In 2009 my husband was diagnosed with Stage III Testicular Cancer. It presented as a 10cm tumor near his right kidney, and he was extremely sick…so sick, I thought he was going to die. We were parents of two small children. We owned a small business with a staff of 17. Rich’s cancer diagnosis coincided with the recession of 2008/2009…the time when people were losing their homes, foreclosures became commonplace, and bankruptcy lost some of its stigma because so many people had to file. My husband grew sicker as the chemotherapy began to do its work of “melting the tumor like
Read moreGrace settles softly, A cheerful chirp like delight mixed with my cynical disbelief. I deserved so much worse; I was waiting for so much more. Grace breathes Her life into crushed hopes, a gentle whisper at a time; A friendly whiff of encouragement once, twice, until… Grace begins to live a life of Her own; Outside of me, Yet from me And I lay myself down again to be this channel of Grace, This echo of Hope, one decisive moment at a time. Susan Seiling, 2018
Read moreGrowing up, my mom cooked one meal for the entire family, and if we didn’t want to eat it, we could make ourselves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was rare to know of a family with a food allergy. Those days are gone. My kids go to schools that ban peanuts, and in my own family we have allergies to gluten, milk protein, fructose and almonds…a combination that makes cooking a challenge. I gave up gluten about three years ago. After having my last baby at 40, my body began to revolt with auto-immune issues. I was unable
Read moreFollowing recent mass shootings, I’ve seen dozens of posts stating that “thoughts and prayers” are a cop-out; That we need laws and to DO SOMETHING, DO ANYTHING to prevent such devastation from happening again. It’s a month into high school, and we’ve already received four calls from the principal about (unsubstantiated) violent threats, and news that a smart and dynamic boy committed suicide. Our society is broken. Kids in America have more stuff and activities than any generation in history…and they are killing themselves and each other. There are so many people who are hopeless, mentally exhausted and wracked with
Read moreAfter 19 years of business ownership, homeschooling two kids, and completely rewriting my life over the past year, I am intimately familiar with being overwhelmed. I know what it’s like to see a full slate of work ahead of me, and realize the only way to get it done, is for me to physically do it. Since I find myself in this situation frequently, I have a great question to pose for my next blog post…and that is: How do you eat an elephant? An elephant is an overwhelming circumstance or situation. It’s a series of fires that have begun
Read moreSo, it turns out that when you work a full time job AND have a family AND have a 40 minute commute each way, you end up with a lot less time for things like blog writing… Despite the busyness and the packed schedule, my ideas keep flowing…so I will continue to write this blog, even though a brand new season of The Bachelorette (my guilty pleasure) is calling my name. Yes, I will write… And I will tell you about this new chapter of life called “Life As a Full-Time Working Mom”. This chapter was written into my story
Read moreMany events stop traffic on my morning commute: Crossing guards in the school zone; Parents dropping off their kids; An occasional accident…But few things have been more memorable than the day a skunk stopped traffic on the corner of Old Fort and Veterans Parkways. I was sitting patiently at the intersection, munching on my Cheerios and waiting for the impossibly long light to turn green. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a black-and-white animal, ambling down the road, completely oblivious to the lines of traffic directly in front of it. I had been waiting at the light
Read moreThe rooms were bursting with donations for the thrift store. The food pantry’s shelves stretched in long lines: a bounty of canned goods, foods, fresh meats and vegetables, diapers and toiletries. People sat, waiting to speak to staff members to discuss their needs. Some wore looks of despair; Others had a sense of calm, knowing they had come to a place that would help. I walked through the operation, seeing more and more bounty; more and more good; more and more tangible, practical THINGS people needed to live their lives, and it was truly like seeing a storehouse of God.
Read moreToday I was supposed to go to work. I navigated the morning obstacle course of making lunch; feeding my little boy; getting dressed; and finally settled into the car with a fresh podcast loaded onto my phone…only to discover that work was cancelled for the day. My plans changed. Again. No matter how much this last year has taught me, it still unsettles me when plans change. Especially when most days include unexpected diversions and disruptions. The concept of “planning my day” became part of my daily vernacular in college, when I was introduced to my first “daily planner.” Ohio
Read moreIt’s been 23 years since the last time I applied for a job. Back then, you filled out a paper application with a pen, neatly writing your name, home phone and address, along with all of the other information they required. Penmanship mattered…if the employer couldn’t read your phone number, you may never hear from them. Resumes were printed carefully on a laser printer at Kinko’s (not the dot-matrix printer most people had at home) on bonded resume paper, then mailed in a matching envelope. Weeks would go by, without knowing if the person received the application, or what may
Read more