When I was a little girl in early elementary school I loved learning new words.
I remember learning the word, observe.
We were told to observe the color of the leaves and observe their different shapes.
I used the word, observe, far too much as I was trying to make that word my own.

I remember learning a phrase that I wanted to try the next time I hung up the phone.
A friend called about a homework question.
At the end of our conversation, I said, Good riddance.
I remember my mother giving me a disapproving look from the kitchen.

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I am not a football fan.
I am interested in football if it is my hometown team that is playing.
However, the football game, that is the culmination of the season, is not that important to me.
Having two sons and a husband, I learned to be somewhat enthused.

That day was always the day for a Super Bowl party.
Often that party consisted of just our family when the children were little.
There was still enough noise, and groans, and cheers to fill the house.
I was usually in the kitchen preparing the food that could be eaten as they watched.

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Everything they did was loud.
They spoke loudly.
They laughed loudly.
If truth be told, they even whispered loudly.

It was hard to tell if their loudness was simply the tone of their voice.
Annunciation and voice projection was never a problem for them.
There was one problem; however.
No matter what they said, they sounded angry.

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What a wonderful weekend it was.
My house was bursting at the seams.
I like having a revolving door in our home.
This weekend our door revolved quite a bit.

My son and daughter-in-love came home for the weekend.
One of their friends was getting married.
Many of their college friends were also invited to the wedding.
A whole group of those college friends stayed at our house.

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Right after New Year’s Day, I got a cold.
This usually happens to me right around the same time every year.
We women have so much to do around the holidays, that it is bound to catch up with us.
For me, once I started to feel better, I went back to my old habits.

Old habits such as going to bed later than I should.
Old habits like not giving myself enough down time to rest.
My cold came back, with a vengeance.
Old habits die hard.

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I am not a vegetarian but I easily could be.
I do not like red meat.
I will always choose chicken or fish above meat when we go to a restaurant.
Better yet, I will choose a salad and vegetables.

Years ago, my husband needed to be in California for work.
He was gone for five weeks.
We only had our two daughters at the time.
I traveled out to California for a week to be with him.

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We still have a landline.
I asked my husband to keep our house phone even though I know he wanted to get rid of it.
I explained to him that it was a way to keep my cellphone number private.
I give my cell phone number out very selectively.

The house phone rarely rings for personal calls.
However, during the election season, the phone rang incessantly.
I never answered the phone since I can screen those calls with caller ID.
Why do we still have the landline? Was my husband’s legitimate question.

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I always have a candle burning in my kitchen.
I am drawn to kitchen-y smells.
Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, pumpkin, and banana nut bread are some of my favorites.
My ultimate favorite scent is one called: Country Store, which seems to be a mix of those smells.

There is a store in Lancaster County where I buy my candles.
Even though I know that I can get the candles online, I like to actually go to the store.
I like to see if there is a new scent.
However nothing can compare to Country Store.

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It had rained during the night.
That is not a problem unless the temperatures are below freezing.
Rain that falls so gently against the roof turns into a treacherous mess at daybreak.
Not having children in the school district anymore, I do not listen for school numbers.

However, having a daughter and her husband who are both teachers, I do have a connection.
Sometimes I may get a text from my daughter that simply says: Two hour delay.
Informational on some level; however, it also suggests that she can go back to bed for a bit.
No text came this morning, so I assumed the rain did not cause a problem.

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We all know people who seem to go through life with boxing gloves on.
They are ready to fight at any given instant.
They are ready to fight about anything and everything.
The temperature of their food, the loss of a parking space, or the long lines in a checkout.

It is the anger of George Bailey when he lashes out at Zuzu’s teacher.
His own insecurity and feeling that he did not measure up, overflowed to her.
He blamed Mrs. Welch for Zuzu’s cold, since she came home with her coat unzipped.
When Mr. Welch got on the phone to defend his wife, George Bailey lashed out at him, too.

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