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Tales of the Ordinary Days

This blog is a collection of stories on the ordinary days of today and a documentary of the days of the past. Thank-you for reading and allowing me to share. Enjoy your ordinary days and hopefully the bits and pieces of mine will resonate with the moments in your lives that bring you happiness.

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Showing posts from June, 2020

Post COVID Bucket List

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Sandy Lane: Omaha, Nebraska, United States

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March 8, 2019: Alternate Title

A good start to a cold week in Omaha Life is a combination of moments in time. How we react to these moments by our actions and words is what defines them. It’s when I act with intention and allow myself the mindfulness of the moment that I find the greatest rewards in the most unlikely places. This story was no exception. If I were to properly title this blog, I would have called it The F*ck Man. Apologies to anyone I am offending with the language, but I am quoting and want to keep the story real. And the man really did say f*ck a lot. Instead I am going with an alternate title. My story begins at the Boise airport. It was my second attempt to fly back to Omaha after weather-related changes in flights a few days previously. With another wave of storms hitting the Midwest and a connecting flight through San Francisco to still deal with , I was feeling a little on edge. Arriving at my gate early, I made a quick call to my second son, Ben. We caught up with...

February 8, 2020: Old Guy and Me (our new normal)

February 09, 2020

We got our new cards and no mug shots this time! Durango life is beginning to feel very normal. Our new normal. I just did the math (of course) on our number of days here. With my time away in Indiana to move Larry, Garrett's travel for work, and Larry coming in late to the game, here are our individual stats on days lived in Durango: Garrett - 31 days Sandy - 30 days Larry - 25 days In that short span of time, we have accomplished a lot. And more importantly, we have no reservations on our new city. We are loving it here. With my loft office above the family room and kitchen, I often play favorite vinyls from our combined collection of Larry's and my records. This afternoon I had yet to put on Artie Shaw or Johnny Cash. Instead he and I chatted about the day and what was to come for the rest of the weekend. Old Guy (nickname given before my time BTW) had just sat down in his favorite chair with his favorite blanket (knit by his mom, Mabel) which has trav...

Post COVID Bucket List

November 13, 2019: The Neighbors

November 13, 2019

Carol, Cindy, (Shimerda girls-Anna, Sarah, Mary), me, Melanie, Barb, Nicky, LuAnn Picture was taken at Sarah's bridal shower a few years back With every great first meeting, there is a story. The moments in time where lasting relationships begin. This is the case with my neighbors of Elm Circle. Over the last nineteen years, we have co-existed like a close extended family. There were times when we needed each other, but was also the comfort in distance between own homes. My neighbors perfected the art of knowing the difference. Driving away from my home for the last time, I called each of my boys. We shared these years as a family with roots that grew deep. I felt the urge to share the finality of the moment with them. All responded with encouragement, but Grant nailed it with his comment. "Mom, it's really not about the house. It's about the people. I miss the people. You'll miss the people." He was so right. My home was not the same, now empty of...

January 4, 2020: Survivors for Smokey

January 04, 2020

This is Us I don't even know where to start in describing this day. Our day for Smokey. A random Facebook event post. A trip to get a signed wine bottle at a grocery store. A missed movie. A bunch of strangers. An aging R&B icon. A really long wait. A group of new friends. Yeah. It went something like that. The story starts with what we thought would be a quick stop for a Christmas gift. We were also hoping for a picture with the famed singer, Smokey Robinson. All these hopes were to happen on December 21st, which also was the last Saturday before Christmas. Hopes and dreams. The event of note came to our attention through Facebook. It was advertised as a wine bottle signing from 2-4 pm at a nearby Albertson's grocery store. Who knew Smokey had his own wine line? I didn't. But Facebook is always there to remind me of obscure happenings like these. My cousin, Bill, saw the post and after an exchange of texts, we added to our calendars. It sounded like a ...

