Life in the Slow Lane

I have to share with you what came in the mail last night...so excited! A few months ago a friend said she loved reading my blog, and thought it was a great way to leave my thoughts for my children some day. I never thought of my blog like that until that moment. What an amazing gift for them to read when older. Imagine if our grandparents blogged(guess it was called writing a diary back in the day lol). I started worrying that someday my blog would be deleted... it would be lost in cyber space, and I couldn't let that happen. But how great would it be to have my blog turned into a book!!?! Turns out that is so do-able, and wait til you see it! I decided to just start with the first three years of my blog(established in 2008!). I didn't want the book too big, and I am in no way done blogging, so knew there would be a volume 2 at some point. Ok I've made you wait long enough, here it is! I could show you tons, but you get the point. It'

I know some of my readers are young(er) than me, so I wanted to share this if you've never seen this. It's a column that was written in 1997 for the Chicago Tribune, and I'm sure has been read at countless graduation ceremonies since. Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '98: Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know t

I just saw this and got a little ticked: Don't ask why I got ticked, I'm not too sure, it just doesn't sit well. If you're having a day where you are feeling down and pessimistic, you could care less about this silliness! I have a lovely life and lovely things, I don't deny that. But I'm a gal that always wants more. Not material things, just life happenings.  I'm having one of those days where I question every aspect of one area of life. How did I get here? What can make it better? Why is it never enough? I've said before that I'm a pessimist , and I firmly stand behind that self proclamation. I find it easier to see the negative, then be pleasantly surprised at the positive when(if) arrives. My judgement is severely clouded today though, so I don't even know what I feel.  I can tell you I'm smelling change in the air though. No idea if that will change my perception of this life area, but I know it will make me feel somethin

Thought this would be a cute addition to the blog every now and then. It's a great way for a quick overview that still makes me have to think a little!

Why does time seem to go so quickly? It never did when the kids were tiny, the days seemed to be endless. Each year goes just a bit faster than the last. I love to tell the kids to hurry up and get tall so we can ride more coasters, get a little older so we can do more fun family things, but today, when my baby is turning 8, I just want time to come to a complete stand still. I have such vivid memories of being in the hospital with my sister, patiently waiting for my sweet baby. We ate donuts, watched tv, and laughed all night. Now eight years later, I ran upstairs this morning to be sure to be the first to say Happy Birthday, and his bright eyes made my whole day. He is becoming such a wonderful young man. So kind, polite, and compassionate. I'm proud of all of the strides he has made this year and every year before, and he has changed me in more ways than I ever thought possible. Sorry if I'm sounding a bit sappy today, 8 just seems like a turning point from little t

Today marks the twelfth year since an event changed the way I see life. I have very clear memories from this exact time of day, pulling into my parking spot at my school, getting a phone call on my giant old cell phone. I heard what he was telling me, but just wasn't processing it. For everything I believed in at the time, I just could not understand why someone would be taken from the world at our age. He had started flying a straight course and was turning into an amazing man with a big future. All to be snatched in seconds.  After that moment I had days on end of coming home from work, sitting on the front lawn, and just staring at the lake that was across from our house. I searched for answers that were just not there. I saw lives change and hearts broken. A mother should never have to feel that deep sorrow that never leaves. It is then that I lost my sense of anything greater than us. That of course continued to evolve over the next few years, a story for another time. Of cour