Four thousand words! Dear friends, and especially new readers, I have previously never written this many words at one go in my life — not in college papers, not in high school papers, none of it. Chances are good I will never do it again, but the existence of my five kids proves I shouldContinue reading “Several stories in one story; or, the other grievous thing that happened.”
Author Archives: This Prairie Life.
And suddenly, it’s Epiphany.
And wow, how things have changed. Today, the kids went back to school after a slightly extended Christmas break — extended by a day on the front end by a reward day off for good testing scores, and extended by two hours on the back end by a reward late start for food bank donations.Continue reading “And suddenly, it’s Epiphany.”
Wait, there’s joy to be found in complaining?!
I’ve noticed recently a tendency of people in my community to do a lot of complaining. Nothing is off limits — leadership style, business decisions, house color — and it’s bringing everyone down. Even me. I like the optimistic side of life. I function better if I choose joy even if things are kinda crummy.Continue reading “Wait, there’s joy to be found in complaining?!”
The prairie at midday in autumn.
… sans kids, because school, and celebrated with a deli meal from the grocery store. One thing about the pasture is that it’s pretty much impossible to capture the feel of it in a photo. I’ve come close a few times, but the day I perfectly catch the feel of it will most likely neverContinue reading “The prairie at midday in autumn.”
‘Tis the season for silage harvest.
I’m grateful that Jeremy and I work together pretty darn well. I’ve tried to figure out what makes this happen, and I don’t know, really. Our dads have completely different styles. For the most part, we learned outdoor and mechanical work from our dads, although we are our own individuals and awfully independent (yes, sometimesContinue reading “‘Tis the season for silage harvest.”
A list of books for second-graders.
Life is a little frantic, is it not? We flit from task to task to task (we? maybe just I) and somehow a month passes, or two, and the thing that was top of mind is infrequently even on the radar. If I’d had a little foresight — seriously, we can all just agree nowContinue reading “A list of books for second-graders.”
Kindergarten first-day retrospective.
There are times when time moves breathtakingly fast. I’m not the person who says: Time slow down! Or: Oh, I wish we could go back! Or: I’m so sad to see my child’s birthday come. If that’s you, I definitely don’t mean to make you feel badly, but for me, this wouldn’t be the answerContinue reading “Kindergarten first-day retrospective.”
Great Aunt Wilma’s story.
I could never tell a story as good as Aunt Wilma’s story. She passed away July 31 of basically being old but technically congestive heart failure, just like my grandma, her sister Betty.
A tiny speck in a vast nothingness.
I was reading the story of Quanah Parker and his mother Cynthia Ann Parker the other day (or night, if you know me … I’m a night owl). The book, “Empire of the Summer Moon,” was not a historical fiction book like I usually read. It followed Cynthia Ann Parker, who was captured in TexasContinue reading “A tiny speck in a vast nothingness.”
The prairie’s aura of calm is the vacation from summer break.
This column first appeared in the July 10-11, 2021, issue of the Kearney Hub. (I said I wasn’t doing this anymore, but apparently this wasn’t true in real life.) You can find it on page 5A of the print or e-print edition. My husband and I took a couple hours last week to deliver aContinue reading “The prairie’s aura of calm is the vacation from summer break.”
This Prairie Life. 