This will be the fifth summer since my youngest flew the coop and I proclaimed myself an empty nester but last week I had the realization my empty nest hasn’t really been empty these past four years. A few weeks after moving my youngest out of our home, other young girls moved to town and sort of settled in my nest. They became my “other” girls. I hugged one of the girls good-bye and I cried. As I watched her walk away and into her life in the real world, it hit me that my nest really was Keep Reading...
My Black Friday Lament
I went Black Friday shopping once. Once. Once was enough for me. It’s been years since that early morning craziness and I think I have finally recovered from the trauma. I had never heard of Black Friday until a friend told me how excited she was about “mapping out” the stores she and her sister would hit in the wee hours. She explained how, after the turkey was consumed and everyone was in their turkey coma, she and her sister would gather all of the sales ads from that day’s paper and Keep Reading...
Have a Nice One
Whenever I check out at the grocery store or department store or corner gas station and the person hands me my receipt and says, “Have a nice one,” my brain almost explodes. It is only with great restraint that I don’t pipe up and respond with, “Have a nice one what? A nice walk in the rain on the way to my car? A nice dinner? A nice trip and fall? (Which I’ve done on the way out of a store more than once.) A nice day at the dentist? A nice shark attack? A nice hernia? A nice, big glass Keep Reading...
Suffering Well
My grandfather will be 98 years old in January. He fell last week, broke his hip, and had a hip replacement. While caring for him, I was reminded of something that I recently read and I want to share it here. This grandfather was married to my grandmother for 58 years and cared for her when she got leukemia until she passed away. He remarried a wonderful lady and they enjoyed seventeen years together. When she, at 99 years old, became ill and began to slip away, he cared for her (risking Keep Reading...
Helping Others Shave Their Legs
I spent a lot of summers with my grandparents when I was growing up. I remember my grandmother telling me that she no longer had to shave her legs or armpits! As a thirteen year old who had hair that seemed to grow night and day, I was amazed. What do you mean? She explained that when you get old (now I know she was referring to menopause), your hair doesn’t grow like it does when you are going through puberty. Awesome! I couldn’t wait for that day. I thought God was pretty smart to Keep Reading...
The Tepid Tub
I have a dear friend who is the mother of four children. One of her teenagers is a son - the only son - and he has a fondness for long, steaming hot showers. Even before he gets in the shower, he likes the bathroom to resemble a sauna. In order to turn his plain bathroom into a sauna to rival that of any fine, luxury spa, he turns the hot water on full blast. Once the steam is seeping out from under the door, he commences his near scalding shower. And this is not an abbreviated shower. Keep Reading...
I Hate Pinterest!
Back in the 90’s, there was a show on cable TV with a homely lady and a geeky guy. I cannot even remember the name of the people or the name of the show. But I tuned in to watch each week. I even programmed my VCR to record the show! And then I went out and tried to emulate the projects they did on the show. This was before we had a kazillion channels with satellite, or HGTV. I loved one episode where they did a birdhouse themed room so in the kid’s room that was too young to protest, I Keep Reading...