I looked up the origin of British toy soldiers the other day. I had some pictures to share from a Christmas past and wanted to know more about them. This is what I found. Vintage British toy soldiers are highly sought after because of: • their craftsmanship • limited production runs • historical accuracy • …
A Christmas Collection
I’ve been struggling with developing a new idea for a Christmas blog this year. While I do have a new one to post on Christmas Eve, here’s a series of excerpts from Christmas blogs since I started writing. It’s a long read so get a new cup of coffee and settle in. 2017 My earliest …
Words
I’ve written a ton of stories for my blog. I’ve written more than I thought I’d write starting out, but I really didn’t have a plan in the beginning, so perhaps I’m right on track. I promised to tell the truth as I remember it, and I’ve followed that pledge. I’m a what you see …
Quasi-Traditional
This is the story you were supposed to see. Ruth’s been editing again. If you’ve been reading my blog over the past several weeks, you know that I’ve been taking dance lessons. It’s been harder than I thought it would be. Barbara and I have completed three classes, dropped out of one and started three …
UMRF
I took my Marriage Rules and AI’s advice, put them in a pot, shook them together and asked AI to summarize our joint observations. When the words came out, I had the UMRF. I think it’s pretty good. …
AI’s Marriage Rules
The artificial intelligent site I checked out provided the following observations regarding marriage. They’re matter of fact, built on statistics rather than personal observations. That doesn’t make them bad, just different. The ones I developed for David, Elizabeth and Michael were “before” marriage guidelines. AI’s are more encompassing. Align on Core Values Shared beliefs about …
No One Asked Me But…
Almost thirty years ago I developed The Marriage Rules for David, Elizabeth and Michael. The boys had brought home their current girlfriends during the college Christmas break. Michael was a freshman at Michigan State and David was a junior at Spring Arbor. I wrote the following blog about the development of the marriage rules and …
Conversations
After Ruth died I didn’t have anyone to hold a conversation with. I was alone. My three kids checked in on me to make sure I was OK. My friends and sisters did too, but checking in is different than having a meaningful conversation. If you’re engaged in a relationship, it’s normal to discuss the news …
Tomorrow
Tomorrow marks another Thanksgiving without several people I love. I chose Ruth and my friends, Jim and Mitch, to be a part of my life. Each one changed me bit by bit. I was born into my parents and cousin, Gene. It was love based upon circumstance. I didn’t have a say in the matter, …
Always, Forever and Never
I came across a quotation the other day that caused me to ponder a bit: Always is a habit. Forever is a hope. Never is a boundary. Those words carried me back to when our kids were growing up. Ruth and I leaned on them often. Never was the one we used most. One of …