and our love. A late-night conversation with lifelong friends led me to reflect on the stories that hav...

What if someone had shown your sixteen-year-old self a photograph from your future and everything in it seemed impossible? Father's Day can stir up a wide range of emotions. In this week's Cuppa Joy, I reflect on how babies arrive with no instruction manual, on the parenting lessons we inherit—be they good or bad, and the wisdom that age can bring. It's also the story of an unexpect...

Why do stories of kindness touch us so deeply? And what happens when children are invited to put those lessons into action? This week I'm sharing the story behind Steve Hartman's Kindness 101 project and the unexpected ripple effect it has created in classrooms across America. Along the way, I found myself reflecting on the power of stories—not just the ones we hear, but the ones we tell...

What helps a child survive life's hardest seasons? A story about orphan trains led me down an unexpected path—through the childhood experiences of my grandparents, the beloved pages of Anne of Green Gables , and memories of my own family. As I reflected on children who have been displaced by loss, poverty, divorce, and circumstance, one truth kept emerging: every child needs to know they belo...

As artificial intelligence grows smarter, what will help us remain deeply human? Artificial intelligence is everywhere these days—sparking excitement in some people and fear in others. In this week’s Cuppa Joy, I reflect on my own surprising journey with A.I.—from learning WordPress and podcasting to troubleshooting technology and even keeping my fishpond healthy. But alongside the convenience and...

Even when life upends everything we’ve planned and hoped for, one freedom still remains—the freedom to choose our response. This week’s Cuppa Joy explores the layered concept of choice—not simple choices like chocolate or vanilla, but the deeper choices we face when life upends our plans and leaves us confronting circumstances we never would have chosen for ourselves. Inspired by the life and work...

What if one of the greatest gifts a teacher gives isn’t knowledge, but words that shape a child’s heart for a lifetime? This week, I’ve been thinking about teachers—not just what they teach, but what they leave behind. A kind word. A moment of understanding. The courage to stand up for someone else. The reminder that our words matter. In this episode, I share the stories of three remarkable teache...

There’s a subtle message most of us have absorbed about aging—that after a certain point (no one can say exactly when) it’s all a downhill slide. But what if that’s not the whole story? Maybe it’s not just wine that gets better with age. In this episode, I explore a new concept called “joyspan,” the depth and duration of joy we experience across our lives, and what it might look like to focus not...

We often think of art as something we visit—paintings on walls, music in concert halls. But what if art is something we live… something that helps us heal? In this episode, I explore the healing power of art—far beyond museums and galleries. From programs in prisons to journaling in classrooms, creativity helps people express emotion, discover meaning, and reconnect with themselves. Our narrow def...

I first visited Alaska just days after the sudden loss of my son, Michael. In the midst of grief, I experienced a moment that has stayed with me ever since—a reminder to pay attention to the beauty all around us, even when life feels overwhelming. In this episode, I reflect on that moment, on the changes happening across our planet, and on the people who are choosing to care—from one man planting...

We never know what invitations and challenges life will bring us or how they might change us. In this episode, I share the story of Grandma Gatewood, who walked the Appalachian Trail alone at 67, and a journey of my own that began with a simple question—what if I said yes? It’s a reflection on resilience, becoming, and the quiet strength we discover when we keep going. Send me a note. If something...

What if something as simple as a smile could change someone’s day—or even their life? In this episode of Morning Cuppa Joy , I explore the power of small acts of kindness through the story of a young boy who set out to make people smile, along with a few moments from my own life. Blending story, science, and lived experience, this is a gentle reminder that we are not alone in the work of making th...

Spring has a way of arriving with a little bit of everything—Easter, Passover, Spring Break, and the return of baseball season. In this episode of Cuppa Joy , I reflect on shifting holidays, Little League days, and hot bleachers, and how quickly the seasons of our lives change. It’s a gentle reflection on time, memory, and the way spring returns each year, carrying pieces of our lives back to us....

In a world that often feels heavy with what is being torn apart, today’s Cuppa Joy reflects on the importance of noticing what is still being tended, nurtured, and brought back to life. From a rewilded estate in England to community gardens right here in Sacramento, this episode explores the quiet, steady work of restoration happening all around us. It’s a gentle reminder that not all change is lo...

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Today’s reflection explores Ireland’s deep respect for what Celtic tradition calls “thin places”—where the unseen line between the ordinary and the sacred grows thin. From ancient beehive huts built by early monks to a humble hawthorn fairy tree that caused engineers to reroute an entire highway, this story celebrates Ireland’s enduring respect for the mystical. Send me a...

There is a time for rocking babies to sleep and filling the kitchen table with crafts and science experiments. And then, quietly, our place in the circle begins to shift. In this episode, I reflect on how the ache we feel isn’t from love fading, but from expecting it to look the same in every chapter—and how we can learn to love with open hands.  Send me a note. If something in today’s Cuppa stirr...

There was a time when “You’re not the boss of me!” was the loudest voice in my kitchen. In this episode, I reflect on what that determined three-year-old taught me about power, partnership, and shared dignity. Honoring Women’s History Month, I explore the work of Riane Eisler and her vision of moving from domination to partnership—beginning in our families and rippling outward. What if the real st...

In this week’s Cuppa Joy, I reflect on the legacy of Rev. Jesse Jackson at the close of Black History Month. Not through campaigns or controversy, but through a story he often told about his grandmother—a woman who couldn’t afford a blanket and stitched scraps into a quilt to keep her family warm. What might it mean to “stitch a country together” in our own time? This episode explores our shared d...

In honor of Presidents Day, I found myself looking beyond the holiday to something deeper — how leadership is formed long before titles or power. From the childhood hardships of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt to Viktor Frankl’s reminder that we always retain the freedom to choose our response, this week’s Cuppa Joy explores the narrow but powerful space between event and response —...

This week’s Cuppa Joy begins with a joke from comedian Josh Johnson about Spanish at the Super Bowl. It made me laugh — and then made me think. Why is it often easier to enjoy what a culture creates than to welcome the people themselves? As I reflect during Black History Month, I share some honest thoughts about tribal instincts, widening our circles, and a quiet conviction that love keeps refusin...

In this episode of Cuppa Joy , I reflect on the Walk for Peace—a long-distance pilgrimage led by Buddhist monks walking from Texas through the southern and eastern states toward Washington, D.C. Through quiet presence, simple teachings, crying babies, and a beloved peace dog named Aloka, the monks offer a lived reminder that peace is not an abstract idea, but a daily practice. It’s a gentle invita...

 In this week’s Cuppa Joy, Robyn reflects on friendship, life’s choices, and the small human connections that quietly hold a troubled world together. From birthday phone calls and baking bread to a story of grassroots kindness, this episode explores how living tenderly in our own small corners can make a meaningful difference.  Send me a note. If something in today’s Cuppa stirred a thought or a m...

In this episode of Cuppa Joy , Robyn reflects on the power of words to shape memory, meaning, and connection across time. Inspired by Robert Frost’s moving appearance at President Kennedy’s inauguration, she explores how poetry and writing live not only on the page, but in the body, the heart, and our shared human story. The episode includes a personal reflection on Robyn’s writing practice and a...