“If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.” Anonymous. Winter blues. Seasonal affective disorder. Call it what you will, but a lot of us feel that unmistakable blah of winter. The first person to put up holiday decorations […]
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Word of the Year
We’re barreling toward the mid-2020s. Whoa. I’ve just ordered my Jetson style-flying car from Amazon. 2023 does sound like we’ve arrived in the future. Be that as it may, we still have to take out the garbage, empty the dishwasher, and clean our houses. We do have smart appliances, doorbells, cars, and thermostats, so a […]
Toss Holiday Traditions That Cause Stress
I’ve written about the benefits of minimizing clutter, whether you’re a Marie Kondo fan or a Swedish Death Cleaning type. With the former, you keep what brings you joy; with the latter, you toss everything to spare your kids the job after you go. When we think of clutter, we think of mismatched socks, paperwork, dead […]
What My Grandmothers Taught Me About Baking
My two grandmothers were as different as night and day. They were alike, however, in the most important way—they were both the best grandmothers in the history of the world. My childhood memories of baking with each of them are among my most treasured. I think about them this time of year as I make […]
Weird Stuff I Keep In My Car
The “just in case” gene is strong in me. I think it was passed down from my grandmothers. It skipped a generation with my mother, but it has flourished in me, perhaps even mutated. My mother is not a hoarder of safety items, food, or anything—except flip-flops, of which she has every style known to womankind. […]
Why I Still Love The Family Road Trip
Almost every year for twenty-five years, my family has traveled to Florida for vacation. The tradition began in 1998 when we loaded our first minivan and traveled down I-75. We started this when our kids were small and have continued it as our family has grown and changed, to where I am now the shortest […]