Category: Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn

Morning Phone Call Reveals Unexpected Revelation From His 91-Year-Old Father
Daryn's Blog, Family, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn, Love Stories, Parenting

Morning Phone Call Reveals Unexpected Revelation From His 91-Year-Old Father

The call came at 8:45. As it does each morning. Not my phone. My friend, Gene’s. It was his dad. His 91-year-old dad. “We don’t actually say the words out loud,” Gene said, “But it’s his daily, ‘Yes, I’m alive’ call.” Some days the calls are short. Some days longer. Monday was a chatty call. Dad felt like talking. So, Gene shared his story from the night before. How he had splurged. Dug into his family wallet to take his

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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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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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When a family member leaves a can of Coke Zero in our freezer and it explodes, I am left to find meaning in the mess.
Daryn's Blog, Family, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn, Overcoming Obstacles

Finding Meaning In The Aftermath Of An Exploded Soda Can

No one is claiming responsibility. It’s possible they were scared off by my rather loud verbal reaction when I came upon the scene of the crime. A crime, I admit, That probably started with a relatively good intention. Last weekend, someone, A mystery someone, Got the inspired idea to compensate for a lack of cold sodas in the fridge. Anonymous put a room temperature can of Coke Zero in the freezer. Which is a great idea. When you remember to

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when mother's day means having to let your mother and daughter go.
Daryn's Blog, Family, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn, Parenting, The Hard Stuff

When Mother’s Day Means Being The One Who Let’s Her Go

This is to be Mother’s Day? Sure doesn’t feel like it’s supposed to go down. I find myself thinking about that this week. A lot. I read countless posts about daughters celebrating with their mothers. About bountiful brunch feasts. About women so thankful to hold their children close. Then, I look around. At my holiday. This year. This Mother’s Day. The first without my mother who passed last August. There will be no celebrating with her, I tell myself. Over

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Getting naked to eat an orange in the shower to figure out what I'm missing out on.
Daryn's Blog, Food, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn

Why I Got Naked To Eat An Orange And Find Out What I’m Missing Out On

I got naked this week. I get naked every week, Every day, for that matter. This week, I did it for you. For this column. To test a trap I’ve fallen into since high school. The “I’m missing out,” trap. It started with that friend, Perhaps, you know her, too, Dear Reader. The one who always described every party, Every adventure, Every ordinary lunch, As, “Amazing! We had the best time!” As a teen, those breathless reports left me in

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How a sweet boy and a truck reminded me the secret to love.
Daryn's Blog, Kindness, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn, Overcoming Obstacles, The Hard Stuff

How A Sweet Boy And A Truck Reminded Me The Secret To Love

A sweet boy from high school taught me something about love this week. Of course, he is no longer a boy. Now a man. A husband. A father. An incredibly happy one last July as he walked along Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. Do you remember the evil that happened that night? As the French celebrated Bastille Day, their independence day? A crazed terrorist barreled a truck down that boulevard packed with people. His single mission was to destroy

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A stranger's knock on my front door exposed me for the cheater I am. I'm a house cheater, not appreciating the home I have.
Daryn's Blog, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn

The Stranger Who Exposed Me As The Cheater I Am

The stranger’s knock on my front door exposed me. For the cheater I am. One unexpected visitor’s request making me realize I’ve gone down a path I never intended. How I’d stopped appreciating what I have here at home. My eye started wandering innocently enough. By clicking around a few websites. Checking out other people. How they live. What they have. How much better than mine. My name is Daryn and I’m a house cheater. Yes, I’ve been unfaithful to

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A single letter that arrived in the mail made me realize I've failed at parenting. Even worse, I'm out of time to fix it.
Daryn's Blog, Family, Kids, Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn, Parenting

The Moment I Realized I Failed Parenting. How About You?

My daughter will tell you I’m crazy. She doesn’t understand. At all. Somewhere between two days before Christmas and New Year’s Eve I simply had a revelation. That I messed up. Not my mother-in-law’s chocolate pie. Not my first novel. Though, I certainly did a fine job of making a disaster of both of those. I’m talking big. As in parenthood. Yeah, I messed up parenthood. The awareness has been creeping in our home with each arriving college acceptance letter.

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Forest Hill South Park Church in North Carolina produces a wonderful and sweet video about the abundant gifts it's so easy for us to overlook. It's all about gratitude.
Life Lessons Took Me Long Time To Learn, Uplifting Stories

Freaking Out With Gratitude For Incredible Gifts You Forgot You Have

Are you, too, giving gratitude for making it through another holiday season? The parties and gifts were great, but it’s time to get back to real life. Before you do, please check out this awesome video from a church in North Carolina. No matter your religion, I think you’ll get a smile and a wonderful gentle reminder for all that we have, even when we forget just how rich we are. Thank you, Forest Hill Church, for a minute or

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