Tomorrow our country will celebrate Independence Day, paying tribute to our hard-earned freedom made possible by men and women in uniform. Compared to the last two years, we'll be able to participate in a variety of gatherings without the restrictions we experienced when Covid was a greater concern. But despite the ability to move about, … Continue reading Free to Be You: Free to Be Me
June 22cnd: On That Day in History
Since I was a young girl, I've loved the number 22; that's because my birthday is March 22cnd; I liked the way the numbers looked and that I had a pair of twos. Another favorite number was 5; that's because my birth year was 1955. As with the twos, I liked the shape of fives … Continue reading June 22cnd: On That Day in History
Forgiving Our Fathers: Forgiving Ourselves
Today we celebrate fathers. It's a day of remembering for those of us who have lost them. For my son, Brooks, who's the daddy of my grandsons, Baker and Parks, it's feeling the love and the huge responsibility for his exuberant two and four-year-olds. With this day of national honoring of these men, comes mixed … Continue reading Forgiving Our Fathers: Forgiving Ourselves
Go For It While You Can
Ten years ago, when I started going to the Swing Dance at the Raleigh Elk's Lodge on Sunday nights, I had no idea how that new activity would change my life. At first, my husband went with me to practice what we'd learned in our West Coast Swing lessons. But soon thereafter, he didn't want … Continue reading Go For It While You Can
Girls of Summer: Online Dating
Yesterday my grandson played his last T-ball game of his first season. At four-years-old, Baker has shown an amazing ability to concentrate when they're in the field, hit the coach's pitches, and run the bases tagging each one. Watching his team, I've been impressed at how skilled they are to have played for such a … Continue reading Girls of Summer: Online Dating
Path People
Today, on Memorial Day weekend, we remember those soldiers who served bravely and gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Last week's post, Armed Forces Day: A New Way to Celebrate featured a program for veterans that serves them by providing shelter dogs that are then trained through the Vets to Vets program and go home … Continue reading Path People
Armed Forces Day: A New Way to Celebrate
Yesterday was Armed Forces Day. When I was a girl, our family spent that day at Pope Air Force Base participating in the celebration. My parents were very patriotic, part of that "Greatest Generation" with Daddy an army veteran and Mama a Civil Service Worker during WWII. Being on the grounds of the base had … Continue reading Armed Forces Day: A New Way to Celebrate
September in Scotland: A Dream to Fulfill
Yesterday, I met my cousin Kim for ice cream and a delicious conversation about our upcoming trip to Scotland in September. Now that it's mid-May, it feels more real that this is finally going to happen. Like many others with travel plans, we were supposed to go in 2020-- before Covid changed everything. Our mission … Continue reading September in Scotland: A Dream to Fulfill
Family Reunion: A Gathering of Loyalty and Love
Yesterday we had our Smith Family Reunion, Mama's family that had eight children and twenty grandchildren. We were lucky that all but one of the eight-- three daughters and five sons, lived in North Carolina and we saw them regularly when we were growing up. I have fond memories of Grandma Smith's farm house bulging … Continue reading Family Reunion: A Gathering of Loyalty and Love
The Gift of Gab
This week I've been thinking about Mama. She passed away two years ago on April 30th after gracing this world for ninety-six years. People knew her for her kindness, her warmth and generosity, her adventurous spirit. They also knew her for her 'gift of gab' her Scotch-Irish roots that showed in her red hair and … Continue reading The Gift of Gab
Connie Rosser Riddle 