“The summer is almost over!" (Exclaimed with a bit of tension and surprise.) Have you been hearing that lately? Me too. And every time I hear it, a tiny panic button goes off in my heart. Wait. Did I miss it? Am I behind on summer? Which is a ridiculous sentence, really. But it can still feel true, right? Because suddenly there's this pressure to fill every waking moment with something summery. Get to the lake. Have the picnic. Float down the river. Attend the outdoor concert. Soak it all in before fall comes marching in with Continue Reading
Bulky Pillow, Broken Suitcase, and Stuff
So I had a dream a few nights ago … My friend Lori and I were competing on The Amazing Race. (Good grief. Any show that combines the words race and you will need to read maps in any country of the world should automatically disqualify me. Yet … there I was.) Anyway. Lori and I had just finished our first leg and were running into a building where we’d need to complete a difficult task. I was almost to the competition area when I turned around and noticed Lori was still coming through the door. (Please imagine me sharing this Continue Reading
Personal Note: Red-Letter Days Ahead!
It’s my birthday today—January 1—and there are only 31 more years until I’m 100! I did the math (with a bit of internet help, of course). That’s 11,323 days still waiting to be lived. Days filled with moments to be noticed and savored. A whole bunch of potential red-letter days. Oh, my. When you think about it like that, there are so many good moments, days, and years still ahead. And although I can often skate into optimism pretty quickly, I know there are going to be days it feels more like I’m wearing mukluks, trudging through nine Continue Reading