by Susan | Jun 9, 2017 | Family, On My Mind
It’s been a wildly crazy couple of weeks. Watching Hannah wrap up her high school career has been bitter-sweet. Happy for her accomplishments, and sad that this chapter of her life is winding down. Prom, senior night, class night, and finally graduation today....
by Susan | Mar 20, 2017 | Family, On My Mind
The movie Beauty and the Beast has a special place in my heart and in our family. Hannah has never been an over the top girly-girl. As a kid, she enjoyed Legos more than dolls. She was never into princesses but rather thought she’d be a firefighter. Yet there...
by Susan | Feb 18, 2017 | Family, On My Mind
I know I’ve mentioned before how fortunate I am to have such a handy husband. Paul, a marine engineer by training, describes himself as an engineer, designer, fabricator, and maker. We joke that he’s the idea guy. I, however, have veto power. I always seem...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2016 | Family, On My Mind
I sit here on a rainy Christmas Eve with my family watching Scrooge wondering where the time has gone. Didn’t I just put away last year’s Christmas decorations? The house smells yummy – cookies, cheesecake, munchies, bread, pineapple stuffing, and...
by Susan | Nov 2, 2016 | Family, On My Mind
I’ve been pretending that this school year is like any other. Going through the motions, trying to ignore the milestones that bring Hannah closer to going off to college. Take senior portraits for example. Since summer, I’ve watched portrait after portrait...
by Susan | Oct 21, 2016 | Family, On My Mind
Hannah’s senior year started in September. At the beginning of the year, she spoke often about first “lasts”, marking somewhat inconsequential milestones in this final year of high school. Her “last” first day of school. Her...
by Susan | Aug 5, 2016 | Family, On My Mind
Seventeen years ago, I welcomed this child into the world. Who knew then that this journey with Hannah would be the very best part of my life? She’s experienced so many milestones this last year that illustrate she’s not my little girl anymore, but an...
by Susan | Jul 26, 2016 | Family, On My Mind
You know that your life has become too crazy and overwhelming when it takes an email from your father’s friend, Bob, wishing you a Happy Anniversary to realize it’s your wedding anniversary. It’s a good thing Bob cc’d Paul on this message too...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2015 | Family, On My Mind
The wrapping is finished. I’ve got a good start on Christmas breakfast and dinner. The house looks somewhat presentable. I’m feeling conflicted – grateful Christmas is a once a year event – and sad that I’ve not had more time to enjoy the...
by Susan | Dec 9, 2015 | Family, On My Mind
The first weekend in December is when we pick out and harvest our Christmas tree. Every year Hannah and I engage in a debate over the best tree. She likes fat and full, I like thinner with a bit of space between the branches for ornaments to hang. As fun as it can be...
by Susan | Aug 5, 2015 | Family, On My Mind
Birthday’s at our house tend to revolve around food. Hannah’s Sweet 16 started with my attempt at artistic chocolate chip pancakes. She was expecting Mickey Mouse, but I figured it was time to expand my horizons. Despite the fact that I couldn’t...
by Susan | Aug 5, 2015 | Family, On My Mind
My memories of that little girl with blond curls and sky blue eyes who loved Blue’s Clues and Beauty and the Beast are so vivid in my mind that it’s hard to believe that she’s 16 today. In honor of this momentous occasion, here are 16 adjectives that...
by Susan | Apr 30, 2015 | Family, On My Mind
Excited for Hannah’s first softball game of the season, we arrived at the field with jackets and lawn chairs. Yet, we spent 99% of the game in the car wrapped up in blankets watching the game through the windshield. Frigid temps and bitter winds dulled the...
by Susan | Feb 8, 2015 | Family, On My Mind
Granny Gadget gets the prize for giving the most unusual gift this Christmas. One of her gifts for Hannah was an Ancestry.com DNA test kit. I’m not sure Hannah knew what to expect, but she followed the instructions, spit into the little vial, and sent it off....
by Susan | Dec 25, 2014 | Family, On My Mind
As I snuggled down in bed last night, Christmas Eve, I commented to Paul that Hannah didn’t negotiate a wake-up time for Christmas morning. Our 15-year-old is growing up. What a gift to be able to sleep in on Christmas morning! Yet, at 6:45 a.m. this morning I...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2014 | Family, On My Mind
My grandmother’s aunt, Elizabeth Stroble, created this beautiful linoleum block print when she lived in St.Paul, Minnesota (the 1940s-1950s). Carved with the help of her students, she sent these to family and friends as her Christmas card. This is one of a dozen or so...
by Susan | Sep 25, 2014 | Family, On My Mind
Am I a bad mom because I don’t enjoy any sport that involves sitting on bleachers? Or that I won’t make it to every one of Hannah’s games? Hannah is not a born athlete. I didn’t play sports and while Paul played a little football, he...
by Susan | Aug 17, 2014 | Family, On My Mind
Hannah turned 15 two weeks ago and ever since has been chomping at the bit to drive. In Maine, parents have to pay to enroll kids in an approved driver’s education class before they can apply for their learner’s permit. With school and sports, I’m...
by Susan | Aug 5, 2014 | Family, On My Mind
I miss the little girl who giggled without inhibition and snuggled to my heart’s content. I miss the child who thought her parents were hilarious and laughed at all of our jokes. I miss the girl who would hold my hand crossing the street – or hold my hand...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2013 | Family, On My Mind
My grandmother’s aunt, Elizabeth Stroble, created this beautiful linoleum block print when she was an art teacher at Central High School in St.Paul, Minnesota (1940s-1950s). Carved with the help of her students, she sent these to family and friends as her...
