Observations on people and life and the lessons we learn along the journey...
The other day, author Mary Laura Philpott posted on Twitter that (paraphrasing) “If anyone needs their mother right now, and she is not available, I have more mothering to spare…” I’m very fortunate to have my mother available to me. We talk almost daily and it’s such a blessing she lives only a few miles …
The last time I was in a parade, I was five years old. It started raining, and my father jumped into the parade to shelter me with his umbrella. I got to march along in my little majorette outfit, oblivious to the rain. Happy memories of being in a Christmas parade, long ago. That was …
I have a friend who said whenever she got into the car for a trip, her mother would offer, “precious cargo, precious cargo.” That was her way of saying, “be careful; drive cautiously — you are my precious cargo.” I have another friend who wore a St. Christopher’s medallion when we went off to college. …
The other day when I was grocery shopping, there was a little boy running around in his Superman costume. He was having a ball fake-flying around, clutching his cape with chubby hands and making it lift in the air behind him. You couldn’t help but smile. And it made me think of my older son, …
I love to think about the hidden meaning behind certain words or behaviors. Isn’t that the fun of watching crime dramas, to determine who’s lying and why? That’s partly what led me to my majoring in psychology in college. Understanding the impulses and beliefs that drive human behavior was always fascinating to me. Even now, …
The great American family road trip is a rite of passage. Here’s a fun scavenger hunt you can play to help pass the time and keep your sanity.
Guy Clark sings that there are “only two things that money can’t buy — and that’s true love and home-grown tomatoes.” Growing up, I was never the tomato fan that Guy was. My grandmother would set a plate in front of me, the plate that offered the noxious fruit disguised as a vegetable. “MeMe (pronounced …
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a common phrase these days, but the phenomenon has been around way before Instagram pictures could incite envy in those left out. Even being separated into a group can lead to FOMO. Comedian John Mulaney has a great joke about his elementary school dividing the kids into two different …
I’m late to the party, but I just watched The Notebook. I’m not sure how this Nicholas Sparks classic evaded me. (Spoiler alert: you can skip this paragraph if you don’t want me to ruin the plot of the movie for you). I love a good tearjerker. Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling are electric as young …
I walked up the steps of the brownish-brick ranch house and rang the doorbell. A mom with a short haircut answered. “I’m here to see…” I hesitated, realizing I didn’t know Miss Kentucky’s name. “I’m here to see your daughter.” She got a bemused expression on her face as she looked me up and down. The baggies …