My daughter and I are going to Scotland in August. That statement deserves to stand alone because we are very excited about it. I have wanted to visit Scotland for years and Celia is happy to go anywhere with castles and history and afternoon tea. We have never gone on vacation just the two of us so this is a big deal. My husband talked us into it. A friend of mine took her daughters to Italy last month and he thought it was a great idea. He is still recovering from his motorcycle accident last fall and doesn’t have the energy to do a big trip. Our son has a…

Apparently, the world is caving in around my house tonight or at least it is according to my daughter. Life is unfair, boring, and absolutely not something she is enjoying right now. And no, she isn’t grumpy at all. What could I possibly mean? And no, she doesn’t want to do any of the things  I suggest. And yes, she is sure everyone else in the entire town is having more fun than her. What can I say? She might be right. It is 8:23 on a Tuesday evening and we are doing basically nothing. I am happy with that. She isn’t. We usually have a meeting we go to on…

It was cold but the sun was shining and that was enough to convince Celia that it was a good day for a walk. She didn’t want to do an easy walk on the bike trails behind our house; she wanted to hike in the state forest down the road from us. I had my doubts since we had gotten a ton of rain 48 hours before but Celia was determined and who am I to stand in the way of a child who wants to exercise in the dead of winter? There is a stream at the very beginning of the trail and usually, we can just hop across.…

Why did no one tell me that being an adult basically means being tired all the time and getting up every day to repeat the exact same work you did yesterday while dreaming of being able to go back to bed? When I was a child I thought being an adult was a magical world of freedom, specifically no bedtime. Why did no one tell me I would grow up and be desperate to go to bed? Why am I now the person who goes to bed before my children? Why, now that I have the freedom to stay up all night to finish my book (yes, I dream big)…

               The days are long but the years are short. It sounds like one of those motivational Pinterest sayings, doesn’t it? I feel like it should be written on a muted background with swirly flowers and butterflies all around it. But the thing is, sometimes those slightly annoying sayings have a bit of truth to them. I have been thinking about this quote because my son graduates from high school in a few weeks and he turns eighteen in the fall. I went up in the attic yesterday. My son’s childhood is in that attic. There is the crib he slept in–and apparently used…