Category: middle age
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Mom, I Wish I Knew You Young
When I was out of town, my son and his fiancée stopped at the house to pick up old family videos. I’m sure they thought it would be fun to see my son as a toddler, running the coastline in a swim diaper while on vacation. Before I could even…
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Christmas Shopping With a Paper Check?!
I can’t recall why my husband and I were discussing shopping via the Sears and JCPenney Christmas catalogs back in the “1990’s”, but we were – in front of our 27-year young daughter. If you are under 45 years old, you may not know what these thick Christmas books looked…
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Can a Few Lone Retailers Survive? Not If They Keep Bothering Us
This is the second of three December-themed Throw-Back-Thursdays. Today’s post was originally published on this blog in 2018. MLM The bricks and mortar stores that try to sell an actual experience are still doing relatively well in the era where Amazon and other online retailers threaten store fronts across America.…
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Gen Z’ers Think Mid-Lifers Know Everything…or Nothing
The 35-year-young mom of two preschoolers quickly said hello, then fired off a series of complaints to me in a breathy 20 seconds. ‘My husband and I should be saving money but he wants another flat screen on the back porch. Things aren’t great between us. Like, they are bad.…
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The Season of Gratitude
Today marks the start of the 11th month of 2024. The season of gratitude, Thanksgiving, lingering leaves that eventually descend, reducing trees to barren branches. The first freeze often happens in November, and the frigid morning air is welcome against my face. I have always loved October through December. Though…
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Forest Through the Trees
Staring at these trees on a recent walk, the common phrase, “can’t see the forest through the trees” came to mind. Some people say the phrase this way: “can’t see the forest for the trees”. Either way, I wondered how the expression came to be. USdictionary.com gives origin credit to…
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Moving: The Finale
Wrapping up the moving tales today…Here are a few clips from the first days adjusting. Day 1 As we pulled the UHaul into the new temporary apartment complex, I watched mamas take first day of school pics of their little ones. These fresh faces are our new neighbors. Boxes piled…
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Texas Tuesdays Continue… The State Capitol
Upon exiting the aircraft, this New Yorker expected to see cowboy hats and boots throughout the Austin, TX terminal. Emerging from the airconditioned airport, I also prepared for full-on melting in the hot, Texas sun. It was my first of many trips to Texas beginning in August, 2021. Turns out,…
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I Had the Time of My Life Fighting Dragons with You
Seated on the floor surrounded by moving bins, Taylor Swift’s music played in the background (randomly on my daughter’s Spotify) while I rummaged through my three kids’ middle school papers. My twins had just started sixth grade when we moved here and my youngest began fourth. Change is rarely easy…
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Texas Tuesday – The Backstory
The Summary In the last three years, I’ve been to Texas eight times. Last Spring, I stayed a month. My then-remote position made it possible. Though I have seen and stayed in several Texas cities and towns, the state is beyond enormous and I’ve barely scratched the hot soil. I’ll…
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Moving: The Stuff
We grow up and make a home of our own. Some of us buy houses, condos or apartments. Whatever the structure, we collect some STUFF. And, I’m not a collector. So, how did I end up with so much? Photos capturing all we have done as a family make me…
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Moving: The Highlight Reel
We finally moved last week. My experience confirms the myriad of lists claiming moving is one of the top five life stressors. I’m also grateful to God that it was only moving stress and nothing more serious. We made it out alive😉, relatively in-tact physically, and are giving ourselves the…
Tales from a Mid-Lifer 