August 1, 2019: To the New Owners of 16706 Elm Circle

August 01, 2019

The last picture taken together at 16706 Elm Circle To the New Owners of 16706 Elm Circle: I am writing this letter as a for-sale sign is being strategically positioned in the front yard of my home. It has been nineteen years since a sign to allure new owners (you) has been placed on its grassy front. Today I find myself reflecting on the sweet heartbeat carried in walls of my forever home and all the joyful moments shared inside and out. My hope is to pay this all forward to you. Today instead of savoring the past in my comfy chair in Omaha with three active boys buzzing around, I am in Boise with only a faithful dog by my side on a quiet summer morning. The only sounds here are the buzzing of the neighbor's mower and the many happy memories that are racing in my mind. A typical lazy August morning in our cherished house of past would include smells of chlorine from wet swim trunks not properly placed in the washer. Towels leaving evidence of late night hot tub use an...

March 30, 2019: The Boise Adventure | On The Move Again

Last walk before we go new Yes, we are moving again. But not from Boise. Where our last move was 1,240 miles, this one will be 3 miles. We are moving within Boise from House #1 to House #2. When our original plan of test-driving Boise for three months turned into Garrett taking a full-time job, we found our rental already booked for time periods after our original commitment through March. Instead of going transit for these periods and extending our stay, we decided to find a new place. And after much discussion, we decided to try a new neighborhood with a different feel of Boise. House #2 is in the Hyde Park neighborhood, a block from the Hyde Park main street. This is quite a change from our current house which is in the foothills on the edge of town. To those readers living in Omaha, this move is like going from Ponca Hills to Dundee. Although we have enjoyed the beauty and solitude of House #1 in the hills, we welcome the change of scenery. We also welcome a mild sha...

July 4, 2020: A 13.9er!!!

It will be easy, they said. Only 6 miles, he said. Rated Class 2 (easy with snow), the book proclaimed. Easy peasy. So what if it's a 14er (one of the 96 mountains in the United States and 58 in Colorado peaking at above 14,000 feet)? I've done four before. What's the big deal? What the book, Garrett, and I didn't take into account... 52 year old hot flashes (raising heart rate to 160 while climbing from 12,000 to 13,000 feet and a thunderstorm slyly rolling in at 13,500 feet and none of the four of us (Jake and Zeke were in tow too) packing rain gear for unanticipated rain for our 4th of July hike. That pretty much sums it up. But let me regress. 4th of July. A beautiful Saturday. A perfect day for a hike. But not just an ordinary hike. We decided to take on an 'easy' fourteener. With a 6 am wake-up call and a gorgeous drive through Silverton and then 4 wheeling to remote parts of the mountains, we reached our desired trailhea...

May 24, 2020: Stuff

Enjoying the scenery, sun, fresh air I just finished a gorgeous bike ride. Twenty miles of Colorado beauty right outside my front door. A new normal is beginning. People are venturing out again. Cars and trucks traveling the county road towing paddleboards, kayaks, and rafts; enjoying Memorial weekend. People feeling the outdoors itch was evidenced by the number of bicyclists climbing the winding stretch of County Road 240 east of Durango up to Lemon Dam. Garrett was intermingled with this chain gang, maintaining his own pace but looping back occasionally to check on me. "Good job!" "How are you doing?" "Almost to the top. You got this!" His words of encouragement as he breezed by me. With my love language - Words of Affirmation and Garrett's - Quality Time, this Sunday morning bike ride definitely resulted in a win-win. I have likened this isolation time as feeling like Garrett and I are on a weekend couples retreat that just doesn'...

Own Your Shit

September 11, 2020

A few weeks ago my previously favorite blog subject (otherwise known as my middle son, Ben) called me for advice. The reason isn't significant now, but his approach to the conversation carried weight with me. "Mom, I need your advice on something. And before we even go there, what I am going to tell you is completely my fault. I get all the life lessons around it. What I want is just advice. So can we just put that all aside and stick to advice on my situation?" I respected Ben's ask and we had a productive conversation. He sought out advice from others and ultimately came to a good conclusion. Owning his shit and life lessons acknowledged early on, I am pretty confident Ben won't be in the same situation again. I have always felt that a top responsibility in parenting is to teach our kids to think critically on their own. A specific skill that falls squarely in this category and high on my list is the ability to own your shit. To accept blame when due. To know...

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2020 14

2019 19
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2016 44
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2014 70
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2013 330
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10 years
134
16706 Elm Circle Omaha NE
1989

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