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It's a Different Kind of Christmas This Year

Originally Written in 2017   Instead of reading my Christmas newsletter or reading a story, I’d like to share with you what happened to me this week.  Some things that make it a  Different Kind of Christmas  for me.  Call it strange – or maybe odd or inexplicable are better words – but, different anyway.     This is a  Different Kind of Christmas  for me this year.  You all know about the trials and tribulations of trying to get my aunt and uncle to each sign a Power of Attorney, Health Directive and Will before they passed away last December.  And… of course, the headache and heartache of emptying their home of 67 years and selling the house, etc.      And, of course, being the main caregiver for my brother, Steve, who died on Father’s Day, was – and is – a very heartbreaking ordeal.  I miss him so much.   You may remember my missing our writing group meeting a couple of w...
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Invisible Transition

Originally Written Between 2017-2020                                     I am a good driver.  Now, I may be the only one who thinks so; but, you just have to believe me.  Norm doesn’t. I’m doing most of the driving now and he is an unbearable “back-seat driver.”  He says it’s “payback” for all the back-seat driving that I did for years and years.  He may be right.   I really don’t like to drive – especially long distances.  Going to Duluth is about the right distance for me.  One-way, that is.  I don’t mind driving back to the Twin Cities after a full night’s sleep overlooking Lake Superior.  And that is what brings me to my story today.   Norm and I took our minivan to Duluth in September to watch two of our grandsons play football.  We stayed overnight at the Downtown Duluth Motel – which...
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How Come....?

Originally Written Between 2017-2020                                                            It all started a couple of years ago.  I was driving to Writer’s Group on 119 th  when all of a sudden I noticed that every ½ block or so, my tires would drive over a manhole cover.  Sometimes the right-hand side of my car would hit the covers and sometimes the left-hand side would run over them.  There was no rhyme or reason for their location except one:  they were all lined up to have my car run over them.  This got me to thinking:  How Come…… the highway people don’t place the manhole covers along the side of the road so we don’t run over them?  How Come….. my car has to  go bump, bump, bump every 4 seconds?  How Come….. those college-educated eng...
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Peace (and Quiet)

Originally Written Between 2017-2020                                           “Hi, Mary.  This is Jane.  Dick and I will be in Minneapolis in a couple of weeks visiting our kids.  We’d love to get together for lunch and catch up on old times.  Are you available on Wednesday, the 15 th ?”   Well, we were available for lunch on that day and arranged to meet at our home and then go on to a restaurant.  We hadn’t seen our former neighbors since they had moved away a few years’ back and thought it would be nice to get together.   It is now Wednesday, June 15 th .  Noon.  We greet Dick and Jane at our door with hugs and the usual “good to see you!” and “you look great!” comments.  And those were practically the last words Norm and I spoke for the next six hours.   Their dog, a small dog nam...
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My Favorite Charity

Originally Written Between 2017-2020                                       My first recollection of <quote> “giving” is when my mom or dad would give me a dime or a quarter to place in the collection plate at my church.  I remember feeling very good about putting money in.  Of course, it wasn’t my money – it was mom and dad’s.  I don’t remember when I started placing my own money in the collection.  Since I have no memory – I’m afraid to admit that maybe I never did use my own money!   Remember the  March of Dimes ?  Every year in grade school we were given a card with little slots where you could place your dimes.  Not sure how many slots were on each card – maybe a dollar’s worth?  Anyway, I do remember using my own money to fill up my card....
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My Bucket List

 Originally Written Between 2017-2020                                            Years and years ago, I remember creating a mental list of what I would like to do in my life.  This list did not go past marriage and children.  At that young age, being married and having kids were all that I wanted.  If I was married, I would be happy.  If I had kids, I would be happy.  I never thought about how many kids I’d like.  I do remember Norm saying he thought he’d like 12 kids.  When I was in labor with Michael, our first child, I told Norm that he could have the other 11.     Although I didn’t know it at the time, my next set of goals was called plans.  I planned that we would have a house in a neighborhood with lots of playmates for our kids, we’d become involved in our church, and I’d b...
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Retirement

Originally Written Between 2017-2020                            When I was approaching retirement age, my mom gave me one piece of advice.  And that was:  “Don’t give up your car!”  To give you a little background, my parents were married in 1940.  They had one car.  They lived in Forest Lake and my dad was a bartender at the White Pine Inn in Bayport.  They lived only a couple of blocks from the grocery store, the post office, the hardware store, and the meat market; therefore, walking was the one mode of transportation that most wives used in those days.  There really wasn’t a need for two cars.   Dad had one rule, however.  If mom wanted to drive “HIS” car, she had to drive with the seat in the position set for my dad because he was not going to struggle getting into the car after mom had driven it.  Dad was 6’4”. ...
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