Pull up a chair. March is almost behind us, and I have been thinking about what this month has actually meant. Not what I hoped it would be. Not what I wished it would fix. Just what it has been. It has been steadier. Not perfect. Not magical. Not a grand turning point. But steadier….
Life at Shady Pines
Pull Up a Chair: March 20, 2026
Pull up a chair. This week feels quieter in a different way. Not heavy like February. Not uncertain like the beginning of March. Just quieter. As if the noise in my head has lowered a few notches and I can finally hear myself think. I am still finding my footing. That has not magically changed….
Pull Up a Chair: March 13, 2026
Pull up a chair. This week feels different — not dramatically so, not in a fireworks-and-breakthrough sort of way but in the subtle way you notice when your balance shifts just slightly and you don’t have to grab the wall to steady yourself. I’m not planted firmly yet. I wouldn’t go that far. But I’m…
Pull Up a Chair: March 6, 2026
Pull up a chair. March is here, and I wish I could tell you that I woke up on the first of the month feeling refreshed, reset, and ready to conquer the world. I didn’t. What I felt instead was something quieter — a kind of cautious steadiness. Not better exactly. Not worse. Just… here….
Resetting for the New Year
There’s something about January that feels like a deep, cleansing breath. Not the kind you take when you’re bracing for something difficult, but the kind that fills your lungs and reminds you that you’re still here, still moving forward, still writing your story one ordinary day at a time. After the blur of the holidays—the…
Home For the Holidays: A Tradition
One of the things that we do every single year since this particular movie came out is watch it. It takes place on Thanksgiving rather than Christmas which makes it the best movie to watch on Thanksgiving in my opinion. This movie is how families really are during the holidays,let me be honest. While we…
Thanksgiving Prep: The Art of Delegating (and Avoiding the Kitchen)
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that Thanksgiving has a way of sneaking up on you. One minute it’s pumpkin spice season and everyone’s still debating how early is too early for Christmas music, and the next—bam!—you’re knee-deep in grocery lists, table settings, and last-minute cranberry sauce emergencies. Now, I love…
Friday Conversations: On the Eve of 49
Tomorrow I turn 49. How on earth did that sneak up on me? One minute I was celebrating 29 like it was the biggest milestone, and now here I am, one candle shy of 50. I’m not complaining (okay, maybe a little), but it does make you pause and think about how quickly the years…
Friday Conversations: The Great Laundry Battle
Some weeks, it feels like my entire life can be measured in laundry loads. This past week, it was towels—piles and piles of them. I don’t even know how three people manage to dirty so many towels, but somehow we did. Ma swears she only used one, Uncle R insists he hasn’t touched a towel…
The Magic of Late Summer Evenings
There’s a kind of hush that settles over the world when summer starts to lean toward its end. It’s subtle at first—just a few more golden hues in the sky, a softer breeze that carries a different kind of warmth, and cicadas singing like they know they’re running out of time. These are the late…
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