Last year on my anniversary, I began my post with a photo from my wedding. Our anniversary is two days from when this post goes live, and for this year’s photo, I thought I’d go even further back in time. The picture above, just for funsies, is from an engagement party my family threw for…
“Why”…Wednesdays
NetGalley Review of Wicked Serve
title: Wicked Serve author: Grace Reilly publisher: Avon publication date: August 13, 2024 pages: 448 peppers: 3-4 (on this scale) warnings: spousal/child abuse violence trauma alcohol abuse anxiety injury – hospitalization summary: Volleyball-playing, college sophomore Izzy never thought she’d see Nik again after their summer fling because she goes to school in Boston and he’s the…
NetGalley Review of Let’s Call a Truce
title: Let’s Call a Truce author: Amy Buchanan publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: January 14, 2025 pages: 336 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: parental, violent death (off-page, before story) parental abandonment alcohol summary: Widow Juliana is excited to prove herself in her job in HR after her years staying home with her young daughters, but…
293. Why “I Love That for You”
At a fancy restaurant on another recent trip, my bonus father, who doesn’t like mushrooms, asked for regular butter instead of the truffle-infused butter that was offered to us. The waiter actually responded to the request with, “This butter is really delicious.” Why would the waiter think his palate was the one that got to…
292. Why “Tell Me More about That”
I started thinking about the request, “Tell me more about that,” when I read one of Rebekah Jordan’s thoughtful newsletters on the topic. I recommend her weekly emails, which you can check out and/or subscribe to by clicking on the photo of her company’s website above. As you know (probably, since almost everyone who reads…
291. Why “At the Same Time”
Above is a photo I took of our mantle in Connecticut. You might think I took the photo in November, December, or January. I won’t tell you exactly when I snapped the picture, but it certainly wasn’t any of those holiday months. Yes, this year I’ve kept the stockings up much longer than I do…
290. Why Not “I Can’t Hear You”
My friend and former student (Hi, EB!) took the photo above last May, when I was giving a speech (because I won a really cool prize called the Lufkin Award) at the school where I teach. Fortunately, I had a lot of time to figure out what to say in my speech. My planning didn’t…
289. Why I Should Take Your Photo
My sister (Thanks, V!) took the photo above during spring break, when we were traveling together. (As an aside, I highly recommend Nashville as a great city for a family vacation. I can give reasons sometime to anyone who wants to hear my thoughts…or maybe I’ll write a Why Nashville post and force my opinions…
288. Why Use the Bathroom
I took the photo above in one of the public bathrooms in my school. I believe the Random Acts of Kindness Club wrote and posted this note and others that had lots of different messages and appeared in various places around campus. A fun project I approve of, but not the point of this post….
287. Why Consider the Percentage
[I tried to make the percent sign above look really spiffy, using an even larger, blurred, lavender shadow text, but after three tries of its not saving correctly, I gave up. If you know how to make such things happen, maybe you can give me a lesson sometime. Anyway, this paragraph has nothing to do…