Redemption of Mother’s Day: How to Heal Your Hurts
About two hours after Mother’s Day ended, my mother died in her bed of a massive heart attack. She was 65. Mom called her doctor, only hours after I talked with her the morning of that special day. He told her to get to the hospital ASAP after hearing her symptoms—profuse sweating, vomiting, shoulder pain. […]
That Dang Dog!
How many lessons CAN one learn from a dog? Well, since DOG is GOD spelled backwards and I happen to LOVE dogs (especially MY dogs), I find myself always asking GOD to speak to me through my DOG. Sure enough, GOD does! Not the same as speaking through a donkey, I suppose, but pretty dang […]
Family Vacation Fiasco [How We Survive and Grow through the Breakdowns and Meltdowns of Transitions and Transmissions]
When January rolls in, we start reminiscing about family traditions, one being our annual ski trip “up nort” as the Uppers (people living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) like to pronounce their homeland. Every January for I don’t know how many years, we’ve been stuffing our car like those Johnsonville brats we Cheeseheads […]
Simply Grateful
We went to our “happy place”, as our youngest son calls it, for a family vacation from Saturday until Wednesday. Door County is the “thumb” of Wisconsin and what some refer to as “the Cape Cod of the Midwest”—a peninsula that juts out separating the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. Highway 42 meanders […]
This Happy Little Hippie Thinks You Might Need a Good Laugh
Some folks think I’ve got a warped sense of humor. Like Nick, for example. He’s 18, so of course I don’t expect a teenager to get my sophisticated kind of funny. I suppose that’s why he doesn’t laugh when I bend over and one rips, accidentally of course, and I apologize for the fact that […]
Basket Case
Early one morning, I decided to do the unthinkable—organize the pantry. Not that it was a disaster or anything. I have all these Tupperware containers I earned in a barter with a friend for teaching her kids piano lessons years ago. But some of the containers were labeled incorrectly and I decided some items would […]
When You Are Hard-Pressed and You Need to Change Your Mind
My second worst nightmare in my aviation history came true yesterday. My worst nightmare? Of course, a nose-diving plane. But yesterday, though the plane stayed aloft, I was pretty sure my nerves might crash. All on account of my neighbors—25C and 25E. Me? 25D. Yep. Middle seat. Convinced I am the first half-human on the […]
How To Have A Very Hot Date
Once upon a time (that would be Tuesday), there was a woman with rather BIG hair full of curl (that would be me) who excitedly dressed for her hot date (with her husband of 22 years) about to begin in under two hours. She slithered into her black knit, slim-legged ponte pants, securing them with […]
Fare at the Fair
This morning, I’m pondering something deep, as usual. I’m thinking about the deep-fried food I saw last night at the Pima County Fair, about 60 miles north of the Arizona/Mexico border. I should be mourning like the dove cooing melancholy on the wall outside our condo. Instead, I’m cackling loudly like the thrasher out there also, waiting for his morning […]
Duckies and Dads and Mountains
I went to church with my dad and stepmom while visiting them in Arizona. To some, this might not seem like such a big deal. To me, it was a momentous occasion. During our phone conversation the day before my flight, Dad asked me if I would go to church with him on Sunday. I […]
The Rut and the Pumpkin Guns
‘Tis the season for fall hunting . . . Fla la la la la . . . La la la . . . Blah! The talk has begun. In the grocery line Thursday, Judy VanderVelst tells me with a sigh how she’s about to become a widow. Not that she’s planning on killing her husband […]
Wake Up Call
What is it about husbands in the bedroom? Mine is trying my already frazzled nerves lately. First off, he’s a heavy sleeper and I’m not. So, to keep our togetherness in the bed, we both keep separate alarm clocks on our separate nightstands. My alarm clock is a little black box with soft, red, lighted […]