We have runners in our family.
My children and some of my in-loves like to run.
They run for exercise.
They run for sheer enjoyment.

If my children are runners, they do not get that skill from me.
I am a walker.
I can usually walk fast, but I am no where near the speed of a runner.
You either love running or you don’t.

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Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.

This is a quote that I’ve always loved from the movie, You’ve Got Mail.
I think about it this time of year when I see mothers and children in the back to school aisle.
I see them with their lists.
I see them with their shopping carts and I remember.

I remember the days of taking my five children to go school supply shopping.
I would literally designate a corner of the shopping cart for each child.
There was also a pile in the middle of the cart as well.
I could easily tell you what pile was for each child based on their choices.

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We rent the same house each summer in the Outer Banks.
The house has eight bedrooms, to accommodate our large family.
It is three houses away from the beach.
It has its own pool.

We have two large tents that we bring with us to set up on the beach.
One daughter-in-love makes a schedule for setting up and taking down the tents each day.
That way no one has to do it all the time.
Two people get up early and set up the tents for the rest of the day.

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I am expecting a package.
My husband is expecting a package as well.
We both got a notification that our packages were delivered yesterday.
We were both told that our packages were delivered in or around our mailbox.

Neither package arrived.
We went out to the mailbox.
There was nothing to be found inside or around it.
We looked at each of our doors and near our garage.

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Remember when you were little and got something new?
It was so special.
It was carried with you every minute of the day.
It was even put in your bed at night.

Children latch on to things.
Security?
Comfort?
Sense of ownership?

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All of our toys are now being used by the next generation.
Even with five children, it is amazing that we still have all the pieces to our games.
We still have all the Fisher Price Little People sets intact.
We still have the Fisher Price dollhouse and all its accessories.

We still have the play kitchen with all the pretend food.
We still have the dishes, teacups, and spoons from all those years ago.
We still have the tea bag that goes into the tea kettle.
We still have all the toppings that go on the pizza.

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Seven years ago, we had two family weddings.
One of our daughters was married on a beautiful June day.
Two weeks later, one of our sons was married at the very beginning of July.
It was wonderfully busy that year, with much celebration and rejoicing.

This past year, we had our grandchildren on those anniversary weekends.
We had our daughter’s three children first.
She and our son-in-love had a “stay-cation” since they are expecting their fourth child this fall.
They wanted to begin to get the room ready for their son who will be moving into a bed soon.

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I was heading over to my daughter’s house after lunch.
I was going to be staying there for a few hours while she went out for a bit.
I knew that only my oldest granddaughter would be up and about.
Her sister and brother would be napping this time of day.

I drove onto the street and turned up her driveway.
There she was.
My granddaughter was waiting for me in the front window.
She was waving furiously as I pulled up to the garage doors.

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It was my husband’s birthday weekend.
To have a birthday on St. Patrick’s Day, and have the last name of Gallagher, is quite special.
He and I celebrated his birthday on his actual day.
The following day we had a family dinner.

We had seen our son and daughter-in-love, who live in Virginia, the weekend before.
We always FaceTime anyone who is not physically here.
It helps make sure that everyone is included.
How our grandchildren love to “help” blow out the birthday candles.

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I am so glad that I saved most of my children’s toys.
They are still in great shape.
They have been well loved and well used.
They are now the toys of the next generation.

My grown children are nostalgic when they see certain toys come out again.
There is the bin that has all the little figures from Happy Meals back in the day.
Muppets, Fraggles, Sesame Street characters, and Berenstain Bears.
Winnie the Pooh, Princesses, Little Bear, and even Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe figures.

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