My youngest daughter came home for the weekend to celebrate her birthday.
She was excited to see friends on her birthday and then celebrate with family the next day.
Since her actual birthday was quite busy, her presents remained unopened until the next day.
I remember the years when opening presents was the first thing my children wanted to do.

Often, when they were younger they would still have to wait, which was always difficult.
When they got older, they had more self-control.
However, birthdays are a big deal in our house.
It is a real celebration of life.

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I saw them every week at the grocery store.
She held on to the shopping cart for support.
Her cane was always sticking out of the cart.
It was strategically placed so as not to disturb the groceries.

She was always with her son.
He faithfully brought her to the grocery store each week.
After seeing them week after week, it was inevitable that we would finally meet.
One week we had a lovely conversation; I felt like I was beginning to know this woman.

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I never rode a yellow school bus in all my years of school.
I thought of that as I sat behind school buses while I was driving home.
I watched the caution lights blink yellow then red.
I saw the red STOP sign stick out from the side of the bus.

I could see the heads of the children on the bus.
It was obvious that the older children were in the back of the bus.
I watched them gather their things when they needed to get off at their bus stop.
The bus driver had such patience as the child took their time to walk up the aisle.

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We have a sound system with speakers in various rooms of our house.
Sound systems installed when a house is built must be wonderful.
This system consists of various Bluetooth speakers in the rooms of our choice.
We started out with two speakers; and have expanded to five.

There is a speaker in the family room and the kitchen.
There is a speaker in the dining room and the living room.
There is a speaker on the bridge that overlooks the family room and foyer.
When all the speakers are on, the entire downstairs has continuous sound.

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It officially has been fall for only a few weeks.
However, the weather still feels like summer.
We have had 100% humidity each day.
I actually put the air conditioner back on a few days ago.

I cannot wait for the weather to stay cool and crisp.
Actually, I cannot wait for the weather to get cold.
I am a, sit by the fire, kind of person.
I am a, get under a blanket with a good book, kind of woman.

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The morning after our wonderful weekend away, my daughter-in-love sent a text to the family.
Did anybody see the news this AM?
The answers came in rapid succession.
My son sent a link to a news article for those of us who had not heard about the tragedy.

I answered with my first thought as I read about the evil unleashed.
Only God can change hearts and restore peace and sanity.
This is what it looks like without Him.
I reminded each of them how much I love them.

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I remember our very first house.
It was so exciting to be homeowners.
When we bought that house, it was just the two of us.
When we left that house, we had two little daughters.

The house was in a neighborhood with a community park at the end of the street.
It was so nice to be able to walk down to the park so my oldest daughter could play.
My second daughter was too little to play there.
She spent the time asleep in the stroller.

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I married my high school sweetheart.
It is amazing to have so many shared memories.
Usually, you meet someone later in life and marry.
It is not typical to meet someone so young and build a life together.

With God’s help, we did just that.
Next month we will be married thirty-six years.
I have been married to my husband longer than I was single.
Memories pop up at random times, as I just experienced on my morning walk.

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I have a confession to make.
I have a candy drawer in my kitchen.
If I told you that the candy drawer was not for me, you would probably not believe me.
But it is true.

When my children were growing up, I was careful about what they ate.
I was careful about the amount of sweets they had each day.
I baked homemade desserts rather than buy things that were pre-packaged.
Oreo cookies were the one exception.

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I decided to take my walk much earlier than usual.
I had things to do around the house but wanted to get my walk in first.
I walked down to the stone wall at the beginning of our street.
I walked up the slight hill to go around the corner towards the cul-de-sac.

It was then I heard it.
I heard the beagle that lives in a house on our street.
My youngest daughter used to pet-sit for this family.
They have had a few beagles and even a litter of puppies through the years.

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