Christmas season is still magical

Written by Malinda Just Tuesday, 18 December 2012 14:22

A couple of nights ago, my husband and I watched the classic holiday movie “Christmas Vacation.” We laughed as good ol’ Clark Griswold drove under a semi-truck, stapled himself to a gutter, fussed with 25,000 twinkle lights and ran from a misplaced squirrel.

And all those mishaps were in the name of a “good, old-fashioned” Christmas.

Poor guy. He just wanted to host a perfect holiday. Instead, he got all his windows smashed in.

I’m guessing many people can relate. Maybe not to those extremes, but certainly to unmet expectations.

I remember the disappointment of my fifth-grade self when my Santa Claus expectations fell flat. Some of the season lost its magic after that.

While devastating at the time, it opened space now...

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Growth is reason for thanksgiving

Written by Malinda Just Tuesday, 20 November 2012 15:58

It’s here. That day filled with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and pumpkin pie. And football. And family. And thanksgiving.

It’s apparent when I take stock of my life that I have much to be thankful for. And Thanks­giving is a perfect time to count those blessings. That’s totally the purpose of the holiday, even if we sometimes tend to focus more on the spread and couch time.

But what happens when we just don’t feel it? What happens when being thankful is the furthest thing from our hearts?

When I was in high school (which more time has passed than I want to believe), I uttered many peevish remarks. Possibly I have the excuse that the majority of teenagers are sullen and moody from time to time, but one statement...

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‘Out with the girls’ has new sense

Written by Malinda Just Tuesday, 16 October 2012 14:04

While dining out with a group of friends last weekend, another patron casually observed that I was “out with the girls.” In response I said, “No, they are at home.”

Oh my.

As my matter-of-fact statement registered as a major flub-up, my face went red-hot as I stumbled around trying to correct my obvious mess-up.

As I confessed my flightiness to the “girls” my acquaintance was actually referring to, one commented (through bouts of laughter at my expense) that I was definitely in mommy-mode.

So that explains it.

But then I wondered if it justified it.

Is it ever OK to be a walking definition of oblivious?

I’d like to think we’ve all been there. That we’ve all been so absorbed in one thing or another that we’ve...

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Back in the saddle with child No. 3

Written by Malinda Just Tuesday, 18 September 2012 14:25

We’re back in the saddle again. At least those lyrics by Gene Autry are all that keep going through my mind as I listen to the blends of new lungs mixed with little girls who keep talking instead of sleeping.

Our family landed back in the throes of newborn craziness Aug. 31 with the birth of our third baby and first son, Case Bennett.

It’s been one of those things where I am thrilled and yet overwhelmed all at the same time. I feel like we’ve gone full circle in a way. With our first child, I spent hours crying during nighttime feedings. With our second, I don’t remember the first weeks being very stressful. Though a spitfire now, she was actually a really calm baby.

And now with our third, I feel as if I’m not planted in a...

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