Happy Friday, friends!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!! Today my daughter officially heads back to her university for fall semester of her sophomore year. She and her father managed to fit all of her things into her car. (I stayed hidden under the covers. I wasn’t sure what types of emotions might be erupting from this situation, and I decided that my excitable energy would not be good for the mix. I kept our crazy spaniel, Trip, with me, too, for this same reason.) Speaking of emotions, ours are a big ol’ mixed bag here. Back to school (even when it comes to college) has a tendency to bring up nostalgia, excitement, wonder, fears, hopes, relief, and exhaustion with adjusting to a new schedule. I know the “mixed bag” well. Our family has done the “back to school” experience for over two decades. As I send prayers and blessings to my own daughter, I do the same for your own back-to-schoolers. Praying for safety, wisdom, knowledge, fun, confidence and inner growth this school year, for all of our babies and our grandbabies (and for their teachers, and for all of us who love these precious kids more than life itself)!!!!
Today my favorites are going to highlight two of my most loyal, wonderful readers whom I have never met in person. (It turns out that they both live all of the way across the country from me, in beautiful California.) I feel so grateful that they both found their way to my blog somehow (I like to believe that it was a mystical sort of fate). Both of these women are excellent writers, and they have supported my blog for years with their daily presence, their frequent comments, and their financial generosity. Kelly and Gail, I love you for what you have shared on the blog, in so, so many ways. I am grateful for you both. I am humbled by you both. I am inspired by you both. I appreciate you both. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Please know that I feel this way about all of my dear readers, but these two women deserve this special recognition from me, in a way that I can give back to them. This I know.) Please go to these links for Kelly’s and Gail’s websites to enjoy their own amazing gifts for the written word:
I know that some of my other wonderful readers are also great writers and poets. Please add your own links to your websites in my Comments Section. I am so greatly honored that other writers like to read my work. It means the world.
****Also speaking of support, I added a new tip jar to my Home page (see the Leave Tip black button on the Home page). It is safely and securely run by Stripe, and it accepts Google pay. I have decided not to add distracting advertisements to my website, and nor do I make “fake reviews” for financial support from companies, so I rely on keeping this website alive from the generosity of my dear husband’s support and from other donations. (you have to pay for a web host, and for WordPress in order to maintain many blog websites) I write daily, and I offer my blog up to anyone in the world who wants to read it. (I don’t do Patreon or Medium or Substack, which require paid subscriptions.) Therefore, if you feel an urge to help with the costs of keeping Adulting – Second Half going, I am ever so grateful!
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
Kelly ~ I am blown away! THANK YOU for including me in
Favorite Things Friday! If there’s any day of the week that I’d prefer to be part of, it’s definitely Friday!! What an unexpected surprise to open the blog, a significant part of my morning ritual, and see my name. I feel like I’ve been blessed.
I am also shocked that you’ve never met Gail! I read her comments all the time, and I assumed that you two are good friends with a long history. And to find out that she is a writer (and lives in California!) as well…of course, I immediately jumped to her website and began following her. Gail, if you are reading this comment, I am so excited to get a peek into your world! Any friend of Kelly’s is a friend of mine!!
Today is an exciting day for me all around. I am delivering a memoir to the publisher this afternoon! This particular book has been in the works for 4 years. I actually finished writing it two years ago, but due to a series of illnesses it’s taken the client 2 years to approve the content and send me the photos he wants included. I almost gave up hope of ever seeing this in print, but it looks like it’s finally going to happen! The book is titled, Always Make Time for Play: An Organized Approach to an Adventurous Life. The author is Ronald Stone, retired president of Pioneer Electronics USA. He was a Fortune 500 heavy-hitter, but the focus of the book is his adventure lifestyle – hunting and fishing all around the globe. It’s chock full of great life advice and lots of amusing anecdotes from adventures that went slightly awry. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I can’t wait for it to hit Amazon!
And on a side note: Kelly, feel all those feelings today. Indulge in whatever brings you comfort as you send your princess back out into the wild world. But don’t worry. You’ve done a good job, mommy, and she’s prepared to handle whatever life throws at her.
That’s all such exciting news, Kelly!!! Congratulations!!! I hope that you and Gail can connect IRL maybe!
Wow, Kelly. I just opened your post to find your wonderful words. Thank you! I can only reiterate what an inspiration you have been, your words, your kindness, your humor, your poetry, and more and more. I feel such a kinship with you. I look forward to opening your posts every day and always find some treasured take-away to carry through my day. How incredibly generous of you for this shout-out to Kelly and me.
Awww, Gail, you are awesome!!