Core Truths

I still remember the first time I read the word “lagniappe.”  I remember completely butchering the word, too.  I saw it printed on the end of the Evangeline Maid bread bag.  Oh, I sure did love when my mom would buy Evangeline Maid bread.  It was so soft.  If my mom bought Evangeline Maid, there was no doubt she bought it at the discount bread store, as it was a pricier bread at the regular grocery store.  And there on the packaging was the word, “lagniappe.” I know for sure I stared at the word, tried to sound it out in my head, and then tried saying it out loud.   Finally, I asked. “Mom…what does lag-nap mean?” Thankfully, my mom was familiar with the word and she told me it was pronounced “lan-yap,” and it means “a little extra.” Basically, the loaves of bread she was buying was the “bonus” or “family” size.  What I heard was, there’s more bread in this package than the other, so please, make another sandwich! Look, when you are on...

Today, as we end our spring break, I unpacked my suitcase for a trip I never took (now that’s an entirely other story for another day).  I can say for sure that this week did not go as I had originally planned, and I did not do the things I originally thought I would do.   For starters, I had planned to revamp the blog website, I had planned to read a new book, and I had planned to figure out how to put on some dang parental controls on my kids’ cell phones.  None of those things happened.   I’m not here to complain, rather I am here to say…it’s ok. And that is what I have to say to each and every one of you taking time out of your crazy busy life to read this here and now…it’s ok.  Whatever it is, wherever you are, whatever you did or did not do today…it’s ok. Several years ago when I quit working full-time to stay home, I found something missing…something that I needed.  It’s something between affirmation and accountability.  As a te...

You can’t be happy…ok, let me finish that out.  You can’t be happy somewhere else until you are happy right where you are. Makes sense, right? This is something my mom would tell me when I was growing up.  I don’t remember specifically when or why she would have told me this.  Maybe it was when my sisters and I were teenagers, and we were wanting to get out of being homeschooled and wanted to go to public school instead.  Maybe it was after my parents had split up and later divorced.  Moving over a thousand miles away from my high school and friends was very difficult, and was one of the lowest times of my young life.  Or maybe it wasn’t anything major at all when she would tell me this.  Maybe it was some random time I was complaining about whatever there was for me to complain about at the time.  Whatever or whenever it was, she would tell me, you can’t be happy somewhere else until you are happy right where you are.  I do reme...

Everyone has their little indulgences, their little special moments that mean something only to that person.  For me, one of those special things, one of those kind of silver lining moments is watching The Today Show. When I was still working full-time teaching high school, being home to watch The Today Show was a rarity and a real treat.  For that to happen usually meant that something was up…either I was home sick, I was home on maternity leave, or more often than not, I was home because one of our little ones was sick.  That also meant most times it had been a long night and an early morning.  So for me to kick back, coffee mug in hand to watch The Today Show was definitely a highlight! It was during that time, in those little moments, I came to really enjoy seeing and watching Jenna Bush Hager as a guest anchor and reporter.  l loved what she brought to the program.  Her segments weren’t necessarily news as much as they were stories, and I love...

You know they say kids grow up fast, and they really do.  I think kids growing up so quickly is much more noticeable when I look at other people’s kids…when I don’t see them all that often or haven’t seen them in a while. You know how it is, you see a picture or run into people at the store or a family gathering…and there they are.  Maybe they were a little baby the last time you saw them and now they are a walking talking toddler.  Maybe they were in middle school and now they are driving.  Maybe the last time you saw them they graduated from high school and now they are married and expecting their first child.  It’s like that kid was frozen in time and all of a sudden you realize how much time really has gone by and how incredibly fast it all has happened. I think we notice this with our own kids as well, it’s just much more subtle.  While the changes seem small and almost unnoticeable, when we do see it, it feels much the same as that baby turni...