This has been quite a year for me... I got married, graduated with my masters, and will soon turn... drum roll, please... 30!! (yikes. that's the first time I've typed it out) And with each milestone is another reason to celebrate! Culturally, we commemorate these milestones for others with thoughtful gifts, written cards or our most favorite, money. If you know me at all, you know I'm horrible at them all. I'm just not a good giver or receiver of gifts. Ironically enough, I married one as well, in fact the only tangible gifts we've ever exchanged are our wedding...
Read MoreWashington, D.C. October 3, 1863 This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders like this. The holiday we know today as Thanksgiving was recommended to Lincoln by Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor. Her letters to Lincoln urged him to have the “day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” According to an April 1, 1864 letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln’s secretaries, this document was...
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sometimes, it's hard for me to imagine what she was like when she was young. my mother, she was beautiful. her dark eyes must have drove the boys wild and her shinny hair was adored. she set off on her own at 18, confident in what she did know and naive of what she didn't. her first date with my dad was a result of a bet. her boss was sure he was married. she, though they'd never spoken, knew he wasn't. she was right, the $20 was hers. my dad didn't think it fair she made money off of him...
Read Morei returned to my roots; or at least a half of them. this weekend our family journeyed back to omaha, nebraska to celebrate my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. although i have never spent more than a week there and know few other streets besides dodge street, much of my family’s history and my family, for that matter, can be found within the city's borders. as we drove along the interstate, my dad pointed out the apartment he was living in when he first met my mom, the jobsite where they met, and the church they were married in 26 years...
Read Morebirthdays are funny. it doesn't matter what has happened in the year since it last came around, 365 days later, the day you were born is still commemorated. to most, it is a time of celebration; to others, it is a time of mourning at the passing of another year. this year i celebrated the passing of my 24th year on this earth. i cannot tell you how blessed i feel today knowing the great number of you who celebrated with me. beginning on friday i was overwhelmed by breakfast, lunch or dinner with you, a flooded email inbox, packages via...
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