Daily Thoughts
It’s Just That Simple
Although I am not nearly as consistent as I want to be, I tend to bookend my days in gratitude. For me, I find that focusing my mind on the things for which I am thankful helps to shift any tendency I may feel for worrying or carrying cares and concerns into my day or…
I Have to Smile Myself
Today was one of those perfect fall days. The kind of day where the sun is shining, but it’s not like the hot summer sun. The kind of day where the air is cool and there’s a breeze shifting the curtains in the windows. The kind of day that offers an invitation to come…
Incredibly Bright Creatures
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I love spending time reading books aloud with my two awesome teenagers. Right now, we are reading the New York Times Bestseller Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, and I have to say it is an absolute delight—both the…
Freedom of Expression
There is an old, and ridiculous, expression that has irked me for many, many years, that children should be seen and not heard. I have traced the origins of this phrase from its coining by John Mirk in his 15th century religious writings directed to “young maidens,”…
Secret Languages & Inklings
When I was 14 years old I had a friend in the neighborhood with whom I spent a lot of time. I remember at one point in the summer we were intent on getting ourselves into the Guinness Book of World Records and decided to do that by earning the record for two people on…
Small Beginnings Matter
Every Sunday my husband and I spend some time mapping out the coming week and this almost always begins with updating our oversized whiteboard makeshift calendar for the week. This is the place he and I look multiple times a day to see what’s coming up for that day or…
Works of Art
My husband and I have been introducing our teenagers to some of the 1980s movies that influenced or inspired us when we were teenagers—movies that stood out to us or had a strong impact on us in some way. The Breakfast Club easily is one of their favorites so far with…
Check & Mate!
When I was in high school we had to take at least a semester of a foreign language as part of the curriculum to earn our diploma. The choices back then were French or Spanish, though I’m fairly certain some of the advanced college course students considered Latin as…
Forward Thinking
One year ago I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to the sound of rushing winds and driving rain. I’d been following the reports and models for Hurricane Helene for Western North Carolina and, having grown up on the East Coast and gone through hurricanes growing…