Category: 50-Something
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Blog Relaunch
Welcome to Family5Power – Tales from a Mid-Life Mama! If you are still a subscriber, thank you for sticking around! If you are a first time visitor, please join me in this new adventure. The photo on the left was my WordPress icon for many years (my youngest daughter), writing…
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Time – Everything and Nothing
The line of cubicles appeared as if nothing had been moved or worked in for months. They hadn’t. Several surrounding offices also displayed Valentine’s Day decorations from February 2020. Everywhere I looked, empty offices that hadn’t been habited in 11 months contained photographs, office supplies and even sweaters still hung…
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Moving Forward in Faith
Four days ago, I started a new position at a new company in an entirely unfamiliar field. While I enjoy most “new” things, having a significant training curve ahead has been humbling. But, God gave me what I asked for. If you follow this blog, you know that I resigned…
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Life Shifts Continue…🎃
I vividly remember driving to work a year and a half ago, starting my first day back into what I term the “business-work-force”. After 20 years as an adjunct professor, raising three children and getting them into college, I was looking forward to taking a much-needed long, deep breath, expecting…
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5 Days. 4 Nights. No Phone.
For the first time ever, I decided to use a random passcode for my phone. Let me first say that I’ve only recently even started to use a passcode. I often leave my phone on my desk at work and colleagues have begun wandering in while I’m not in my…
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Impromptu Bonfire🔥
When I arrived home after an 11-hour day at work last week, my husband was burning wood he had recently chopped in the back of our land. The fire looked so inviting, I ate dinner, went back outside and sat by the flames, still in my work clothes. My oldest…
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Empty and Barren. Full and Bountiful.
During a recent walk at the park, I stopped to stare at these trees, contemplating how the two different trees reflect people’s lives. Or, at least resemble differing seasons in their lives. One person can be the empty, impoverished, stark tree – yet, they work, travel, parent and operate in…
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Could Libraries Make a Come Back?
As someone who still loves to hold a hardcover book and turn paper pages, I can’t help but wonder if libraries could make a real comeback. Two situations have caused me to ponder this lately. 1) What today’s college students think is “research” makes me cringe when I’m grading papers.…
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My Love/Hate Relationship with Remote Work
Unless there is another extension here in New York, we’re expected to return to the physical premises of work on May 18th. While I have enjoyed many blessings during this time working from home, it will be good to return to the office. This is quite a statement because 1)…
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And So She Flew….
This blog has been quiet lately, but my nest has not been. My just-turned-23-year-young daughter (one of the twins) landed the kind of job we’ve been praying for since graduation last May. I rejoiced alongside her four weeks ago that God answered our prayers BIG, but was stunned that the…
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“Mini Holidays” Help Us Celebrate Life and Keep Us Moving Forward
We tend to prioritize Christmas, Easter and Independence Day over holidays that we don’t get off work or school, such as the upcoming Valentine’s Day. Rightly so. When we’re celebrating our country or our God, such holidays should take precedence. Although many grumble about the so-called “Hallmark Holidays” – those…
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The Unusual December
For the last several years, my post-Thanksgiving activities centered around two things: finishing up the semester of final exams and grading papers, followed by the always-fun list-making for Christmas gifts and planning gatherings. In 2019, my twins moved home after graduating college in May and the Christmas nest would be…