It’s a new year. Each year we shed the gunk from the last twelve months, brush ourselves off, and prepare our attitudes for another go around the sun. We attempt to find better attitudes, more willpower, extra tenacity—a well-meaning, Auld Lang Syne tradition, I suppose. This year, it seemed, I had an extra layer of…
The Christmas spirit is a funny and ephemeral thing. Sometimes it’s found in the twinkling lights, sometimes at the Santa visit, and sometimes at the table while eyeing the Christmas turkey. In our family, it showed up through the gifts and yes, there was a special tradition attached (of course). Our family always attempted to…
I’ve never been a fan of the circus. My last visit was in the fifth grade. After receiving a good report card, I was treated to a day with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum Baily’s Greatest Show on Earth! Gone were the big tents and the weird, sideshow menageries, but the extravagance and festive nature…
Back in June of this year, my husband and I hiked a small, overlooked park in our area—the Conway Robinson State Forest. We followed the straight and narrow path for at least a mile. I admired how nice it was to see straight ahead, to have clarity about the future of our hike, to bask…
Chocolate on my shirt and a melting candy bar in my hand. I’d made a mess, and I hate messes, plus I’d been caught wiping that chocolate onto my clean, white shirt. As a firstborn, my mother supposedly kept me ultra clean, whisking me away from the slightest mess to put me into another outfit…
On an unusually warm Veterans Day weekend, my husband and I spontaneously decided to visit Mt. Vernon, the home of our first President, George Washington. I was expecting to be awed by the home, but found myself equally inspired by the man, his words and his actions. Duty and home were ever present in Washington’s…
