College Graduation – The Blink of a Lifetime

by Nina Vallone, posted in adult children, college kids, graduation, gratitude, parenting college kids, Parenting Teens

Time is a fickle fucker. Four years can simultaneously feel like a lifetime and a heartbeat ago. Four years ago, two children lived and ate and slept and fought and laughed under our roof as permanent teenage residents. Four years ago I attended multiple sporting events nightly, worried on Friday and Saturday nights about when … Continue reading College Graduation – The Blink of a Lifetime

We Can’t Go Over It, We Can’t Go Under It, We Have to Go Through It-How a Bear Hunt Teaches Us How to Get Through The Pandemic.

by Nina Vallone, posted in gratitude, intentional living, mindfulness

The words above are quoted directly from the book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. The mask. The curbside pick up. Eating outside, with heaters, in January, in the Midwest. Or not eating out at all. We are all so tired. We’re all damn tired. We are afraid. We’ve … Continue reading We Can’t Go Over It, We Can’t Go Under It, We Have to Go Through It-How a Bear Hunt Teaches Us How to Get Through The Pandemic.

What’s the Alternative

by Nina Vallone, posted in Bravery, character, gratitude, intentional living, mindful living, mindfulness

What's the alternative? My Dad said this all the time. What's the alternative?  We've all been living with an undercurrent of tension, fear and uncertainty during the past eight months. Maybe longer. Who knows? But this undercurrent, this live wire has been holding steady during the pandemic, the protests and the politics. Some days the … Continue reading What’s the Alternative