27
05, 2026
25
05, 2026
MEMORIAL DAY and a Wedding Anniversary
Today is Memorial Day, a day established for reflection and remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S. military.
From 1868 to 1970, the official date for the holiday was May 30, whichever weekday it fell on, not the fourth Monday of the month. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which passed in 1968, created three-day holidays. In 1971, Memorial Day began being celebrated on the last Monday in May.
There’s a reason I remember those obscure facts.
Many, many years ago, my husband and I chose Memorial Day for our wedding ceremony. For years, we celebrated the holiday along with our wedding anniversary. Not anymore, because now Memorial Day changes its date. Our anniversary doesn’t.
Why did we pick that date? Back then, we were financially strapped college students. Time off from work for a honeymoon was out of the question.
That particular year, Memorial Day, aka May 30th, fell on a Thursday, which meant we only had to take one unpaid day off work to prepare for our wedding.
To save more expense, I wore my mother’s wedding dress, which she’d worn twenty-five years earlier.
My mother is in the dress in the picture on the top left.
I’m in the picture below her, wearing the dress with an altered neckline and a let-out hem.
The larger picture is our daughter in the same dress for her wedding, twenty-five years later. We added lace to the hemline and around the neck.
Otherwise, the dress, made by my grandmother from imported French Alençon lace, is exactly as it was when my mother wore it. Now safely stored in my mother’s cedar hope chest.
Memorial Day was set up to mourn and honor our nation’s fallen service members. It’s evolved into the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.
Today will be filled with happy thoughts of our wedding, coupled with deep sadness for friends and family we’ve lost in military service. There are so many families out there that don’t have loved ones around to celebrate their wedding anniversaries with.
Join me at 3 p.m. for the National Moment of Remembrance to give them some silence, to say a little prayer, and acknowledge their ultimate sacrifice.
20
05, 2026
18
05, 2026
Monday Fun with Books
Ever wonder what books do when the bookstore closes? I did and found this fun YouTube video to answer the question.
ENJOY!
11
05, 2026
Celebrating Mothers
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. The day set aside to honor mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society.
For many, it was a happy day, spent surrounded by family. For others, the day was probably not so fun. Some of our mothers are no longer with us.
Where did the idea to honor motherhood come from?
Its roots lie in the British Mothering Day, which disappeared when the English settlers came to America.
Then, in 1870, Julia Ward Howe, author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, conceptualized the idea of Mother’s Day in her Proclamation of 1870. Read the poem here.
In 1872, Ms. Howe suggested a “Mother’s Day for Peace” celebration on June 2 of every year. Only a few states bought into Howe’s idea, and eventually the movement died.
However, a West Virginia women’s group headed by Anna Reeves Jarvis adapted Howe’s holiday to be a day set aside to reunite families and neighbors divided by the Civil War.
That Jarvis’s Mother’s Friendship Day evolved into Mother’s Day. And, as they say, the rest is history.
If you forgot to acknowledge Mom yesterday, do it today. She’ll be thrilled to hear from you, no matter what day it is.
6
05, 2026
4
05, 2026
Busy, Busy May
Welcome to May, the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Time to celebrate the return of Spring.
It’s a month filled with graduations, dance recitals, piano recitals, and celebrations, plus other holidays filled with traditions like the maypole dance.
Never heard of a maypole dance?
Many haven’t in today’s world. It’s a way to “bring in the May” by gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral hoops and hair garlands.
Many of us still remember weaving ribbons around a maypole at school to celebrate the return of spring.
From the late 19th century through the 1950s, the maypole dance and festivities were a rite of spring. In the 1960s and 1970s, interest started to wane. Today, you may see a maypole dance in elementary schools as a fun spring activity.
People still decorate bushes and trees in Ireland with colorful strips of cloth.
Called a clottie, the ribbons carry their wishes and prayers, and you can still spot them if you go to Ireland.
The Kentucky Derby on May 1st started the month. The annual horse race held in Louisville, Kentucky, is known as the “Fastest Two Minutes in Sports.” The event inaugurates the Triple Crown, a series of three horse races. Watching it is a tradition around our house. Did you watch?
On the second Sunday of May, we honor mothers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, and all motherly figures. There’s time to plan your celebration.
