Where seeds of thought have room to grow
Category: Family
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“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” ~ Randy Pausch When the Shallue clan gets together, you can count on a deck or two of cards appearing on the scene. You can also count on Tom not shaving when he's on vacation. It was great spending…
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I'm home. The past week has been a whirlwind of sand, sunshine, hugs, laughter, seashells, sunburns, storm clouds, card games, wet towels, buffet-style meals, birthday cake, aloe gel, clear water, ocean waves, camera clicks… But now, I'm home, hitting the ground running last night as soon as we unloaded the car… unpacking, starting laundry, uploading…
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My baby turned 21 last week. After reminiscing about her birth, sighing over her baby photos and marveling at how fast the years have flown by, I continued spinning backwards through photo albums to my own 21. Photos pried loose memories buried under the rubble of thirty-two more years. So much I had forgotten… …
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I was typing away at my keyboard yesterday, staring glaze-eyed at the monitor, when there came this loud ruckus outside my window. Jumping up, I spotted a roadrunner peering at me through the window. I'm still not sure what made all the noise… it was just sitting there looking all innocent on my deck railing.…
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They grow so fast, our little girls. One minute they're so small, dependent, glued to your side for protection and comfort… …the next they're letting go, passing you up, ready to face the world on their own. It makes you proud. It makes you wistful. It makes you feel so, so blessed. Happy 21st birthday…
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I've been sitting here listening to Alabama's Greatest Hits, getting all sappy, thinking back to another Friday the 13th almost 30 years ago when I said "I do"… … and thinking even further back to that night at Gilley's just a year earlier when Alabama sang "Feels so right…" and Tom and I were the…
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I'll be celebrating our country's birthday today by earning a paycheck at the winery. How much more American is that? But while I'm standing there listening to music, smiling and serving customers, sweating in the summer heat and hoping for at least a glimpse of fireworks, my mind will be drifting back to Fourths of…
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I was born and grew up in a town nicknamed Stink-a-dena on the Houston Ship Channel. In December, the blue northers pushed the scent of the paper mill onto our street. I still connect that smell with Christmas. The plants lining the ship channel paid tons of property taxes, so we had great schools. That's…
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I slipped through the trees on the narrow deer trail as quietly as possible to check on the mama duck and her duckling this morning. At first glance, the pond was empty. But earlier this week it appeared empty, with only a lone feather brushing the shore. I thought for sure something bad had happened…
Long Hollow 