I was at a conference this past weekend.
It was so nice to get away.
It was so refreshing to be around others who love art, music, and literature.
I was in my element, as the saying goes.

It was in my favorite place with Amish buggies.
I was in the city, with its Central Market, art galleries, and bookstores.
I parked my car in the hotel parking garage and walked wherever I needed to go.
I people-watched outside and fed my soul inside.

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My husband just returned home from the Dominican Republic.
He had been there for sixteen days.
He takes a trip like this each year to build homes for people.
He has been all over the world.

He was on a team of fourteen people, eight of whom he had built with before.
Many are retired, like him, and enjoy giving of their time and energy to help others.
The block house was completed in a weeks time.
To the family, their new home was palatial, compared to where they were living before.

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I simply love local theater.
I love to support it.
I love to see the incredible talent.
I love getting lost in a story for two hours.

I am grateful that such a wonderful local theater is nearby.
I appreciate their choice of shows, which they unveil at the beginning of the year.
It is so nice to plan which shows to attend.
It is so nice to plan the shows to which I can take my grandchildren.

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It was a gorgeous fall weekend.
The perfect weekend for the annual 5K Fun Run for Life.
It is held every year to support our local crisis pregnancy center.
This was a year for me to be with them in spirit.

My daughter and her two daughters signed up to run.
My oldest daughter joined them.
My son-in-love was the cheering section, along with their two sons.
God provided amazing fall weather: bright sun, blue sky, and a chill in the air.

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I’m going to sleepover at Grandma’s house.
We’re going to stay overnight at Grandma’s house.
I like to sleep in the big kid’s room. (formally the big girl room until I had grandsons)
I will bring my suitcase.

These are things I have heard my grandchildren say when they are getting ready to sleep over.
It’s fun for them.
It’s delightful for us.
It is home away from home, as it should be.

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I look at the black rotary phone that is sitting on the sideboard in my living room.
If we had a landline, I know I could plug this phone in the wall and it would work.
It is just like the phone that was in my house when I was a little girl.
I found this vintage phone in an antique shop.

The circle that is found on the center of the dial has a phone number written on it.
That’s the way it used to be.
I would love to know to whom this phone and number once belonged.
It is a conversation piece for sure.

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I have had the privilege of spending time with my grandchildren.
Many end of the year school activities are happening.
Some, I am able to attend.
Others, allow me to help my daughter with some children while she attends things with others.

Going outside is always a wonderful thing to do with children.
Thankfully, all of my grandchildren love to be outside.
Reading books to them is this Grandma’s favorite thing to do.
However, something I decided to do on a whim has become something they request.

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Mothers often complain about the placement of items in a grocery store.
Things are placed quite strategically on the shelves.
That strategic placement is done with children in mind.
To our grown up height, this is rarely a problem.

Often the sugary cereals are placed much lower right in view of the children.
Candy, near the check out, has a prominent place for those who are much smaller than us.
It is a marketing strategy that is down to a science.
In order to combat that trend, a mother has to stand firm and get the healthier options.

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When my children were small, I looked for opportunities to do fun things together.
It was important that those fun things didn’t cost a lot of money.
Discretionary income was not used on frivolities, since there was a budget to consider.
However, fun things could be done that often didn’t cost anything.

Going to the library was a weekly excursion they enjoyed.
Sometimes, getting ice cream after going to the library was the thing to do.
Usually, the place that brought the most joy was right down the street from the library.
My children affectionately called that place, the castle park.

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New houses are being built at the end of my street.
They will be at the end of my street and across the road.
Across the road and on bucolic, open land.
Open land that had steer, which often came to the fence and looked at me on my walk.

My walk has been a bit shorter after my knee issue last spring.
I am gradually getting my distance and speed up to where it was before.
So much has changed in the landscape during that time.
I am sure the houses will be lovely, complete with a walking trail, but I miss the old view.

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