Being 50 means: …love and gratitude. …freshly fallen snow, a candle-lit walkway, and two magical Christmas trees. …3 beautiful children, willing to help, and an army of family and friends who always show up with open arms. …twinkling candle lights, coconut cake, and holiday carols. …a polar plunge and a Christmas Cosmo. …a roaring twenties fringe dress, pearls, and long black gloves. …a warm puppy, laughing friends, and…
Trixie and I drove to the Midwest last weekend to see our Boilermaker and Spartan, Tyler, and Jacob, respectively. “Let’s go, girl! We gotta go see our boys!” Thirteen and a half hours later, we landed at Purdue. It’s hard to believe, but Tyler is in his senior year. Where did that time go? Trix and I needed to make it out for one last tailgate at “Pete the…
It’s all about farming… When I first started understanding the Internet and YouTube videos—probably around 2012—the kids were young. I remember one of the first things I let them watch on my computer screen was farming videos. They were hooked. They loved them – everything from tractors to big rigs and even farm dioramas – they were watching. And then, one Saturday, about a year later, I glanced…
Some years, one gets a little more stage time compared to the others. We honor that, as the emotions run high when you bring everyone together for a few days each year–but we wouldn’t want to have it any other way. We will take the drama, all of it, as long as we are together. The fireworks display, in particular, has always been an area of every emotion…
I went to a very small wedding Saturday night. I like weddings. Weddings are not just for the couple being married, but also for those who support them. They are an opportunity for renewal and a reminder of love for those of us standing on the sidelines, watching. Whether you are next to your mate of 40 years, 20 months or 10 days one can’t help but think…
I went out for my third Mom’s Day Weekend at Purdue, and what a weekend it has turned out to be. Purdue won their basketball game, and they are headed to the final on Monday night! It was a madhouse here last night. Poor Tyler having to manage his mother in all of it. 🙂 Needless to say, I retired shortly after the game with my travel companion…
Only in a family that revolves around farming do you bring semen tanks over on Thanksgiving Day… …or talk about heat cycles at the dinner table. And let’s not forget how normal it is to discuss ovulation, insemination, and manure consistency. We don’t think anything of it, though. We are genuinely interested in these things, similar to how others are regarding mowing their lawns, basketball games, and what’s…
There used to be three little faces in this picture. Like clockwork every year. All decked out in their new sneakers, shirts, and backpacks. But this year, there was only one. Just one, on the first day of school. As I sit back and think about the past summer and the launch of child number two out into the world, I am also thinking about the launch of…
And he’s off! It has been a week of saying goodbye… and hello. Tears and smiles, hugs…and packing. The ground has been unsteady all summer, but it’s finally firming up again. And it feels GOOD. Every time a child heads out into the great blue yonder, a piece of a mom’s heart gets torn off and goes with her child. All summer, this piece of my heart has…
The kids say I take more pictures of the dog than I do them. It’s true. I talk to her, and I find myself staring at her. I hug her, I kiss her, I make over her constantly. She absolutely is the object of my affection. My dog. Trixie. Do you know we have a joke in the office about the dog having seasonal depression?? I swear, whenever…
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