Sunset from our deck at Caswell Beach, NC
How is your summer going? While summer technically just started a few days ago, in our area, the eastern U.S., it has felt like summer for several weeks. To the delight of many kids, school is out for a couple of months, and summertime activities are in full swing. Continue reading
I have always had a hard time letting go of anything. This includes stuff, clothes, and even organizations. If I want to analyze this, it probably comes from my childhood, which was chaotic, at best. Continue reading
View from our Hilton Head condo.
Our family is on our annual week-long trip to Hilton Head. There are 10 of us for the entire week, and there are a few others for a portion of the week. We are staying in more than usual this time due to lots of rain, but we are still having a wonderful time. We have completed one puzzle and are on our second. We have eaten in more than usual and have watched many World Cup Soccer games because our 12-year-old granddaughter, Elsie, was assigned that by her soccer coach. I am going into this much detail about our schedule to validate that we haven’t even had the usual involvement with others outside of our family. Yet we have all commented on the lack of common courtesies. A few examples. Continue reading
Off to New York!
Many people today are electing experiences over things. I am one of them. While I have always loved things, I have become more and more aware of the impermanence of them. Regardless of what we collect, things wear out, break, and lose their luster and even attraction over time. Experiences stay with us, and their memories last forever. Mike and I took our oldest granddaughter, Mary Grace, to NYC this week for an experience I hope she will always remember. Continue reading
Bernadette loved lobster!
She called me on my birthday last November and sang “Happy Birthday” to me on my voicemail. I saved it, so I can still hear her voice. I found her last handwritten “Thank You” note this morning, thanking me for a gift of perfume that I sent her. So, I have her handwriting as a memory of her thoughtfulness. I have a lovely crystal vase she gave me several years ago, for which I failed to send her a thank you note, although I always planned to. She will never receive that note. My daughter Tara and my granddaughters drove to Canada to see her last summer, and she and they had a wonderful time together. In her thank you note to me mentioned above, she said, “I did so enjoy my visit with Tara and the children. Hope they come again.” They wanted to go back this summer, but if they do, they will not be able to see her. Continue reading
We owe it to those who came before us and those who follow us to present ourselves as worthy of respect.
I have my faults; trust me, I know what they are. I am far from squeaky clean. I work hard on being my best self, knowing that I sometimes fail. I may have said or done something that a reader remembers when I was not being my best, and if so, I sincerely apologize. To those I know that I have hurt or offended, I have apologized. Some of you come to mind. And in a fit of anger, which hasn’t happened to me many times, but has happened a few times, I have used some of the words I am writing about. But I have not used these words in everyday language while doing so seems so commonplace these days by many people. A few examples. Continue reading
I went back to WW today, the first time since October of 2017. I have been paying monthly yet not going during that time. I have avoided the WW scale, although I get on my scale at home every day and watch it fluctuate a pound or two most days, weeks, and months. I have been kidding myself into thinking that I was counting points and calories, yet not changing some of the habits that have been in my way. A good friend of mine was my inspiration for these changes. Thank you, MoMo.
I finally faced myself head on and made a major change. And I am not talking about the change of going back to WW. Going back to WW was the result of the other Change, (which I am calling “The Big C,”) a change I am not ready to talk about yet with most people. I will be transparent about The Big C that is driving other changes once I hit ninety days with no backsliding. I am on day ten. Stay tuned. Continue reading
A wonderful book by one of my longtime favorite authors.
Everyone reading this shares a common experience. All have, or have had, a mother. This is true even if you and your mother were separated at birth. Who mothered you may be the woman who adopted you, or a grandmother or other family member who took care of you. Many of you are now mothers and understand the role much better than you did before you became a mother. Continue reading
While this implies it isn’t just about us, we can only control our words and actions.
We may never know the impact our words and actions have on others. Or if and when we do, it may be many years later. I had two examples of this in recent days, and I am still amazed by them. Since I can’t get these examples out of my mind, I thought hearing about them might be interesting to my readers. Continue reading
How do you plan your days, weeks, months, and years? Or do you? Perhaps you are more likely to take time as it comes, without even a thought of planning. After all, isn’t there too much to do in the time available anyway? What difference does planning make? Well, quite a lot, if and when we make decisions about how we are going to spend our time. Continue reading
It's In The Sauce! 