Family – Page 2 – FindYourBuriedTreasure

The Last Two Traditions

“The last two holiday traditions I’ll ever give up,” I told my son, “are cooking a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving, and baking Christmas cookies.” I made the comment as my son and I were talking on the phone, a few days before Thanksgiving, about our holiday plans. I had mentioned that we knew a lot of people who, instead of cooking a traditional turkey dinner, had “alternate plans.” Some were still going with a turkey dinner, but were purchasing either a ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat-up option [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 27th, 2023|Columns, Family, Holidays, Values|Comments Off

Timberrr!

At least we weren’t home when it happened. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news. It’s bad news because we had to cancel most of the week-long trip we had planned. We were out of town, on our way to visit our daughter and celebrate her birthday with her, when we got the phone call telling us a tree had fallen on our house, tearing a hole in the roof. We did a U-turn on the interstate, returned our rental car, [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 13th, 2023|Columns, Family, Travel, Values|Comments Off

Nightmares

I just woke up from two unsettling dreams, the kind that made me think, after I popped awake, “Oh, thank God that was just a dream.” One of them was a variation of the standard “last day of school and l’m not ready for the big test” dream, although it was more complicated and intense than that. The other dream was a lot scarier. A Japanese Mafia-type man was forcing me to write propaganda, and threatening to kill my family if I didn’t cooperate. He [...]

By bettyliedtke|October 30th, 2023|Columns, Family, Health and Well-being, Values|Comments Off

It all started when the Ferrari didn’t

I was at a Georgia Writers Museum event a few nights ago, but that’s not what this story is about. It’s not about the yellow Ferrari, either, although that’s what started it all. What it’s really about is the people – small-town families, big-city couples, people of different ages, stages, and stations in life. And it’s about, as Blanche DuBois famously stated in A Streetcar Named Desire, “the kindness of strangers.” The Writers Museum event had ended, and almost everyone had left, when a couple [...]

By bettyliedtke|October 7th, 2023|Columns, Family, Values|Comments Off

Soccer Déjà Vu

“Wasn’t it just yesterday that it was our kids playing soccer?” That was my question to my sister whose kids are about the same ages as mine, and she texted back, “I was just thinking the same thing.” What brought up this exchange were some photos I had sent of my almost-five-year-old granddaughter during her soccer game last Monday. This is her second season in soccer, and she’s loving it. So when our son suggested we come to Minnesota sometime to watch one of her [...]

By bettyliedtke|September 25th, 2023|Columns, Family|Comments Off

Road Trip Rituals

My husband and I have a ritual we follow whenever we set out on a road trip. As we’re pulling out of the driveway – or hotel parking lot – he calls out, “Wagons…” and I respond, “Ho!” We note the time, and for the rest of the day we have a friendly competition as we each try to be the first to announce, “We’ve been on the road an hour.” Or three. Or nine. After the first few hours, it’s easy to lose track. [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 24th, 2023|Columns, Family, Travel|Comments Off

Weather or Not

We were just south of Chattanooga when we stopped at a rest stop for a quick break. We had been watching dark clouds forming around us, and saw several thick, jagged lightning bolts in the distance. It started to drizzle just as we were walking into the rest stop, and in a few minutes the drizzle had grown to a torrential downpour, with wind to match. The staff at the rest stop locked the door, and herded us all to a sheltered hallway, then pulled [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 17th, 2023|Columns, Family, Holidays, Travel|Comments Off

A Sweet Time

Instead of writing a blog post this week, I’m spending time with our kids and grandkids. Our agenda includes, among other things, celebrating the 3-year-old’s birthday, and making dinosaur-shaped chocolate chip brownies with him, his big sister, and his little brother. What could possibly be more fun or important than this? I’ll see you next week. July 7, 2023 ©Betty Liedtke, 2023 I welcome your comments, but please be aware that all comments will be moderated and approved before appearing on this blog. This is [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 7th, 2023|Columns, Family, Values|Comments Off

What day is this?

“Today is about tomorrow, not about yesterday.” That statement came from the president of Georgia Writers Museum at the start of a strategic planning session I took part in last week. Normally, I am intimidated by things like strategic planning sessions. They’re simply not my area of expertise, and when I’m in one I often feel like I’m in the wrong place, or in over my head. This one was different, though. Creativity was emphasized, and the exercises we did over the course of the [...]

By bettyliedtke|May 22nd, 2023|Columns, Family, Organizing, Quotes and Sayings|Comments Off

Happy Anniversaries

I can still remember my grandma and grandpa’s 50th wedding anniversary. A special blessing at Mass was followed by a big reception in the church hall, which was filled with family, friends, and neighbors. I remember the yellow dress I wore that day, and the lovely dress, corsage, and smile my grandma wore. But that may be as much from photos as from memory. My mom died at age 42, long before she and my dad would have had a similar celebration, but I have [...]

By bettyliedtke|May 1st, 2023|Columns, Family|Comments Off

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