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The Dregs of Summer
Around this time of year, I always feel a little sad with the passing of summer. Summer is my favorite season. Yes, even in the Georgia heat. Beaches, peaches, blueberries, vacations, sandals, swimming pools, sun tans, summer dresses, and freckles make me happy. I love the sun, and really do hate winter time. Winter is my least favorite season. While everyone else celebrates the passing of summer and the coming of Fall, I see it merely as the approaching cruelest of seasons. You can have your pumpkin spiced lattes. Give me sweat and cold drinks any day of the week. Maybe I need to move further south…
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Growing Up Maltese: The Football Edition
My father is Maltese. Yes, Maltese like the cross. Yes, like the dog. And no, it is NOT where malt beverages were invented. I get asked that more than you would believe. My dad was born in Hamrun, Malta on June 18th, 1950. He immigrated with his family, to Ellis Island, on December 5th, 1952, which coincidentally also happened to be my mother’s first birthday. His family settled in Detroit, Michigan, where he later met and married my mother. I was born in Wyandotte, just south of Detroit but still in the same county. It is similar to someone being “from Atlanta” but living in Sandy Springs or Roswell, both…
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Observations from a Piano Bench
My daughter, Josephine, age 9, sat at her piano, practicing. She called to me from her seat, “Hey Mom! Did you know that a flat is sharp and a sharp is a flat?” “Say what?” “The black keys are both sharps AND flats! It just depends on what note you’re playing!” “That’s neat. So, based on your perspective, the same key can have two totally different names.” “That’s right! To A, the black note, or the sharp, is a big brother. But to B, the SAME black key is a flat. It’s a little sister.” Two things: 1. Having your kids learn a musical instrument is an education all by…
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The Kind Gentleman
My husband’s father, Lauren Oliver Buckland, Sr., passed away on July 28th, 2014. There was a memorial service held yesterday in Atlanta at Church of the Apostles, a church they attended for many years. It was a beautiful service and a wonderful tribute to a man we loved dearly and who will be greatly missed. I had the great honor and privilege of speaking during the time of reflections from friends and family. It is a great honor that I could call myself both. This is what I wrote for him. It is difficult for me to wrap my mind around the fact that Lauren is gone. There is a…
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Let’s Ban #BanBossy
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of Lean In, and a bunch of other important people, are on a mission to ban the word “bossy.” They argue that the word is too often used as a negative label describing girls with natural leadership qualities. Really? I thought I was using it to describe someone, male or female, who is kind of a rude jerk. Before I rant about all that is wrong with this campaign, let me just state for the record that the campaign makes many points with which I actually agree. I am all for children, boys and girls, using their words to speak up and be…
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For the Level of Humanity!
Unless you have no internet connection, no television, never go to the grocery store, or aren’t on speaking terms with your mother, you have probably already heard the news: George Clooney is getting married! The internet is abuzz with THE woman who finally captured George’s heart. Her name is Amal Alamuddin, and her resume is dizzying. She’s an Oxford-educated human rights lawyer who, coincidentally enough, also looks like a supermodel. She speaks three languages and her list of accomplishments range from representing Julian Assange to acting as advisor to Kofi Annan. In other words, she isn’t mortal.
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Unschooled by Stuart Little
“Everyone will now take his or her seat!” commanded Stuart. The pupils filed obediently down the aisles and dropped into their seats and in a moment there was silence in the classroom. Stuart cleared his throat. Seizing a coat lapel in either hand, to make himself look like a professor, Stuart began: “Anybody absent?”
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Disappointing Your Kids
Parents today have too many pressures heaped upon them. We are bombarded with “expert” opinions and unrealistic expectations on how to raise perfect, well-adjusted, brilliant, beautiful, talented, morally immaculate children. It’s more than even our Bible heroes could achieve! Formulas abound. Plug in these variables and presto! Get perfect kids! As if raising children was as simple as following a recipe; baking the perfect kidcake with all the best organic ingredients. On top of all that, I see parents who will go to great lengths, moving heaven and earth in order not to disappoint their kids. They somehow, along with caring for their kids, feel responsible for their total and…
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One Thing
I have a question for you: What’s the one thing you know you should be doing but aren’t? I’m not talking about everyday things, things that may be important but on a much smaller scale, such as doing the dishes, taking out the trash, or paying the cable bill. I’m talking about the ideas that you have. The big ones. The ones that won’t leave. The ones that have been with you for months, maybe even years. Maybe ever since you were a kid. They linger like strays on a doorstep. You want to write a novel. Or travel the world someday. Or start your own business. Or run a…
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Why I Run
If you know me at all, or follow me on social media, you know that I love to run. Let me say up front, I am no Olympic athlete. I have never run a marathon, and in the past my running schedule has been sporadic at best. I have run several 5ks, a few 10ks, but mostly I love to go for a 30 minute jaunt around the park or my neighborhood, giving this desperate introvert a much needed break from parenting and homeschooling 4 children! Running clears my head. It gives me time to recalibrate, to think and focus, meditate or pray. Another bonus: I get to listen to…
