A dear friend of mine posted a photo of a fortune with the above quote on Facebook this morning. While I was already familiar with the quote, I appreciated seeing it again. “Yep, you just never know,” I thought to myself. “People may be crabby or hateful for a reason that I can’t see.” And that’s…
Category: family
Sunday Session
For awhile now, Drew and I have been talking about taking some “Senior Photos” of him before his last year of college kicks off. So this morning, we decided to set out. Destinations: Laumeier Sculpture Park and Citygarden. Perfect morning, perfect locations. And perfect company. Loved the late summer blooms. St. Louis, I love you…
Not My Kids’ Legos
When the kids were growing up, I learned quickly that the bottoms of adult feet have some strange magnetic pull specific to stray Legos left on the floor. Especially in the middle of the night. I became quite familiar with that feeling of cut glass underfoot. Thanks to an afternoon trip to the Botanical Garden, it…
Surprise!
This weekend my Dad celebrated a very important birthday. He doesn’t like a fuss to be made over it, so I won’t reveal his age. Suffice it to say that it was an important enough birthday that the tennis community in my home town threw a big surprise party for him. And when I say…
We’re not in Kansas anymore…or Colorado
We reluctantly packed up at the crack of dawn this morning and headed home, putting Colorado and the Rockies in our rear view mirrors. But not before a fun send off from a few rather large visitors. One elk stood right outside our back door, while two others mulled around in the neighboring yard. They…
The Adventure Continues
Back to Rocky Mountain National Park this morning. First stop: Sprague Lake. This has to be one of my favorite spots of the day. Below is a fly fishing lesson. Can you imagine learning a new skill with THIS as your backdrop? Check out this brazen little chipmunk. We were within just a foot or…
Enjoying the Views
After a loooong drive through the monotonous landscape of Kansas, which my youngest son likened to running on a treadmill, we finally reached the gorgeousness of Colorado. Per usual, we’ve had a very loose agenda. A few non-negotiables are on the itinerary, but we mostly just go with the flow. As a family with two males, one…
65 years
One neat part of my work today involved taking photos at a nursing home. Including this couple. They will have been married for 65 years in July, but they love each other like a couple of teenagers. Constantly blowing each other kisses, looking at each other, flirting, smiling, laughing, holding hands. It was so sweet,…
New Friends and Flowers
Saturday hike with Tanner on a perfect spring day. I’ll take it. We met new friends. This is Sadie and Sophie Bassett. We found random fields of flowers… …some Bleeding Heart… …and the show-stopper: loads of lilacs just starting to bloom. We’ll have to go back when the bushes are at their peak. But today…
Sunday at the Ball Park
Yesterday Tanner and I got to go see the Cardinals play the Cubs, courtesy of my sister and brother-in-law. Not only was it a ton of fun, we saw a winner! Above is a panoramic view from our seats. Click on the image for a larger look. “That’s a winner” is always a favorite expression,…
Time to GO!
Today was a very good day. For several reasons. After several months of training, Drew and I got to run the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon! This was Drew’s first half and my third. And boy, did he smoke that course. Initial race results had him finishing 100th out of more than 6,000 runners, but…
Hike in the 100 Acre Wood
“Hey Mom, let’s take a hike.” Sunshine…Saturday…time spent with my son in the great outdoors… Gee, twist my arm. It’s amazing how much scenery can be packed into a relatively short trek. Along the way, I’m pretty sure we found Piglet’s house in the 100 Acre Wood. If this thing had a door… Don’t…
Friday with Mom
My mamma picked THE most beautiful day of the year for a day trip to our zip code. Sunny, seventy degrees…so, so lovely. And we picked THE most beautiful place to start the day — the Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show. So many wonderful varieties, shapes and colors. But mostly just wonderful company. Loved getting to…
Top O’ the Weekend to Ya
Lemme start this by saying it: this has been a very, very good weekend so far. While there’s good in every day if you look around hard enough, this is the kind of good that hands itself to you in a colorful package with a big, sparkly bow. A Pharrell-Williams’-“Happy”-playing-in-your-head kind of weekend. It started…
Ask Questions, Seek Answers…Start Anew
“There are years that ask questions, and years that answer.” – Zora Neale Hurston You know, if I apply this philosophy while looking over 2013, I’m thinking this was a year that posed the questions. In all, it’s been a good year…with some tough spots sprinkled here and there. We’ve had our adventures, filled with…
Dear Santa…
Me and my siblings, Christmas 1971 So today brought the last of our Christmas shopping for this year. Yes, we’d procrastinated. A lot. But after we’d run around picking up gifts and checked off all names on our lists, we settled back into the car with a sigh of relief. That’s when Tanner made a comment…
Sunday
A super cold race…Drew’s first (and FAST) 15k…to start the morning and a Christmas concert at the Fox to close a late evening. And a super long nap in between. I loved this day.
Grateful
“There’s that moment every year. We sit down to a much-awaited table – the sum of the attention of to-do lists across town. Not a detail missed. Yet no matter how perfect the setting, it is something else for which we are grateful: the simple pause that comes from the gathering. That’s it. The reflection…
You’ve Got This!
After my less-than-productive run yesterday, I went for a three mile hike with Drew. Gotta say, he’s turned into a bit of a running buff and fitness freak. He’s dropped at least 30 pounds since his chemo ended a year ago. He works out religiously and eats very healthy. It’s been fun to watch his…
Dear So-and-So…
Well, my firstborn is 21. We celebrated with a Veteran’s Day road trip to see the Chicago Bulls play. While there, we were formally introduced to Sprinkles Cupcakes and experienced Chicago’s first snow of the season. But people-watching along the way has reminded me that I haven’t done a Dear So-and-So post in a very,…
Sunday
This view has become pretty familiar over the past year or so….the arch at sunrise, race spectators lining the sidewalks with funny signs (i.e., “You’re my inspiration, complete stranger,” “You’re running better than the government”) thousands of jittery runners packed into corrals waiting for the horn to go off… But yesterday was a little different….
Fall Sunday Fun Day
…And they’re off!! See Batman and the Riddler at the front of the starting line? Those are my guys, barreling out of the gate and running their first 5K race with reckless abandon. Pre-race silliness. I can’t begin to tell you how many people asked to pose for photos with them. It was hilarious….
Geeez …
Just a small glimpse into what happens when we shop for socks and boxers in our house. Gotta say, my kids are funny and fearless. Not shown: my hot pink compression socks for running. They’re supposed to help prevent further injuries. Given that my single pair of running socks cost as much as nine pairs…
hey there, friends 