Live and Learn

            Have you ever had the adrenalin-charged, heart-pounding feeling that someone was chasing you? It seems I spent a significant chunk of my childhood feeling that way.             I was quite a tomboy and until I learned in about the third grade that playing football was not cool for girls, I was usually one of… Continue reading Is Someone Following You?

            It has become a Christmas tradition we could never have purposefully created if we had stretched our imaginations to their outermost limits. It’s not anything normal, like ceremonially placing the angel on top of the tree or gathering in front of the fireplace to sing carols on Christmas Eve. No, this family tradition is… Continue reading Leave the Power Rangers Behind

            I’ve been pondering what to get my dog, Winston, for Christmas this year. He’d love to have a squirrel, since he can’t seem to catch any on his own, but that would be … well … unseemly, to say the least. He already has more than enough doggy toys and a plush bed to… Continue reading When Fetch is No Fun

            Some things are so good you wish no one had ever invented them. Like Moosetracks ice cream, for example. I confess that I’m a borderline Moosetracks addict. Many evenings, as I’m parked on the couch reading or watching T.V., the sirens begin their enticing song: “Moosetracks … you want Moosetracks, Mary Ann … you… Continue reading Give Me My Moosetracks

            He dropped the ball. It was right in his hands and he dropped the ball. I could have caught that pass; most six-year-olds could have caught that pass, but this man dropped the ball. It would have won the game; it would have kept the team in the hunt for a conference championship. But… Continue reading Dropped any passes lately?

            If it’s okay with you, I’d like to gripe for a few minutes about being middle-aged. Certainly, I am thankful I have lived this long, and it would be just fine with me to keep driving until I hit the old-aged mile marker. Nevertheless, there are some things about this stretch of road that… Continue reading I’ve Got Holes in My Dike

    Seems I’m about the only person I know who hasn’t watched the T.V. show, “Trading Spaces.” Every time I turn around, someone else is talking about this show, which (in case you are as far out of the loop as I am) gives neighbors a chance to redecorate a room in each other’s homes.… Continue reading Neighbor has a glue gun? RUN!

            One of the great things about going on long trips with your family is that while cooped up in a car and lodged in confined, unfamiliar surroundings, you are likely to observe and experience personality nuances that don’t usually surface in day-to-day, normal life.             One of the great things about returning home after… Continue reading It’s Okay to Need Some Space

            Having been involved in church their entire lives, my sons have grown up experiencing the gastronomic wonders of covered dish dinners. This, they feel, has earned them the right to be considered experts on that great American church tradition known as “food and fellowship.”             Though they are hearty, super-sized young men, my guys… Continue reading Covered Dish Dinners — A Taste of Life

            One of the things I hate about growing up is that some of the mysteries of life inevitably start unraveling. Each time one of life’s unfathomable wonders is demystified for me, I feel like a little zing has been sucked out of life.             Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were, of course, the… Continue reading Ah, Sweet Mysteries of Life