October 2016

Shining A Light On The Path

Posted on October 30, 2016by sue boardman

Most of you probably remember the TV sitcom, Mad About You, starring Helen Hunt as Jamie and Paul Reiser as Paul. In my all time favorite episode, Jamie and Paul were getting ready for bed after a visit from her parents. “How come my family can always push all my buttons?” Jamie asked. “Because they installed them,” Paul replied.

Mic drop!

Over 30 years of working with families tell me just how true that is. (You already knew that, too!) There are a couple of other things that are true, as well. One of them is that others can push our buttons, too. Especially public figures.

Contemplations Grandmothers

Safely Held and Soothed

Posted on October 23, 2016by sue boardman

Not too long ago, Bill went on a mercy mission on my behalf. Life was getting busier and busier. There were more and more things to keep track of. I needed a bigger picture view than the calendar on my phone provided. I needed a paper calendar. A big one!

I was hoping for Newfies. Or quilts. Trees. Owls. I was feeling pretty open-minded. It wasn’t really calendar-buying season at the time, so Bill returned with some rather sappy artwork which wasn’t quite what I would have chosen but it had nice big squares to write in. I was in business! (We’ll leave for another day the complications of having two different calendars.)

Contemplations

I have a plan!

Posted on October 16, 2016by sue boardman

Gerri Ravyn Stanfield is a writing buddy of mine. A couple of days ago, in the midst of all the responses to the extreme testosterone poisoned abuse from the GOP candidate for President, she posted something on Facebook that’s had me thinking ever since.

“If Trump gets elected,” Gerri said, “I’m moving to Narnia!”

Jackpot! I’ve been pondering this issue for quite some time, now. Hence my reply, “Narnia is definitely the answer!”

And then, a bit of back and forth later, me again. “I may move there regardless of who wins!”

It’s tempting! Bill thought it was a pretty good idea. Our resident Newfie rescues, Sarah and Phoebe, are fine with it as long as they get to go, too. No more abandonment for them! We would need a more dependable way to visit than the back of the wardrobe. I’d miss my girls!

This morning, I woke with another voice in my head. But first, a bit of context for the uninitiated.

Contemplations Grandmothers

Sarah has a sister!

Posted on October 10, 2016by sue boardman

Dave says, “Inevitable, Mom!” He’s right, of course.

It was time. When Sarah returned from her last couple of trips to Camp, I realized that she missed all her doggie camper buddies. All the coming and going. Extra people to love her. And swim time!

I couldn’t quite figure out how we would manage a pool right now.

Then, I heard a story. A five-year old Newfie just arrived in foster care. Badly neglected. Itchy. Tiny. And very, very hungry.

Among the countless things in the world I can’t fix (You go ahead and fill in the blanks!) here was one I could.

Contemplations Grandmothers

It happened on Wednesday!

Posted on October 3, 2016by sue boardman

So, I got back from Hawaii. Bill got back from Seattle. Sarah got back from Camp. There are lots of things going on and it took us a few days to get the hang of all the togetherness again. Don’t forget the laundry and the grocery shopping and the garden. You get it.

Then, everything kind of fell apart for me on Wednesday. Wednesday morning to be exact. My to-do list started bouncing around in my head like super balls in a clothes dryer. Turns out that all those separate things are really all related and I couldn’t figure out which one came first or how to do several of them at once. All of this was helped along by the fact that I don’t yet know how to do some of the things on the list. Oh, and I accidentally discovered that the due date for submissions to the Anthology project happening somewhere on the fringes of my list was today! Not today. Wednesday. The writing was done. The logistics were a bit ambiguous. You know the speed you set your dryer on for heavy things like white towels? Super balls. Right there!