• Never Say “Never”

    Tuesday, October 29th, is National Cat Day. According to the calendar, every day of the year is a day to be celebrated and is therefore dubbed National Something Day. Many days have several “somethings” to be celebrated, which works well for those who like to have options. My favorite so far (aside from Festivus, of course) is January 16th: National Nothing Day, a day dedicated to doing…

  • This is True, I Swear

    When I get to know someone and tell them what I’ve seen or about the things that have happened in my life, I sometimes wonder if they think I exaggerate or make up stories. Often, I will throw a “This is true, I swear” statement somewhere in the story as I tell it, especially if I notice a look of…

  • The Cat’s Meow

    “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,…

  • The Most Epic Halloween Costume

    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,…

  • A Lovely Place to Visit

    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…

  • Noun: a Person, Place or Thing

    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…

  • White Feathers

    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…

  • Why, though?

    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…

  • A Mirror Image

    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…

  • Dream Trip

    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…