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The Three Amigos
This was a fun picture to find and I love it. I may have to print this to frame. I have always heard the stories bantered back and forth when my Aunt and Dad got together and started reminiscing about their younger days. They were close in age and had a lot of the same friends. I always marveled at their relationship from that time because as an adult, I only saw their relationship after it had deteriorated, and become contentious. There was a feeling of superiority from my aunt to my dad and I saw her treat him with disdain and a condescending attitude more often than not. So,…
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Tackling the east coast in 2 weeks back in ’93
. Disney Cousin Bill and Mary’s house Rosemarie and Tom’s house Craig and Deb’s in Valdosta Aunt Pat and Uncle Bill’s in New Jersey After I got divorced, vacations were a solo parent event. The first year, the four of us spent a week at Papoose Pond in Maine, camping. It was the first time I had camped as an adult and to say it was a learning experience would be an understatement. So, the following year, buoyed by the confidence from the year before, I decided to take the kids to Florida – mainly to go to Disney. Amy had been the year Adam was born but the others…
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Three Generations joined by love, laughter and life.
I sat and looked at this picture for a long time. I see that my Dad does not have his ever-present pipe in his mouth. I am assuming that he has been told by the picture taker or cohort to get rid of it and I believe that it is probably in his left hand, hiding it slightly behind his leg. They look like they all have the same nose, although my grandfather is turned a bit so I can’t definitively say so. This is something I hadn’t realized before studying this photo. It is sunny for sure – look at the squints, surprised by that. My aunt, who I…
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What is your family’s favorite holiday decoration?
Most people have holiday decorations and as they bring them out every year, they remember stories attached. Do you have a favorite decoration that you bring out every year or miss? My favorite Christmas decoration is something my Mom bought me years and years ago. She got it from Lillian Vernon, and I can still remember my excitement when I opened the box. Once you insert and light the candles, the flames create heat which spins the paddles and the figures turn. An intricate joy-producing piece of the past that I love to just sit and marvel at. As a child, my favorite Christmas decoration was a very old (even…
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Write about a piece of jewelry you have and where it came from.
Sometimes jewelry can be very sentimental – do you have a piece with a story? I’m going to write today about a piece of jewelry I do not have but wish I did. When Ellen and I were little, trips to the “Big House” could be exciting for us. Each hour we spent tip-toeing around my grandparents’ big old Tudor would eventually bring something new to investigate. From the basement to the 3rd floor apartment, there were many nooks and crannies that held wonder and awe. But our favorite was when we ended up in the closet in the main hallway on the 2nd floor. The ceilings in there were…
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Complete this thought, “Today, I hope….”
hope [hōp] NOUN VERB What is it that you hope for today? Simply? I hope that those I love are happy, stay healthy, and realize how very much I care for them. Today I hope that we as a world can start to re-learn kindness. Kindness to the stranger, kindness to each other, kindness to our family and friends, kindness to ourselves. Kindness to people we will never meet or know….kindness to the world. Kindness to the Earth. Though we were not brought up in a religious home, we were taught The Golden Rule. I honestly had no idea that it was a religion-based tenet until I was an adult,…
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What do the clothes you are wearing say about you?
Clothing is such a personal thing. The clothes that we wear daily say a lot about our personality. What do they say about you? The clothes I am wearing now and those that I wear on a daily basis say one thing and one thing only. Comfort. It is usually some type of knit. Convenience. Usually, the first thing I pull off of the shelf. I’ve always wanted to be one of those “put-together” women and actually there was a time when I had a plethora of pumps that matched every color in my wardrobe. Those days are long gone. There are very few times that I actually care about…
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What is the best souvenir you have received or bought for yourself?
We usually equate traveling with souvenirs. A lot of us want to bring something home that will remind us of our trip or bring a memento to loved ones not able to make the trip with us. Do you have a special one that you either couldn’t go home without or that someone brought for you? Every time I traveled since way back as a kid, I would spend my money on some tacky, kitschy souvenir shop trinkets. Once home, it would be displayed but eventually, after many trips, what do you do with all those lobsters made of shells that say Cape Cod? It wasn’t until I was in…
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What do you believe daily life will be like in 25 years?
Envisioning what the future will look like is something that has been done for years. There are many movies and books imagining this very thing. But today we ask you what you think it will look like. It is very hard for me to predict what I think life will look like in 25 years. I for one, thought there would be flying cars by now a la “The Jetsons”. (Although – a lot of what the Jetsons predicted for us did come very true during the pandemic – virtual doctors appts, zoom meetings for work). I hope for the best of everything for both my children and my grandchildren.…
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When have you experienced heaven on earth?
Heaven on Earth could mean something entirely different for everyone. Where have you found that paradise? I think, in this season of my life, heaven on earth for me is in my interactions with the littles. An eye-to-eye connection, a shared secret laugh, sharing my love of books with them, talking a walk together, a little hand nestled in mine, a head upon my shoulder, and a little arm draped around my back. I take none of these moments for granted – each holds tremendous love and a little bit of heaven. Heaven on Earth? For me, it’s the beach. It’s swimming playing in the saltwater or walking or lounging…