Even More Words for the New Year 3

This past year, I tried to look at the positive and keep this quote in the back of my mind: When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. ~Helen Keller 2017 was…

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Thankful

On days when I’m not sure what to write, I sometimes go back to all the words I’ve written (here or on the blog) and see what life was like a year, two years, or even more, ago. I checked to see what was happening around June 8/9 last year; thankfully, I can say, “Not…

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Fear

“I’m scared.” Her eyes opened wide and the tears, which had been perched on the edge of her lower lid, made their escape. Her flushed cheeks glistened with the wetness. I rubbed her back, my hand making slow circles against her cotton shirt. “I know you are,” I said. “But it will pass.” I stopped…

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Adjusting My Aim

We have five four-legged animals who live with us. As much as I love them, they do require some maintenance. We buy good food and litter for the cats, as well as good food and toys for the dog. We have veterinarian costs to think about, too. I’ve been thinking lately that these friends of…

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Higher Plane

Back in December 2015, I wrote a post for Literary Mama’s After Page One Blog about writing and healing. I end the piece with, So I held to the singular goal of blogging each day. I put a few words down some days, many words other days, and as I did so, the weight of…

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Original Plan

This past Wednesday was my last day of school until the fall semester. Despite a bad cold, I managed to walk into each of my classes, hand out the comprehensive exam, and sit upright until all students had turned the tests in. I even graded the exams and put the scores into the computer that…

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Pizza Math

Pizza and math are common topics of conversation in this household. As many of you know, two of the inhabitants in this house live, eat, and breathe math. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate math more than I used to, so while I don’t live, eat, and breathe it, I do manage to focus…

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Dear Student, XII

Dear Student, It’s a rare occasion that I address a student who is not mine, and yet, today, I find myself doing so. I don’t know who you are or what classes you are taking this semester. I don’t know if you go to school part-time or full-time or if you have a job, a…

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Sweet Smell

Bath and Body Works website describes their Sweet Pea fragrance as: “An award winning mix of juicy raspberries and pear kissed by soft pink petals.” It’s not the sort of aroma to which I am normally drawn, but due to the lovely pink bottles in which the entire Sweet Pea line comes in (shower gel,…

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She Who Hesitates Is Lost

My dad used to be a walking Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. Really. I vividly remember him pulling out a quote when the time was appropriate (and sometimes not so appropriate). Instead of telling us something from the heart, he’d use a quote to convey his meaning. I’m not trying to be judgmental when I say that…

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