I'm just trying to walk myself home.
Browsing Tag
Who does not love a stack of brand new school supplies? Or the smell of freshly sharpened pencils? I love to hold a new notebook in my hands, one with no creases in the cover, and to open it up to the first blank page. It is as full of possibility as the sun coming …
The twelfth and final story of my Twelve Days of Stories is actually the beginning of a story. It is a draft of the first chapter of the book I have been writing. I hope that one day these words will take shape in print form that you can hold in your hands. Thank you …
A Story about Anger Three babies in five years is what it took to throw me over the edge. Mixing lack of sleep at night with defiant toddlers by day was a recipe for fraying nerves already, but then Taido often would have to leave town for work. I was exhausted at the sound of …
I told these cruise stories on my blog a few years ago as How I went from being a Cruise Skeptic to a Cruise Addict. They are still some of my best life memories.
A Story about A Long Time Goal When my husband sat me down and told me that he wanted to finish his masters’ thesis, quit his job and move our family abroad to get a PhD, I told him to go for it. “I’m all in for this adventure,” I said. But in all honesty, …
Taido and I are celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary today, so it seems like as good a time as any to tell you our love story. Since you already know the end to this story, it might be helpful to start in the middle, when it looked like maybe I would not end up with …
Here are the words I spoke to my parents upon receiving the only “F” of my university career: “I think one ‘F’ on a transcript shows character.” A Story about A Very Bad Grade I started college by majoring in psychology, but I was not one term in before I switched my major to English. …
In 2010, my husband and son, Taido and Cole, had a trip planned to go hiking in Switzerland for Cole’s 13th birthday. The night before the trip, there was a small problem. This was first published on my blog that same autumn. A Story about A Passport We were all leaving town on Friday morning, …
This story about my daddy was previously published as guest post on Sarabeth Jones’ beautiful storytelling site, The Dramatic. A Story about My Daddy Some people take trips to the beach for their family vacations. Others go to Disneyworld. But me. In exchange for the beach or for Disney, I got mountains. And even though …
This story was first published in September 2008 when my oldest son, Cole, started middle school. Actually, this story was also published in a story collection. I, of course, told no one about this because that was before I could say out loud that I Am A Writer. Tread Lightly When It Comes To Middle …
Don’t worry. This story has a happy ending. I feel like I owe you that much after yesterday’s story. And if you stay tuned through all twelve days, I also promise to redeem my father from Christmas Gambler to Mountain Hero. Deal? So like I said, a happy ending. I, myself, really enjoy happy endings, …
Welcome to the first story of Twelve Days of Stories. Since it is Christmas Eve, I have a really happy, sweet story for you. (I am trying to make up for tomorrow’s sad story by making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside today.)
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Q0uBidqM3Qs/UpyA6oMLtFI/AAAAAAAAE7E/1nnNKvUECBk/s144-c-o/DSCF0247.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/GlenTanarAberdeenshireScotland20131202#5952774552186238034″ caption=”Glen Tanar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland” type=”image” alt=”DSCF0247.JPG” ] Cold weather makes for lonelier walking paths and on our latest foray into the woods, on the first weekend of Advent, I let the boys get ahead of me on the trail. Autumn is now almost gone. The bare branches of the trees and the …
A Love Letter to Lakewood Lake In honor of wishing I was smack dab in the middle of a giant family gathering today, I am sharing an ode to one of my favorite spots in my hometown, Lakewood Lake. A Love Letter to Lakewood Lake You have been my stomping grounds since I was a …
I am sad to say that I did not visit a single place on my list of sights to see in Dublin. I don’t regret for a minute that I spent the bulk of my time in Ireland on a tour of the Wild Atlantic Way, because it was the trip of a lifetime, to …
What comes to your mind when you think of Ireland? If we play that word association game where I say red and you say apple, what would you say if I said Ireland? Green. Castles. Cliffs. What else? Red hair, maybe. Guinness, of course. Pubs. Friendly people. If we played this game for an hour, …
Let me tell you about a little treasure hunt we went on to find a hidden letter in Edinburgh. Almost as soon as we arrived in Edinburgh a few weeks ago, Cole and Mary Polly were insistent that we find a place called the Jolly Judge. While Taido seemed to understand their need to find …
2 families, 4 days, 3 nights, 15 miles, 3,000 feet of elevation gain. This summer our family hiked from Aspen to Crested Butte with another precious family. Read about our first day on the trail here. And second day here. Third day here. Aspen To Crested Butte: Day 4 Taido woke us up early with …
2 families, 4 days, 3 nights, 15 miles, 3,000 feet of elevation gain. This summer our family hiked from Aspen to Crested Butte with another precious family. Read about our first day on the trail here. And second day here. Aspen To Crested Butte: Day 3
2 families, 4 days, 3 nights, 15 miles, 3,000 feet of elevation gain. This summer our family hiked from Aspen to Crested Butte with another precious family. Read about our first day on the trail here. Aspen To Crested Butte: Day 2 Before the sun was up, Taido was gone from his sleeping bag. I …