I recently learned a surprising factoid: Today, February 4, is Homemade Soup Day, even though January is National Soup Month. Those of us in Kansas City have been fortunate this year—our January was warm, and we had less need of soup than most winters. On January 28, as New England dug out […]
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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Social Media in Times of Stress
Before my father passed away on January 5, I had scheduled some posts on my Facebook author page about Clean Off Your Desk Day on January 12, and today’s Organize Your Home Day. I forgot about these posts in the middle of much bigger worries. So in addition to my […]
Continue readingStories: Past, Present, and Future
A week ago when I posted, my father was alive. He was a regular reader of my blog, and often called or emailed me when I posted about family issues. He didn’t call me to comment on last Monday’s post about my grandparents’ house. But he did email me on […]
Continue readingChange in Plans—In This Blog as in Life
I had a humorous post lined up for today, but I learned Monday night that my father had passed away suddenly. You may remember that my mother died on July 4. He had missed her terribly for the last six months. He told me after Christmas that it was the […]
Continue readingTrue Christmas Story: A Visit from St. Nicholas
In some families, Santa Claus comes to call ahead of Christmas Eve every year. Other families take their children to see St. Nicholas at the mall every year. I only remember one time Santa came to see my brother and me, and one later visit to the mall to see […]
Continue readingCharlie Brown and Me, Fifty Years Ago and Today
I’ve been fixated recently on what happened in 1964—fifty years ago—as 2014 winds to an end. Perhaps I should have focused on these events throughout the year, but I’ve only noticed occasionally when the media has reported on anniversaries of major happenings from 1964. I didn’t research 1964 events until […]
Continue readingWhy Do I Ask Questions At the End of My Posts?
The short answer to why usually I ask questions at the end of my posts is that I read somewhere that it was a good thing for bloggers to do to get readers to engage. The long answer is a little more complicated. It is true that I’ve read that […]
Continue readingJudgment in Families and Beyond
It apparently caused quite a stir in my parents’ high school when Catholic Mary began dating Protestant Tommy. Not only was he a Protestant, but he was a member of DeMolay, the Masonic organization for young men. Yet Mary wore his DeMolay pin proudly. Although my mother was a devout […]
Continue readingA Broken Foot, Horseback Riding, and Christmas Woes . . . And Joys
Most years about this time I get frantic over Christmas preparations. This year is particularly bad, because I have a trip planned for a week in early December, so I am trying to get as much done as possible before I leave. But I’m not having much success. When I […]
Continue readingThe Cousins and Rudolph
I wrote on Monday about my children and their cousins. The picture above is my favorite picture of the four of them, primarily because I know the story behind it. They were singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to the adults that were present. The youngest, my daughter, was nineteen months […]
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