Each afternoon when I pick up my 12-year-old son from school, we perform a time-honored ritual that’s shared by millions of moms and sons every single day. (begin scene) “How was school?” I ask him. “Fine,” he answers. “What happened today?” I ask him. “Nothing,” he answers. (end scene) Of course, I usually press him […]

You can’t look at TV or social media today without seeing the name Kobe Bryant. The death of Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven others in a helicopter crash shocked the nation and brought many to tears. Yesterday, most of the posts and stories I read portrayed Kobe as a sort of angel on earth […]

There are many things I’m sure I’ll miss when my children are grown. I’ll miss their laughter and noise and chatter. Their companionship, their hugs and hand squeezes. There are also a few things I won’t miss — I won’t miss driving the kids to school and doctor’s appointments and practices, and friends’ houses. Or […]

2019 definitely was a year of transition for my family. This has a lot to do with where we are now in life — Our youngest two kids have reached the tween/teen years, our parents are getting older, and so are the rest of the adults in our extended family. We’ve had to handle some […]

It was a good year for books. I read/listened to 60 this year and I’m happy to say there were very few bombs in the bunch, which is a very good thing. When I came to the end of last year, I decided I’d followed the herd and read too many new releases, so this […]

To know me is to know I have turkey troubles. The story of our Gas Station Turkey several years ago spread far and wide after I shared it on Facebook, and the end result of that snafu (along with dinner that year not taking place until nine-freaking-thirty PM) is that we never outsourced our Thanksgiving […]

A few days ago, I did something I generally try to avoid — I bragged about my kid on Facebook. I hadn’t bragged in a while, mostly because my Facebook feed is already filled with other parents’ brags, and I think that stream is polluted enough already without me adding to it. Don’t get me […]

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. My opinions about these books are clearly my own.  It’s been a minute since I’ve posted a book review — My daughter returned this fall to the homeschool tutorial model she loved so much in middle school and between teaching her World Literature and Japanese (she has teachers for […]

Last fall, Dennis and I had a lovely dinner at one of the hottest restaurants in Nashville. The experience was flawless. After sipping on handcrafted cocktails at the bar, we dined outdoors at a rustic farm table beneath ropes of twinkling lights. The night air was divine, the bread crusty, the atmosphere sparkling, and the […]

Readers forgive me, for I have sinned. Yesterday in the car rider pick up line, I did the unthinkable. I honked my horn. I swear I didn’t mean anything by it. When all the other cars in the line moved except for the one directly in front of me, I waited very patiently for the […]