About the Blogger: Carol Kaufmann

Carol Kaufmann has been in journalism for 17 years, which is to say she has spent almost two decades learning how to tell stories. She started in New York City but settled in Washington, D.C. because she was fascinated with how the laws that govern our lives get made. She worked in television then, for ABC News and Fox News predominately. After seven years of the 24/7 on-call lifestyle, she went back to school at Georgetown University where she studied Humanities. During that master’s program, she found her way to National Geographic where she became a staff writer for their magazine. Her personal and professional travels have taken her to the Pacific Ocean’s floor in a submersible called Alvin and atop the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. She has trekked through rice paddies in Indonesia, SCUBAed for underwater treasures in Eastern Europe, and had tea in the Sahara. She loves seeing the world, but more than that, she loves to hear stories of the fascinating people in it. These days, she has many jobs. She's a full-time blogger and editor and a full-time mother of two small people. She also tries to be a friend who listens and a wife who still dates her husband, not to mention a neighbor who occasionally tries to get together with the folks down the street.
As the inauguration approaches, my inner-grump begins to emerge. I remember past Inauguration Days all too well. The freezing temperatures, the huddled cold masses of bodies searching for available viewing spots and Port-o-Potties. I distinctly recall
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Today, my post is a bit of a departure. Last fall, I had the chance to talk with Linda Robinson, a wife, mother, and long-time volunteer from Dallas, Texas. Linda had accepted the mission of opening the first USO center in Iraq. The center is located
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I grew up surrounded by teachers. I remember the late nights my mother spent grading papers, correcting first attempts at cursive writing, meticulously cutting giant letters out of construction paper for bulletin boards for her second graders. She and
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December birthdays are tough. Those of us who were born around the busiest, most anxiety-ridden and cash-strapped time of year know. Everyone who has a December baby in their lives—and given that our conceptions took place in the Spring, this should
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One of the greatest gifts my father ever gave me was planning his own funeral.
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A young woman named Roxy recently posted a plea for help.
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About a week ago in Alexandria, Virginia, a group of women entrepreneurs, community leaders, and mothers met on a cold Thursday nighpost-watershed presidential election—for some wine and conversation. Led by a veteran journalist, the night's discussion
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