Oh, boy. Please, 2022, be better than (at least the last part of) 2021. I'm looking back over the past month or so and thinking that if I tried to write it as a story, any decent editor would reject it as far too improbable. Here's a (not so) quick timeline: November...
Being a parent is all about the letting go. Not a new idea. So why after nearly 21 years as a parent do I sometimes still not get it? We had this conversation at my house yesterday afternoon: Sara Ann: Oh, yeah, Mom, I think I forgot to tell you that I almost got...
My very first guest blogger is my 16-year-old daughter, Sara Ann. She wrote this article for her school newspaper about a cause that is very close to her heart. The Price of Peace “If the greatest generation sacrificed for war, what will our generation be known for if...
It's so hard to let go. I thought I had mastered it after Elizabeth, 20, left for college, which left Sara Ann, 16, as our only child at home. I was her primary mode of transportation and it made for some valuable one-on-one time in the car that I came to treasure....
In this post I began this discussion of the hill I refuse to die on. This is the rest of the list. Noise Teenagers are loud. As long as they are inside my house and not disturbing my neighbors, I don’t care how loud they are — I’m just glad they are safe at my house....
Life with teenagers requires some flexibility. No, as the parent you really don't have to bend, but if you're wise, you'll figure out which things are deal breakers and which are not. Fighting with your teen over minor issues will ruin both your lives. Is that really...
This photo of my girls was taken in 1992. This past Sunday, Mother's Day, I celebrated my 20th anniversary of motherhood. It began about this time of year in 1988 — my first pregnancy. While lying on the couch one afternoon, I felt a strange fluttering in my abdomen,...
This photo was taken in the summer of 1994, when my girls were two and five-and-a-half. They are now 16 and 19. Time flies. About 19 years ago I read a magazine article that talked about how we often wish our children's lives away. I can't wait until the first...
I am unabashedly corny at Christmas. I like baking Christmas cookies and cutting them into shapes before decorating them with way too much red and green icing. I enjoy the old traditional Christmas carols and know almost every stanza of each one. My favorite ornaments...
I miss (in no particular order): • the spying I used to do so that I could surprise my loved ones with exactly what they wanted without having to ask them• the Excel spreadsheet I would make with thoughtful gift ideas and budget estimates• coming home and showing...
One of the last photos taken of my Dad; Jim took it in the backyard of the house I grew up in, probably in late May 1993; they were cooking on the grill, which is why the dishtowel is slung over his shoulder. The most important thing my Daddy taught me: grace The...
This is my Daddy giving me my diploma at my high school graduation. He was president of the school board at that time and it just worked out so he could do that. And, yes, I know my hair is bad and that the white sandals are very bad, especially with the tan...
The first week in October is always hard. My dad's birthday was October 4 and it always makes me feel a little blue, though this is Daddy's 15th birthday in Heaven. He loved my daughters deeply and cherished his time with them. They are now 15 and 19, yet his earthly...
My girls, left, in 1992 (Sara Ann was one day old) and, right, on Mother's Day 2007 My two girls have always been very close. They are three-and-a-half years apart in age, four grades apart in school, which works out marvelously where college is concerned. I resolved...
In the last couple of weeks I have been awarded the highest honor ever bestowed upon me. (Please pardon my messy desk.) My youngest daughter's friends are at our house a lot, and I frequently drive carpool to various places, so I've gotten to know them pretty well....
I read a letter to the advice columnist in our local paper this morning — the mother of a young boy was upset because his friends frequently play at her house and they make a mess.I sent a reply to the column but I doubt that my response will ever see the light of...
Well, we did it. The day came and the day went. The college send-off was absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done. I'm not sure it is possible for anything to be as hard as I thought that would be, but it was. Which is why it is November before I am able to write...