Good morning

Mom doesn't like bad news. Oh, she will stew and worry about her boys, but we learned long ago the practical realities of being away from home.

We went to boarding school about 300 miles from home. One Sunday afternoon during his senior year, my brother Tom was driving from home back to school.

He'd made it about 280 miles when the car broke down. Stranded, he found a pay phone and called home.

"You're 20 miles from school and 280 miles from me," Mom said. "Who do you think can help you the quickest?"

Tom called school.

But with her sobering practicality regarding bad news also comes a relentless wish for optimism and cheerfulness.

She was cheery every morning when she came in to wake us before our prep school days. It makes me smile to this day.

And it is why, I'm certain, that I always hope the first thing I hear every morning is a bright and chipper, "Good morning." A personalized touch makes it even more precious.

I can't reach out to all of you every morning, I guess. So I will wish you a lifetime of "Good mornings" and hope all your days start with glee.