“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe   It’s his 95th birthday, and he’s just finished getting dressed for our outing. Preparing for this (or any) outing takes my Uncle Donny much longer than when he was a younger man. My brother, sister-in-law,…

Summer officially ends on September 22, and the chill in the air this morning was a reminder that autumn will arrive soon. I love fall and everything that comes with it: the trees proudly display their leaves in stunning shades of orange, yellow, red, and brown, the cool (not cold) temperatures that, for some reason, make the air feel cleaner,…

I just had a birthday, and with it came the realization that I am now a member of a group I never imagined I’d belong to: The Old Maids Club. You remember the Old Maid card game, right? It’s the one where the loser was the one who ended up with the Old Maid card—but how many of us considered…

This upcoming September will be sixteen years that I haven’t had a drink of alcohol—not even one sip. I don’t say this because I’m looking for kudos or words of congratulations; I say it because I wanted to write about one of the things I had to do when I first quit drinking that helped stop me from falling off…

A few weeks ago, I was on the internet and saw something about what it means when you find a white feather. Because I never see white birds (other than Seagulls at the beach), I thought the chances of coming across a white feather seemed slim, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. I quickly forgot about it and…

There’s a one-word question people often ask that rarely elicits a concise answer—that question is: Why? Have you ever asked your teen why they did something they shouldn’t have or didn’t do something they were supposed to do? If so, chances are that the answer you received was, “I dunno.”  Your first instinct may tell you that they’re being a…

I love a good quote, especially when the author of the quote used a quill to write it. What constitutes a “good” quote? Well, for me, it’s one that not only rings true but also gets me thinking—recently, I came across this one that checks both boxes: Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. Johann Wolfgang von…

I recently went through the camera roll on my phone to do a bit of cleanup. You never realize how many useless and nearly identical photos you have until you look at each one to decide whether to keep or delete it. The number of screenshots of ads for shows and movies I thought I might like to watch soon…

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake dolls. I’d save up my weekly allowance, and when I had enough saved, my mom would take me to the local toy store, where I would buy one of the dolls. The dolls had cute names like Strawberry Shortcake, Apple Dumpling (a baby), Blueberry Muffin, and Huckleberry Pie. On…

It was the end of the eighth-grade school year. I stood in the garage in tears, pleading with my dad while he folded his laundry. Before that day, he’d agreed to let me go on a three-week vacation to Iowa with my best friend and her family. I know, I know—Iowa—for vacation? When you’re fourteen, and your friends invite you…