I’m starting my Christmas decorating this weekend.  I’d like to say that I’m also finishing my Christmas decorating this weekend, but MOH has a different idea of when it’s okay to put up Christmas decorations and I need his help with the tree.  So there’s that.  When is the right time to put up Christmas … Continue reading It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year →

Earlier this week my son and I attended the Annual Halloween Concert of the Dexter High School Orchestras. My son played cello for eight years, and it has now been that many years since he graduated. That's a very long time in school years, and although I thought we might run into someone we knew, … Continue reading Let the Music Play →

My mom grew up in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan (the Soo), one of eight children in an Italian/American family.    My grandma, a young widow with three children, married my grandpa, a widower with three children.  They then had my mom and my Aunt M.  I used to tell my elementary school friends, “It’s like the … Continue reading All In The Family →

I’ve grudgingly accepted the fact that wiener dogs want to go outside two seconds after you sit down, pillow case openings should point toward the center of the bed, and back to school supplies hit the store shelves immediately following the 4th of July.  But I am having the hardest time accepting kids going back … Continue reading School – A Labor Day Story →

I was at the Ford dealership recently for a minor repair on my 2010 Ford Escape. When I picked up my service paperwork, one of the printed boxes indicated - Delivery date: 8/20/2009. Wow! I've never had a vehicle, that I purchased new, reach its 10th birthday. And although I've been thinking recently that I … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Sweet Escape →

Most folks have an idea of the way things ought to be.  Children should respect their elders, adults should help friends and neighbors who are experiencing life struggles, and leaders – whether political or spiritual – should have a conscience and some morals.  Also, the end of the toilet paper should hang over the exterior … Continue reading Wouldn’t It Be Nice →

A house is in the process of being built on the empty lot across the street from us, and a recent delivery of lumber to the site caught my attention.  The huge pile of two by fours is hard to miss, but that wasn’t what made me take notice.  As I stepped out of my … Continue reading Can’t You Smell That Smell →

Dear Books, I’m sorry.  It’s not you, it’s me.  Our relationship has changed over the years, and things that did not bother me previously – big bulky hardcovers, small print, not being available when I want you to be – have taken their toll on me.  I will always love you and you’ll always be … Continue reading Dear Books, I’m Sorry →

Some women are born to be mothers, and I was blessed to have one of those as mine.  She loved kids – her kids, your kids, kids she didn’t know.  She would offer assistance to moms with crying kids in grocery store lines.  She volunteered as a room mother at school, opening milk cartons, wiping … Continue reading Mother’s Day →