Sometimes, I need an inspiration boost to write this column, usually when my mind is in whirling dervish mode. It happens occasionally and when it does, I take a look at the National Day Calendar website, nationaldaycalendar.com. I am forever amazed by the things we find it necessary to celebrate!
Ellie May Toldo graced our lives in June of 2020. I am not sure what came over me the day our eyes first met at the Humane Society of Genesee County. I have always liked cats. I love all animals; but I have historically been a dog person. I cannot explain it, but my heart simply melted when I laid eyes on sweet Ellie.
I am one of those blessed people who made it to midlife with a living grandparent. I was 46 years old when my maternal grandmother, Barb, passed away in July 2014. There has been a gaping hole in my life ever since. You see, Barb was more than my Gramma, she was the best friend I ever had. I was named after her – my real first name is Barbara. My mom chose to call me Leslie, but I have always been a Barb in my heart.
Lately, I find myself awake in the middle of the night – wide awake at 2:35AM – on the nose, almost nightly. While I find it is a perfect time to catch up on infomercials and snacking without any interruptions, I would rather be sleeping.
We are entering an exciting time of year. Angst, excitement and the sweetness of dreams in the making fill the air. Before you reach for your brackets, you should know that I am NOT talking about March Madness.
If you are a statistics person, love and marriage go together about like divorce and marriage do. Around half of all marriages in this country end in divorce. Not very romantic, is it?
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be,” Abraham Lincoln once said. The first time I saw that quote, I was confused. It implies that happiness is a choice.
I watch Hallmark movies from November 1 through December 31. I even titled this article in the same style as Hallmark titles its movies.
On December 14, 2019 our dear, sweet, 11-year-old Golden Retriever, Daisy, left this world.
Biff Tannen, Regina George, Scut Farkus, Johnny Lawrence. If any of those names sound familiar, there is a good reason. They are all famous movie bullies – the antagonists we loved to hate because they tormented our beloved good guys.
It is Self-Care September. You know what to do. Or do you? Of course, you can go get a massage, binge-watch rom-coms or take a really great nap. Technically, any of those counts as self-care. But there is something else you can do to celebrate this month, something that may not sound like it is even for you: forgive someone. Yes, I am suggesting letting someone who has done you wrong off the hook. A massage may sound a lot more pleasant and certainly much easier; but when it comes to long-term benefits for your soul, forgiveness is off the charts.
I will never forget the reason why I set up my first social media account. In 2008, an old friend from high school looked me up on the internet and sent me an email at my TV news job. She wanted to make sure I knew one of our friends had passed away unexpectedly. My friend, Faye, told me she heard the news on Facebook.
