The Resolute Woman

Category: Joy

  • Happy 104th Birthday, Ola!

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    by

    resolutewoman
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    I stopped to visit my husband’s Aunt Ola a few days before her 104th birthday. Ola, dressed in a bright red pants and sweater, was sitting on the bench outside her independent-living apartment. She greeted me with a twinkle in her eye and a  big smile and immediately started asking me for reports on my…

  • How about a disconnected vacation?

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    by

    resolutewoman
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    It required all of the logistical skills of a very determined mother to find a week this summer when my husband and two college-student children were available for a family vacation.  “Why don’t we try a disconnected vacation?” I suggested before we left home. Everyone laughed. The four of us arrived at the beach with…

  • Is it time for vacation yet?

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    by

    resolutewoman
    in ,

    As I explained in a recent blog post, I am trying to finish an assignment from a client, help my daughter move into a new apartment and get ready for vacation. Because I am feeling a little harried, I am trying a different approach every night when I write my to-do list for the next…

  • A little advice from Shakespeare and Hamlet

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    resolutewoman
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    As William Powers reminds us in his book Hamlet’s Blackberry, London during the late 16th and early 17th centuries was a bustling, chaotic place. People were bombarded with pamphlets, advertising placards, commercial and public documents. Soon they would be reading the first newspapers. How could people cope with this busy world? They used an innovative…

  • Sometimes it’s good to share the stress

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    by

    resolutewoman
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    I still remember the joys of parenting two lively young children—and also I remember a few stressful days.  My husband Jerry was traveling a great deal for business, and I was busy with my own small business, and we were trying to spend as much time as possible with Mary Elizabeth and Jay Anyone who…

  • Is it time to update your story?

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    by

    resolutewoman
    in ,

    I just had a root canal. It was my second root canal. The first time I had to have the procedure done, I got a little dramatic. It wasn’t the most pleasant event, of course. I felt panicked and was sure that I was going to suffocate. I went home and told my husband Jerry…

  • May you grow in peace and wisdom

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    by

    resolutewoman
    in ,

    My two college students are getting ready to start classes at the end of August. I was remembering recently how I used to wake them, feed them breakfast and then drive them to Moss Haven Elementary School. Even though we tried our best to round up all the library books and homework the night before…

  • Simple tricks to stop overeating

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    resolutewoman
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    Specifically, the headline on the cover of the thin magazine/leaflet reads: “Stop Overeating. Three simple tricks.” Inside the Weight Watcher Weekly for June 19-25, I fiound these tricks: At home, serve measured portions on the plate instead of serving family style. At a restaurant, order two appetizers. And, when you visit a friend, wear your…

  • The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted

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    resolutewoman
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    Who could resist buying a book titled The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted? I couldn’t. I bought it even though I had stood in Border’s and read the entire 11-page short story with the same title in Elizabeth Berg’s book. Do you identify with a woman who walks out of a Weight Watcher meeting…

  • Are you creative, sensitive and intelligent?

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    by

    resolutewoman
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    Of course, you are! And that’s why you procrastinate, says David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. I was listening to an abridged, audio version of Allen’s book this morning while I was walking my dog Ginger, and I was relieved to learn that I must be creative, sensitive and…