Grandparent Names

Having been in two heavily blended families, I have ended up with several names as a grandmother.

Memories of my Aunt

It’s never easy losing a loved one. Aunt Fran wasn’t an aunt by blood, she was a foster sister to my mother. Her parents, Reatha and Thornton Burns, took in three foster girls in their teens as companions to their daughter Frances.

Childhood Chores

What do you remember being told to do as a young child that you absolutely hated to do?

The thing I dreaded the most was taking my younger brothers to the movies with me. It was in a neighboring town and I used my babysitting money to go. I was maybe twelve or thirteen, so they would have been six and nine. I remember whining that my other friends didn’t have to bring their brothers with them. Needless to say, I made them sit far away from me.

Soup's on!

Believe it or not, I had made soup once before we moved to Ecuador. I was in my young 20s and living in New Hampshire. I decided to make some corn chowder. It was delicious but I never made it again (blame it on a bad marriage and too many moves).

Compulsions, Perfectionism, Procrastination & Control

I tend to be somewhat compulsive in certain areas. Am I OCD or just trying to keep control? Perfectionism is a sign of needing to control things. I used to have two recurring nightmares. In one, I would go completely blind unexpectedly.

Midnight Trip to the Mountain Top

It was New Year’s Eve, our tenth anniversary. Where were we? Why weren’t we celebrating together? Here’s the true story. 

While living in Colorado Springs in the late 1990s, my late husband, Mike, and I became good friends with several other couples around our neighborhood. Several of the husbands were members of a local four-wheeling club and mine joined them on several outings. Back woods camping, no shaving, lots of beer and tall tales, or so I suppose.

Crooked?

My body seems to have an affinity to crooked seams. I remember wearing stockings with seams (many years ago) and it was always difficult to get them straight. Now it’s my newer leggings with seams. I pull them on straight, I swear I do, but next thing I know, they’re crooked. 

A little bit weird...

Yes, I admit it, I’m weird. Why do I say that?

Mother's Day: 2025

My mother died from a heart attack in 1985. She never met my late husband Mike nor my current husband, Stu, but I hope she is watching over us and that she knows how wonderful my life has been. She was 61 when she died, I’ve outlived her by almost four years now.

Dreams or Nightmares

Growing up, I remember a recurring theme to my nightmares. No matter who was chasing me, and I was always being chased, I could get away. How? I’d just flap my arms and fly away. And if, by any chance they could fly, I could always fly higher and faster. I don’t remember how old I was when they started or when they stopped, but I remember them vividly. I think I was in 5th or 6th grade when they started. I also don’t remember any specifics about who was chasing me but I do think it was mostly other kids. Adults in my dreams came years later.

Hot, hot, hot

The most humid place I remember is Florida. In 1965, right after high school, I moved to Vero Beach, FL from New Hampshire. My parents had temporarily rented an apartment in what used to be old military barracks while they waited to buy a house. We had three bedrooms, one for them, one for my two brothers, and one for me. Even room air conditioning was a luxury in most homes and we were barely middle-class. I remember laying in bed, not moving a muscle, with the sweat dripping off me.

On becoming a septagenarian

I originally wrote this post when I turned seventy. Now that I’m less than three years away from eighty, I thought I should post it again. I’ve now lived longer than both my parents. Low carb has slowed down and I’m not cooking much at all. That’s about it for changes!

Guess what? It didn’t bother me! Nope, not one little bit. In fact, I felt proud that I’d made it. While I still have a couple of years to live longer than my father, I’ve way surpassed my mother who died at sixty-one.

The sun isn’t always our friend…

We hear all the warnings about skin cancer and especially melanoma. But I, like many others, grew up in an era without those warnings and we worshipped our tanned bodies. A nice tan made us feel healthier looking and yes, prettier.

Community Theater

As a little girl, I loved to play-act. I was the only girl in the immediate neighborhood with two brothers and five other boys around the same age. We were all middle-class, both higher and lower, but one family definitely was in the upper level. Their father worked in Boston as stock broker, driving out on Sunday night and not returning until Friday night.