Got The Best Gift; Why I Need To Give It Back

This is a “Thank You” note to my friend, Clare. Clare, who has delivered the best gift this holiday season. A gift for me. A gift for you. Clare, which rhymes with “Share.” Clare who’s life has changed forever. That’s what she’s sharing. And boy, has she shared. Shared with her friends and Facebook community the hugest shock of her life. That routine mammogram, the one she got just because she should, it showed a lump. A lump she hadn’t

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Husband Makes 50,000 Airline Miles Just By Taking Me To Lunch

Welcome to my world where Mad Scientist Miles Husband figures out a way to earn airline miles without flying. It’s kind of like living with a crazy genius. Sunday, he invites me for a midday date. I thought it was about picking out new colors to paint our house and getting some lunch. We’re just a block away from our house when he announces, “We’re going to earn 50,000 miles just by going to lunch!” (insert giddy, delighted with himself

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I Need My Husband To Fall In Love Again

I need my husband to fall in love again. To take that plunge of “all in” emotion with the same hopeful abandon he had the day he proposed. As if to say, “I don’t know everything about you, but enough to know I love you, we’re a match, we can make a life together!” I miss that man. The man who used to wake up with an expectant passion just because he was to see his great love. And then

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My Family Can’t Talk To Each Other; Y’all How About Yours?

My family needs to talk. It’s not so easy. “Ah, yes, raising two teenagers,” you nod in compassion and understanding. Yes, thank you. But that’s not it. Well, it is many days. The problem, I’ve diagnosed this week is something bigger. It starts at the beginning. We don’t speak the same language. Ours is a family with folks raised in California, the Midwest, and the South. The basic problem–no one can agree on how to speak.  I’m talking simple pronunciation.

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The Only Wedding Present We Asked For Keeps On Giving

The box awaits. It’s not fancy by any means. A cardboard box from a craft store that my friend’s 10-year-old daughter decorated with decals and quotes about love. It is simply the best wedding gift my husband and I received. It’s one of the very few wedding presents we received. There’s that. It’s how we wanted it. We got married in our late 40’s, already had two households of stuff. Asking our friends for more stuff just seemed silly. To

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You Could Call This The Worst Anniversary Dinner Ever

You could’ve called it the worst anniversary dinner ever. This week, Husband and I were excited to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. Yes, can you believe it? It’s already been three years since this forever-single lady found a perfectly imperfect man who wanted to spend his life with me. Getting hitched at Silver Run Falls, NC. July 2012. We had reservations at a fancy, new restaurant in town. And sure, we could’ve gone there and had the latest “farm-to-table” dishes. But

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How Can My Friends’ Worst Phone Call Ever Lead To Someone’s Best?

Joy. Today, I’m thinking about joy. Joy, the name of the wife of good friend, Brian. Joy, the emotion instantly drained from Brian’s heart when he received that phone call a couple weeks ago. Maybe you’ve gotten one of those phone calls, Dear Reader. One with the worst news possible. While Brian was working out of town, Joy was involved in a single-car accident. He was on the next plane back home, staying by Joy’s side for 10 days. Stayed

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My Dog Is Teaching Me A Final Lesson

My dog is getting me ready. She knows what’s coming in the way dogs know before we do. About a dangerous stranger, earthquakes, or bacon. She’s gently letting me know it will soon be time for her to go. It’s one of an infinite number of brilliant conversations I’ve had with my best friend. The friend who has never uttered a word in our more than 15 years together, but has taught me so much. “She’s not going anywhere,” Husband

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Four Reasons I’m Against Gay Marriage

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial -I’m against gay marriage, because to me, there is no such thing. It is simply, er, marriage. -I’m against gay marriage, because I would never want to be married to a gay man. I imagine our love life wouldn’t be all that great. Oh, and I’m already married. To a straight man. A wonderful straight man. There’s that. -I’m against the gay marriage ban. Oh, that’s it. That’s what I’m really against. Gay marriage

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How Great Friendship Comes Down To A Stack Of Pancakes

  My friend called this week to explain something I’d never considered. Great friendship comes down to a stack of pancakes. Her sweet call was apparently prompted by a visit with another friend of hers. A friend who has just filed for divorce. “Being there for her reminded me how you were there for me,” my friend said in a voicemail that I know I will keep for a long time. “How years ago you were there for me during

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