Raise your glass! What do you see in this picture? Four darling girls raising their glasses of milk to a Christmas with Gigi. I see so many things in this picture. I see my parent’s dining room set. It’s at least 40 years old and has been repainted. It’s funny how much of a connection I feel with them with this dining room set. A lot of love and laughter around that table! I see a handmade table runner, one of my favorite gifts ever, given to me from a colleague/friend made j

It’s always nice to see former colleagues; some I haven’t seen for years. I just wish we didn’t have to lose a friend for that chance. We gathered to pay tribute to Susan Turner. I met Susan in 1989. We worked together as social workers, trainers, and supervisors in two counties. She had such a solid faith in God that I always admired. She was no doubt the smartest person I’ve ever known. I think she told me once what her IQ was but I’ve forgotten; it was high. Like really hi

5 years ago today we moved from Tulare to St George Utah. Just because it’s easier to look in the rear view mirror after life has happened, if I had to do it over again I would have waited another year. I would have worked longer and given myself more time to adjust. There were reasons we did it when we did but it was so rushed. I lost Randy, retired from a job I loved, sold my house of 25 years, bought a house and left my hometown of almost my whole life to move out of state

I HATE that I don’t have a husband for many reasons but today it’s about feeling like every time someone is servicing something, selling me something (other than my realtor and the guy who sold both Erin and I our cars), or giving financial resources or advice, they are taking advantage of the fact that I’m a widow, alone, without a man to accompany or support me with these decisions. And it makes me mad!!! There may be times this is not their intent but I go with my gut and

I feel so validated to see this word finally describe what has been an insanely frustrating characteristic of mine. This is also more common than I thought, but 6% of those with it have it to the extreme, which I’m sure I am one of. As I have aged I know my hearing is not as good as it used to be but in addition to these repetitive noises I used to have such a keen sense of hearing. For example, once when my husband and I were sitting in our family room I told him I could hea

I recently lost my last living aunt, Margaret Jensen. She was married to my mom's brother. She worked at Cherry Avenue School for years. Her husband, my uncle, owned Cave's men's clothing store in downtown Tulare for those who have been around awhile. She was 94. She had Alzheimer's in past years but she lived a full life before Alzheimer's robbed her and her family. I wrote the following to post on her obituary page. Then I came across a Facebook post with me wearing one of

I know I repeat this story every year. I wrote it about 10-12 years ago for a newsletter at work. But on this day I am reminded how important friends are and how blessed I am to have this woman as my dear dear friend. Love you Linda! “I was a single mother with a five year old daughter. Without going into a lot of detail as to why, I ended up moving to another state with my daughter. I had no family and no close friends. I had been there six months and was pretty homesick a