Taffy. Yum. Sometimes one catches a taffy watching a parade, but the most common parade candy—at least in our town—would be Tootsie Rolls, but alas, that is a chocolate flavored, taffy-like candy. But for me, salt water taffy reminds me of my dad and the fair. I like that better than any other kind of…
Every girl dreams of having a pony, right? Okay, so maybe not every girl, but I did, and I know my daughters did, although they never got one. They did take riding lessons though and got all the way to learning to jump before the pandemic shut everything down. When I was in elementary school,…
Father’s Day is Sunday—the day to celebrate our dads. Dads come in all sizes, shapes, temperaments and abilities. Dads are important. My dad taught through example. My dad grew up the second oldest of eight. His dad farmed. His grandad farmed. He farmed and still farms his 100-acre beef farm. He is dad to four…
Each summer, my parents packed my siblings and me up and sent us off to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in the cozy town of Wiota for a week. Most of my memories of our stays started on the Fourth of July. We’d claim our bedrooms and then settle in to watch the big parade behind…
During the end of my fifth-grade year or the beginning of my sixth-grade year—I don’t recollect the exact time, my class put together items to put in a time capsule to be dug up either in 2000 or 2020. (I think. It seemed far off then.) That’s a great many years ago—over 40, gulp. Time…
Attacks flourish around us. How do you protect yourself? We seek methods to protect ourselves online, in public, and in the privacy of our own homes. We don’t have tall, barbed wire fences or guards around us, but we invest in software and use caution and wisdom in our decisions, keeping alert. Number of attacks…
Changing hats might lead to crisis Throughout life, I’ve worn many hats. Besides relational identities as daughter, wife, mama, friend, etc., my hats included job titles, such as student, babysitter, short order and prep cook, deli worker, pharmacy clerk, secretarial aide, intern, copy writer, journalist, marketing specialist, marketing coordinator, assistant editor, freelance writer, homeschool teacher,…
The challenge: 24 hours without a negative thought or complaining. Oh. Boy. It started well. I made it five hours until the evening news showed a hate crime, and I made a negative comment about the state of world affairs. I just don’t understand such disrespect. So, I had to start over. I made it…
I noticed that breaking routines invigorates a body. Here are some recent examples of how I broke my routines. Eat something different to engage taste sensory Instead of eating fruit for breakfast, I ate a cold oatmeal recipe. Yeah, I know, cold oatmeal. Yuck. Sounds unappetizing, but with this recipe, I measure the ingredients into…
Have you considered your acts of bravery? Maybe you don’t consider yourself brave, but I bet you’re braver than you think. Here are examples of some of my acts of bravery. I bet by the end, you’ll have stories to share too. Trying new things is brave Growing up, I tended to be the shy…