You hear it all the time.
The negativity can take its toll after a while.
What is the world coming to?
Things are getting really bad!

It would be hard to disagree after watching just a few minutes of news.
Is it news or is it commentary?
That is the question.
A steady dose of that every evening would easily change anyone’s perspective.

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I wondered if I was being too predictable.
I wondered if my routine was a bit boring.
I wondered if there was a sense of, there she goes again.
I wondered.

If I want to walk in my neighborhood, I have a designated route.
I can reverse the direction of my walk, but the route is always the same.
I live in a self-contained neighborhood with one way in and one way out.
At the top of the development, there is a cul-de-sac.

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I remember how excited I was to get my first box of crayons.
I do not mean the kind of box that only had eight crayons.
The box I got was the large one that came with its own sharpener.
This box had 64 crayons.

I could not wait to get it home.
I could not wait to open the box and stare at all the colors in front of me.
There were shades of blue, shades of red, and shades of green.
I could still mix colors if I wanted or I could use the appropriate crayon right out of the box.

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He told me about his idea.
He showed me the plans.
The plans meant nothing to me in a technical sense.
The plans meant everything to me in an emotional sense.

My husband loves to woodwork as a hobby.
He has an extensive workshop in the unfinished part of our basement.
I enjoy hearing the hum of the machines when he is in the midst of a project.
I had not heard that hum for a while.

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I saw them in the parking lot.
I knew what they were doing because of the way they were standing.
With an arm extended, I knew that a selfie was being attempted.
There was a lot of giggling.

One arm was raised, then the other.
Nothing seemed to be working.
They could not seem to get the picture they so desperately wanted to take.
All the giggling did not help.

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I wasted an hour.
Time is precious and I wasted it.
It is not often I do that, but when I do, it bothers me.
I wasted an hour over something that was unimportant.

I bought a pair of felt clogs a month ago that I was using as slippers.
I would put them on as soon as I got home.
They were so comfortable.
I enjoyed slipping them on and kicking them off with ease.

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I heard the crash on the floor.
The young mom and I were on the same aisle.
We were both buying diapers.
She was buying them for her toddler; I was buying them for a pregnancy center.

Oh, daddy is not going to like it if I break another phone, she said to her little girl.
It was apparent from the comment and her toddler looking at the ground, the phone had fallen.
Uh oh, the toddler said over and over.
The little girl was straining to see the phone that had dropped on the floor.

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My friend and I caught up on the phone.
We were talking about anything and everything.
With the holidays coming up, we talked about our family plans.
This time of year gets wonderfully busy.

Much like the mother/daughter day that I plan each year, my friend has family plans as well.
Her plans will include extended family, too.
She told me about one thing they are planning.
Whoever is able to join them will come.

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I went to the store to buy one particular item.
I was thinking ahead to when we decorate for Christmas in a little over a week.
I am not one to jump over Thanksgiving or decorate early.
However, with everyone coming home, I wanted to make sure we are ready.

I wanted to get red pipe cleaners.
I knew that I will need them to hang the Christmas stockings on the bridge railing.
I went to the store with the rhyming name.
The store where you can find everything you need as accents for your home.

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He sat behind the table having his lunch.
The little girl at the next table smiled at him.
He was eating alone.
She was with her mother.

The little girl happily colored the placemat before her.
She drew people, and flowers, and a big sun in the sky.
She showed her mother the beautiful picture she drew.
What a wonderful artist you are, her mother said.

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