Consider takeaways from season of harshness

November 13, 2016

My Sentiments Exactly I know how you feel; I share your emotions. I understand how, with bated breath, you watched every second of that drama unfold last Tuesday night. It seemed to go on forever and ever and two days. It wore us all out ... came right down to the wire, as it were. Then suddenly, bam! The Cleveland Cavaliers lose their first game of the 2016-17 season. Tears. Wait, was something else going on that night? Oh right. President-gate. Ugh. #thankheavensitsfinallyover. Look, I know we all woke up with something of a massive hangover on Wednesday, no matter ...

If only we could live in Hallmark Christmasland

November 6, 2016

I am a habitually early riser. I think it started when Kyle was an infant and had to be held upright after every feeding due to his severe reflux disorder. Poor little guy. Talk about your tumultuous sleep patterns. Sheesh! It worsened years later when I commuted to my job at Alliance Community Hospital every weekday. To be on the road by 6 a.m., I was usually up by around 4 a.m. or so. These days, I sleep until about 5 a.m., typically. Some days a little earlier, others a hair later. But I never, ever, ever (as Taylor Swift would say) sleep past say, 7:15 a.m. Weekends, ...

Slow down; you move too fast — ouch!

October 30, 2016

My Sentiments Exactly Sometimes the good Lord sends us signs. They may be subtle ... like making a commercial for puppies pop up on your TV screen just as you’re trying to decide whether or not to add one to your clan. Or flashing a billboard right before your eyes along your commute that encourages you to MAKE A CHANGE right when you’re pondering a job move. Hmm. Then again, some are flat-out bold. Take, for instance, my hard, hard fall onto the kitchen floor last week. SPLAT. It happened very early in the morning as I sprang off the couch (where I regularly fall ...

I can’t tell if it’s next debate or Walking Dead

October 23, 2016

It has finally arrived. The day we’ve all been waiting for. You know, the big one. The one we are simultaneously anticipating and dreading. The reveal. The decision. The answer to the burning question. Nope, not Nov. 8, people; I speak of the Season 7 premiere of AMC’s television hit “The Walking Dead.” In case you live in an underground bunker, TWD, TV’s #1 show, is a series set in a post-apocalyptic world where cannibalistic zombies aren’t as scary as the planet’s fellow survivors. It’s gory and icky and bloody and depressing and happens to offer some of the finest ...

Crabby Patty back as ‘One Grateful Girl’

October 16, 2016

I admit it. I’ve been a little cranky lately. In this space over the span of the past few weeks, I suppose PK has not been gleaning her typical attitude of gratitude. Too much Peyton, creepy clowns, presidential puke-fest … heck, I even whined to some great degree about an American Heart Association volunteer who was, um, less than friendly at the AHA’s recent heart walk event. Oops. Guess what? The folks at the local chapter read “My Sentiments Exactly.” And not only did they formally apologize for any unpleasantries that befell me when I inquired about a ...

Childhood illness brings out only true friends

July 17, 2016

I kind of forgot about it until last week. The pain, the rejection, the isolation. I was totally exiled; an outcast.Shudder.I speak of the time when, at age 26, I came down with a case of chicken pox.That's what I said.I caught them from my little nephew, who was then 6. We were at a party at my sister-in-law's house when my mother-in-law mentioned that Cody was just getting over the chicken pox."I hope you've had them!" she laughed, assuming I had.Indeed, I had not. Yet.I shrugged it off, thinking, "I've been lucky so far; I'm sure it's fine."And I gave it zero thought as Kerry and I ...