My Marriage Is Going Nowhere And I Couldn’t Be Happier

My marriage is going nowhere. At least, that was the case this weekend. This wasn’t our intention. The plan, rather, Last second, as it was, Was pretty grand. I had seen early Saturday morning that my favorite singer was in town for a concert. The guy you pretend is singing to you. Or, if that is kind of creepy because you’re old enough to be his mother, That you would’ve been the girl he was in love with when you

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CNN Correspondent Ed Lavandera And Crew Help Rescue Elderly Couple In Texas Floods

CNN correspondent Ed Lavandera is just one of the many reporters, producers and photographers in Texas covering the devastating floods. They are there to do a job. Report the news. And, And, They are human beings first. None finer than the folks who work for CNN. Ed was in the middle of a live shot with anchor Ana Cabrera when they came upon a house with an elderly couple that needed rescuing. There was never a question of what was

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How I Know The Real Excitement About The Solar Eclipse Has Nothing To Do With Science

I finally get all this historic solar eclipse stuff. Not the science part. I’ve understood that for some time. At 1:16 pm EDT on Monday, the moon will butt its way between the sun and Earth. It’s going to make things really dark in the middle of the day across America. Such excitement! The plans and celebration! People are traveling thousands of miles hoping to see a total eclipse. I get it. Though, I don’t believe all this enthusiasm is

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Something Heartbreaking Is Happening Behind My Daughter’s Bedroom Door

Something unbelievable is happening in my daughter’s bedroom. Behind a closed door. I know what she’s doing in there. Something big. Something heartbreaking. Something totally expected. Daughter is packing for college. I want to run in there 1,425 times an hour. “Have you thought about…?” “Have you considered…?” I stop myself mid-knock outside her door. I’m determined not to be that parent. Have you seen them? There is a special Facebook page for parents of students going to the same

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The Question Every True Dog Lover Must Answer

Panic set in this week. During a phone call home while I was out of town. A last minute trip I’ll tell you about sometime. For now, this panic was about our “newish” puppy. Because of the last second nature of this trip, I left all the animals in care of my husband. There was a time when this would’ve seemed impossible. This man who didn’t want any pets. This man who has come so far. Early on, he learned

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How Candles In A Church I Don’t Belong To Help Me Find My Way Home

Italy. The answer is Italy. If you caught last week’s column, Dear Reader, you left me stuck on a mountain top in Oman with a husband who was using frequent flyer miles prowess to get us home. “How about Milan?” he piped up as he worked his booking voodoo. He found a beautiful hotel and two first class seats through Dubai into Milan. For pennies, as he’s apt to do. “We can tour the city. We can go to Lake

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This Is The Last Place I Ever Expected To Spend My Wedding Anniversary

This is the last place I ever imagined I’d spend my wedding anniversary. On top of a mountain. In Oman. Go ahead and look on a map. I had to. We’re talking the other side of the globe. A tiny country bordered by The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Yeah, Yemen. Which my husband insisted we would only end up in if we took a wrong turn. Welcome to the latest travel creation of the man I’ve come

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How MilesHusband’s Biggest Points Redemption Ever Waited Behind This Hotel Door

Points redemption. Two words that give MilesHusband goosies. Basically, it’s the math you do to figure out how much value each point or mile brings you when you cash it in for a flight, a hotel, or heaven forbid, a camera or magazine subscription. And off the top, I have to say, “Thank you, Chase Ultimate Rewards!” as these points made this great story possible. More on how to earn those at the bottom of this post. For now back

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The Unimaginable Twist To My Unanswered Prayer

My daughter spotted it first. As kids are apt to do. Though, she probably didn’t realize exactly what she was seeing. Just how enormous it was. This is the story of how innocently standing in line at our favorite burrito joint, With nothing more than quacamole and a margarita on my brain, There it was. My unanswered prayer. My big, glaring, forever-wished-for lifetime prayer. If you had been watching us, you would’ve seen Daughter and me patiently inching forward. This

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How The Most Unromantic Man In America Made His Wife Burst Into Tears

Don’t take my word for it. John Reilly will tell you he is “The Most Unromantic Man in America.” “I’m a chronic and habitual underachiever when it comes to birthday/Christmas/anniversary gifts for my wonderful wife,” he confessed to me in an email this week. As people do. They like to tell me stuff. Like giving a vacuum cleaner for Christmas? “Oh, I’ve done that,” John told me over the phone. It’s not that wife, Carol, didn’t make suggestions over the

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