Mostly Human

May 3rd is a special day for me. Back in 1999, when I was 38, I woke up on May 3rd feeling less than stellar, kinda like I had the flu.  But as a busy mom with three young kids I did what I had to do - I hauled my butt out of bed and started the day.  I was sure after a shower I'd feel better. In the shower, my heart stopped beating. It stopped beating again in the emergency room.  I didn't … [Read more...]

For those of you who wanted an update on the osprey pair I wrote about in this earlier post, here it is! I'm glad to say the female returned on April 3rd. After her arrival, there was a flurry of nest building.  I think it grew almost a foot in height!  In addition to building their nest, the pair spent a considerable amount of time mating. Go birds!   They go somewhere else, I … [Read more...]

I've been absent from the blog this week.  My favorite people in all the world, my cousin and her husband, came to visit.  I consider Beth more sister than cousin - we were both only children and she was my idol growing up. Her husband, Fayne (yep - that's Wayne with an "F"), is one of the greatest guys in the world.  We don't see them nearly often enough, but since they both recently retired I'm … [Read more...]

Oh, like I need one more time suck in my life.  Something that I look at  - just for a second! - and then two hours are gone. Like many of you, I've been rejoicing that spring has delivered news about babies.  I've been watching chick hatchings and waiting for blog posts about goat births - obsessively. Yet none of these has gripped me and not let go like the osprey cam. The short story (you … [Read more...]

Very Excellent Husband Don was correct, as usual.  When I wrote this post, he said there was more snow to come. The storm we're in the middle of is THE LAST ONE, right? Please?  Pretty please?  Everyone is posting photos of their seeds popping out of the ground and their baby animals and the new outside projects they're starting. And we're buried under 10" of snow.  With more to come in the … [Read more...]

These days, I've been wondering what to call myself. The basics, the titles I would never trade, include wife, mother, and daughter.  Those are the easy ones. After that, it gets a little murky.  I've had so many different types of jobs in my life I can't even remember them all. To put it another way, I need a whole room to store the different hats I've worn. Now, with the kids gone, with … [Read more...]

When the kids were in elementary and middle school, our view out of the front window of the car on the drive to school looked like this. Yeah,  I know.  Lucky beyond words.  We live in a community surrounded by city and county-owned open space - almost 150,000 acres of land that forms a buffer around the city, helping to establish the city's own separate identity from neighboring … [Read more...]