What started as a family tradition with my two young children and me morphed into an ongoing inside joke between my grown daughter and me. And now you’ll be in on it! When Laura and Tim were young, we would stop for ice cream (or Slurpees) after any doctor visit. I didn’t do this as … Continue reading Stopping For Ice Cream
Am I The Only One Worried About Waldo?
The (sort of) malady goes by various terms: Imprecise navigator Direction challenged Lack of land navigation skills Poor spatial perception A non-existent sense of direction As someone who is actually embarrassed by her “lack of land navigation skills,” believing I’m lost makes me physically ill. My heart rate ticks up, my blood pressure rises, I … Continue reading Am I The Only One Worried About Waldo?
Choosing To Make The Call
I am not a police officer. And I know that. I am not a child protective services worker. And I know that. I am not a psychologist, a social worker, or a court-appointed child advocate. And I know that. What I am is a good mother who recognizes when a child is being actively mistreated. … Continue reading Choosing To Make The Call
Paying Attention On Purpose
People are amazed that Grace, my beagle, rarely barks. Beagles are infamous for being loud and constant barkers. In fact, when I Googled the subject, here are the most often asked questions on the topic: Do beagles bark more than other dogs? Do beagles ever stop barking? How do I get my beagle to stop … Continue reading Paying Attention On Purpose
Actually, Life Is More Like This
One of the best-known lines from the movie Forrest Gump was this: “My momma always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” I’m suggesting that life is more like a hydrangea bush. Bear with me. My disclaimer, as always, is that I am not the gardener in … Continue reading Actually, Life Is More Like This
Thank a Teacher
Kids return to school in our county in two weeks. This is always a nostalgic time for me, remembering the excitement of my children each year in the weeks and days before they headed back for that first day. Of course, before the school bus arrived, there were the obligatory “first day” photos. Then a … Continue reading Thank a Teacher
We Do Our Best With What We Know
The above photo was a recent Facebook post from Sister Hugs. I shared it because I’m fond of saying something similar. “We do our best with what we know at the time.” Think about something important that you originally thought strongly about, but now think totally differently about it because NEW information influenced you to … Continue reading We Do Our Best With What We Know
Learn Kwiker
Kwik is a perfect last name for a man who devotes his life to helping people learn better and faster. Yes, it’s pronounced like the word “quick.” Jim Kwik was born in 1973 and when he was around five years old, he suffered a traumatic head injury. It severely set him back in school for … Continue reading Learn Kwiker
Do You Recognize This Tote?
There are many “stories” out there on social media and news feeds, and I’ve become jaded enough by people faking stories that I scroll by most of them or just skim some. Like other cities and towns, there is a Facebook page for our local community. Since there is a real name and face to … Continue reading Do You Recognize This Tote?
Death Is No Stranger
Death is no stranger to any of us in ordinary times. With Covid still quite visible in our rearview mirror (in the US the 2020 death rate per 1000 people was the highest since 1943), our thoughts may stray to the tenuous hold we have on life. Two stories this month reminded me to not … Continue reading Death Is No Stranger