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Nature or Nurture?
What makes us, us? Is it mostly genetics? I largely swing to the DNA side of the aisle because even when I’m trying as hard as I can not to, I hear The German and see The German in my idiosyncrasies....
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The Glorious Gooey Center
Life is a ball of snapping rubberbands with a soothing center of delicious cream-filling. I think of it as mostly sweet goodness with the occasion surprising sting. Last week, I got more than my fill...
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Chocolate-Covered Gummy Bears
You read that right, but I’ll go over it again: Chocolate. Covered. Gummie. Bears. Two quick asides before we get to the aforementioned bears: #1) I grew up in West Texas with a German-born mother,...
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What I Will Tell Sweet E: Dig Yourself
I stumbled over this piece I wrote a few years back and it brought home the point that truth never changes; it’s the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Dig Yourself Once you get over what folks think...
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Multifaceted Grandparents
Grandparents are good for more than candy-fueled trips to the zoo, we have an important role to play within society as a whole. Witness: The most shocking stat to me is that only 1 in 4 regularly uses...
View ArticleDare To Dream
As an elder in society…AM SO!…I think it behooves me to learn new things about the world around me, to challenge myself, even if that means I’m uncomfortable. Coding makes me uncomfortable. Yes, the...
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What I’ll Tell Sweet E: Be Grateful
Be grateful, my baby. Seems easy enough. We all know folks who look at their life with dissatisfaction. I’m not talking about the kind of emotion that is healthy and propels us onward to bigger and...
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What I’ll Tell Sweet E: It’s OK to be Vulnerable
I wrote this in the winter, a couple of days after Sweet E had been born and I offer it now in my “What I Will Tell Sweet E” series. (forgive me, but there is some NSFW language) Vulnerability The “v”...
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The Growth Chart Lives On
As Boy grew, we kept a growth chart right inside his closet door. I first wrote about it here. The last entry was dated right before he left for college. 6’2.25″ We grow ‘em tall in my family. On...
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Tiny Pool
A handful of years back I bought and inflated a small pool, or Tiny Pool to folks who knew me (now that’s you!). Our backyard is on the small side; we no havey room for a pool and a big dog. We chose...
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What I Will Tell Sweet E: Good Friends Will Carry You Home
Dearest Sweetest E, You’re gonna need friends as you stiff-arm your way through life; pick them well and they’ll be the lifeblood of your strength. Good friends make you believe you aren’t alone in the...
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Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4th of July! As a child of The German, who is a naturalized citizen, I was taught at a very early age about the privilege of being born an American. I also come from a military family background,...
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Toy School Bus = Hours of Play
When Boy was an itty-bitty he had a toy school bus. It was one of his favorite toys. It was indestructible, captured his imagination, but most importantly, for a small boy, the wheels on the bus went...
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HABA Toy Review
This is a NON-compensated product review post. Again, I just love this product so much I don’t care if I’m getting paid, yo! Last week, Husband and I headed to Sweet E’s house for a weekend visit...
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What I Will Tell Sweet E: Face Your Fears.
Fear can paralyze strength. Fear can belittle wisdom. Fear can create chaos. Fear can manipulate truth. Fear can amplify insecurities. Fear can mute goodness. Fear can blacken day. Fear can expand...
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Elephant Cake Tutorial
After Boy was born, my sweet M-I-L ceremoniously handed me a folded and well-worn page torn from a women’s magazine. When I unfolded it, there was an image of a child’s birthday cake in the shape of...
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RAWR! Back To School Pack
I don’t have a kiddo or grand kiddo going back to school, so no one I know needs this adorable backpack. All I can say is as soon as I laid eyes on this baby, I fell in love. I may even go as far as...
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Close Grandparent-Adult Grandchildren Relationships = Less Depression
A new study (who else winces when they see those words?!) from Brown College declares that grandparents and adult grandchildren who share close emotional ties have less symptoms of depression. Let’s...
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Say My Name, Say My Name
Last weekend, while passing dat sweet baby between the four of us, we were kidding around and wondering what I’d be called by Sweet E. Mrs. Tucker seems so, so, so formal. And silly. I threw out a...
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What I’ve Learned
I thought it would be fun to look back over the last six months since Sweet E was born and see what I’ve learned (with apologies to Esquire). #1) The human capacity for love doesn’t spring from one...
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