Author: DarynKagan

Something heartbreaking is happening behind my daughter's bedroom door.
Daryn's Blog, Family, Kids, Parenting, The Hard Stuff

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.
Animals, Daryn's Blog, Dogs, Love Stories, Marriage, Pets

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 lighting candles in a church I don't belong to help me find my way home.
Best Girlfriends Ever, Daryn's Blog, Family, Friendship, Husband's Crazy Frequent Flyer Mile Hobby, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn, The Hard Stuff, Travel

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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Sitting on top of a mountain in Oman is the last place I ever expected to spend my wedding anniversary.
Daryn's Blog, Husband's Crazy Frequent Flyer Mile Hobby, Love Stories, Marriage, Travel

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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The best points redemption ever for MilesHusband waited behind this door.
Husband's Crazy Frequent Flyer Mile Hobby, Travel, Uplifting Stories

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.
Daryn's Blog, Parenting, The Hard Stuff

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 John Reilly, the self-described "Most Unromantic Man In America" made his wife burst into tears.
Daryn's Blog, Love Stories, Marriage, Uplifting Stories

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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About that time my puppy almost flunked out of obedience school.
Animals, Daryn's Blog, Dogs, Dogs, Pets

About That Time My Puppy Threatened To Flunk Obedience School

It’s that performance anxiety dream. The one where you’re in class and you haven’t done all the work. You’re not going to graduate. You’ll be the laughing stock of the class. You’ve had that dream, Dear Reader? The good part is when you wake up realizing this was just a dream. Everything is fine. Oh, were it so. That was no dream. That was my real life. My real puppy. The real final exam at puppy obedience school. I apologize

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11-year-old Preston Sharp leads a campaign of honoring as many graves of veterans as possible across Northern California.
Family, Great Giving, Kids, Kindness, Uplifting Stories

Boy Covers Thousands Veterans’ Graves In Flags And Respect

11-year-old Preston Sharp is on a mission to cover the graves of veterans in flags, flowers and respect. His passion surfaced a couple years ago while visiting his grandfather’s grave. He became upset seeing not all the other markers had flags. His mother told him if something bothers him then he needs to do something about it. Little did she realize the movement she was unleashing in her son. CBS News’ Steve Hartman has the story. Preston has a GoFundMe

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What I wish I could tell the heart broken woman who popped up in my facebook memory.
Daryn's Blog, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn, The Hard Stuff

What I Wish I Could Tell That Broken-Hearted Woman Who Popped Up In My Facebook Memory

I wasn’t expecting this. My future to come screaming from my past this week. You know those reminders Facebook surprises you with on a regular basis? “Daryn! We thought you’d like to look back on this memory from seven years ago!” They can bring on a smile. They can also bring on pain, When someone who has passed, Or broken your heart shows up without warning. This one, The photo that popped up on my feed this week would be

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