Tales from a Mid-Lifer

  • 3 Teenagers with 97 Practices and 68 Games – In 60 days.

    My girls each play one fall sport and my son plays two. Since he has a lighter ice hockey schedule this year, he joined Varsity soccer as a second sport. The above title does not include Saturday morning recreational soccer games for my oldest two. And, lest you judge us…

  • Getting Ahead or Enjoying the Moment?

    Recently, my daughter had her very first job interview.  After we decided on her outfit and printed a copy of her resume, I wondered if they’d offer a 401K plan.  Although utterly absurd, the thought really did cross my mind.  While I should have been enjoying the moment, I zeroed…

  • Downside Up

    The essential theme of Downside Up by Tracey Mitchell is to deeply believe in our personal value despite varying forms of rejection.  Although we all experience rejection at some point, Mitchell determines for her readers to “not revisit the pain of rejection”.  Instead, she reminds us that “you are worthy…

  • Mom, were you EVER a kid?!

    Whenever I don’t laugh at something my 16-year old son thinks is funny, he asks me if I was EVER a kid.  Just last week he told a friend that he believes Grandma delivered me as a “grown up”. The truth is, somewhere along the parenting-teens years, I have admittedly…

  • There ARE Honest People Out There!

    My girls and I took a road trip to see the extraordinarily talented and kind  Taylor Swift in Philadelphia last weekend.  After a 2-hour rain delay, we were wowed by her excellent performance.  Since my son and husband often travel for hockey, we called this our “hockey weekend”. After a…

  • A Teenager’s Crisis of Faith

    Recently, my three children and I ran into a lovely Mom and her 16-year old daughter.  My twins and her daughter attended the same small Christian school together from Kindergarten through 3rd grade. We hadn’t seen each other in about 6 years, so we caught up on each other’s happenings and…

  • Choose My Battles?

    Last week my husband suggested that I more carefully “choose battles” with my twin 16-year olds.  Spending so much time together during the summer apparently had me criticizing them about “stupid things”. While I might have dismissed my husband’s comment ;), I was convicted while reading a statement from Ruth…

  • Billy Graham in Quotes

    Collected from his astounding 7 decades of boldly proclaiming the Gospel message, Billy Graham in Quotes, is a treasure.  Compiled by Franklin Graham with Donna Lee Toney, this 400+ page book is a wonderful reference that anyone would want on their desk for wisdom and encouragement. An “anchor verse” is…

  • It’s National Camera Day!

    Today celebrates photographs and the invention of the camera! In honor of National Camera Day, here are 4 of my favorite (amateur) pics: Central Park, New York City Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, Boston, MA Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada The Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York City

  • Is College Worth It?

    There are two dominant themes throughout the book Is College Worth It? by William J. Bennett and David Wilezol:  1) overpriced higher education and 2) considering the heights of underemployment and unemployment currently rampant among recent college graduates – a questionable return on students’ investment. Bennett and Wilezol provide an…

  • My Empty-Bucket List

    For many years, I’ve conducted an activity with my college students, asking them to create their own version of the famous “Bucket List”.  I warn them that the list should not include professional goals necessarily, but rather focus upon the “really neat”, “exciting”, “extraordinary”, places, events, activities, etc., that they…

  • Annul a 20-year marriage?

    I ran into an old friend of my Mom’s a few weeks ago at the grocery store.  This woman’s husband left her 15+ years ago with 7 young children.  He left her for a younger woman and his relationship with the kids is estranged at best. Embracing her in the…