Another Decade

Cheers to another lap around the sun!

As I enter a new decade in my life, I can’t help but reflect on the past ten years (and beyond). If you don’t know or really want to know which decade, ask my children or ask my older friends welcoming me to this club. I plan on answering that I’m 36 years old again. 😉

The previous decade flew by! People always warn you how fast the time with your children goes and these last 10 years really did go fast! Our children are both double digits now with one entering high school and the other only has one more year of elementary school left. I blinked and it flew by! I’m pretty proud of our two kiddos and the adults they’re becoming!

When I think back over these last 10 years, I really think about a time of growth as a family and adventures together.  I even wrote and published a children’s book! 😊

I feel very lucky! Over the last ten years, I made a number of new friendships; watch older friendships grow; reconnected with past ones; and said good bye to those whom we lost.

In these last ten years, I have seen three very, very, very different men get elected and serve as Presidents. Kamala Harris became the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American to be Vice President. The United States legalized same-sex marriage across all 50 states. The #MeToo movement went viral. Fidget spinners were a craze. The Paris Agreement, an international treaty, was created to focus on climate change. We experienced a total eclipse. Space-X launched astronauts to the space station.  The Black Lives Matter movement started. Astronomers were able to capture the first-ever image of a black hole. The U.S. established June 19th as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. COVID-19 spread around the world. And of course, the Chicago Cubs broke the curse and won the World Series in 2016!

While I enter this next decade with some angst, I also welcome the next ten years of adventures and life. In fact, I feel very, very grateful!

“This a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” Maya Angelou

Happy New Year!

As 2021 comes to a close, I am so very grateful for many things! I still pinch myself that I published a children’s book this year! I really appreciate your support for my writing and book. I appreciate you following this blog. I appreciate all of my readers! Thank you!

Happy New Year! Cheers to finding your magic in 2022!

Thank You!

Happy Thanksgiving! 🍁

Thank you for following this blog! I really appreciate it and super thankful for you all! I just wanted to send out a special post expressing my gratitude to you. ❤️

Mo Willems says it best in this great book about saying thank you –

Hope you all enjoy this holiday! 🦃🍽🍁🍾❤️

National Park Week Thanks

As National Park Week wrapped up yesterday, I thought a lot about our national parks this past week. I thought about all the memories of our visits there.

I also thought about the junior ranger programs, the park rangers and volunteers, the history, the military service, the transportation options, the wildlife, the earth, the past, the nonprofit organizations, the mental health benefits, and the furry visitors to the park.

I smiled a lot during these thoughts. The national parks bring us great joy in addition to many other benefits. National Park Week provided us with a daily reminder of all the goodness within this great and unique system.

Thank you for coming along with me on this year’s National Park Week.

VIP Day

As part of the National Park Week, today is Volunteer in the Parks (VIP) Day. Today, we say thank you to the more than 300,000 volunteers within our national parks. Without their hard work and dedication, these parks would not be the same.

For anyone looking to volunteer in the national park system, click here to see more information.

Thank you to our parks VIPs!

National Park Week Thanks

As National Park Week wrapped up yesterday, I thought a lot about our national parks this past week. I thought about all the memories of our visits there.

I also thought about the junior ranger programs, the park rangers and volunteers, the history, the military service, the transportation options, the wildlife, the earth, the past, the nonprofit organizations, the mental health benefits, and the furry visitors to the park.

I smiled a lot during these thoughts. The national parks bring us great joy in addition to many other benefits. We could also a bit more joy in these times.

National Park Week provided us with a daily reminder of all the goodness within this great and unique system. While this year we all focused on it virtually, it is still a important week.

Thank you for coming along with me on this year’s National Park Week.

2020-National-Park-Week-Logo