Then May 25 is Memorial Day. A day we honor those who knew the risks, who accepted the odds, and who marched onward anyway to make the ultimate sacrifice.
A holiday with mixed feelings— sadness for the losses, and anticipation because it signals the unofficial start of summer.
Lots of celebrations, plus school graduations and recitals. May is perhaps as busy as December, don’t you think?
30
04, 2026
Stress Management Tips-Guest Blogger Jenna Sherman
Effective Stress Management Strategies for Writers and Freelancers
Freelance life comes with real rewards and real pressure. Tight deadlines, unpredictable income, and a blurry line between work and home can quietly pile up until focus slips and small tasks feel heavy. The good news is that stress becomes more manageable once you know what’s actually driving it.
Know Your Triggers First
Vague stress leads to vague fixes. Start by noticing what sets you off: certain clients, times of day, or tasks like invoicing. When you can name the trigger, you can choose the right response instead of just pushing through.
Six Levers Worth Reaching For
- Move your body, even briefly. A 10-minute walk after a draft breaks the stress loop and gives your brain a clear transition out of work mode.
- Try a 3-minute breathing reset before you write. Inhale for 4, exhale for 6, and notice where you’re holding tension. It won’t solve deadlines, but it makes starting easier.
- Eat for steady energy. Protein, fiber, and color at most meals helps you avoid the crash that turns a normal edit into a doom spiral.
- Set two daily boundaries: one for starting and one for stopping. “No email before 15 minutes of planning” and “laptop closed at 6:30” is enough to reduce daily decision fatigue.
- Do a grounded attitude reset once a day: write what’s stressing you and one thing you can do in 10 minutes. Progress beats perfect mood every time.
- Treat sleep like a productivity tool. A consistent wake time and a simple wind-down routine make stress easier to handle, even when you can’t eliminate it.
Natural Modalities for Stress Relief
Supporting your child’s growth is rewarding, but keeping up with it all can take a toll on parents too. Here are four gentle, natural options worth exploring for your own stress management:
- Ashwagandha: An adaptogenic herb long used to help the body manage stress and support steady energy levels.
- Magnesium: A mineral that many adults are deficient in, magnesium supports relaxation, better sleep, and a calmer nervous system.
- Essential oils: Scents like lavender, chamomile, and bergamot are widely used in aromatherapy to promote calm and reduce tension at the end of a long day.
- THCa: A non-intoxicating cannabinoid found in raw hemp that many adults are turning to as part of their wellness routines. Check this out for more info.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need a perfect system. Pick one lever from this guide, practice it daily, and build from there. That’s how stress management becomes a habit instead of an emergency response.
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Jenna Sherman is a mom of three (two girls and a boy). She created Parent-Leaders.com to help other parents acquire the skills they need to raise future leaders by providing a collection of valuable, up-to-date, authoritative resources. Take a minute to visit Jenna Sherman’s blog for helpful tips.
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04, 2026
27
04, 2026
It’s Bluebonnet Season in Texas
Spring in Texas means seas of Bluebonnets along our roadways. We can thank two women for the beautiful color we enjoy.
The origin of bluebonnets, the Texas state flower, involves a young Indian girl named She-Who-Is-Lonely, who lived when Indians roamed Texas. It’s a familiar tale for most Texans.
According to legend, the Texas weather was not kind to the natives. Winters were harsh. Spring brought catastrophic flooding, followed by a summer drought. Food was scarce. The tribe appealed to the Great Spirit for help. She-Who-Is-Lonely overheard the Great Spirit tell them that selfishness had brought on their plight.
She took matters into her own hands and offered her most prized possession to the Great Spirit, burning her beloved doll in a fire. Once the fire cooled, she then took handfuls of ashes and turned north, south, east, and west, letting the ashes fall from her hands as she spun.
When the tribe awoke, the barren landscape was covered in lush blankets of blue and green. The Great Spirit had forgiven them. The tribe renamed the little girl “One-Who-Dearly-Loves-Her-People.”
Tomie dePaola wrote and illustrated a fabulous picture book based on the legend. It’s available here.
The other woman is Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson, who made it her mission to improve the landscape along our interstate highways.
She convinced Texas Department of Transportation officials that wildflowers were good at erosion prevention along the roadside and strongly suggested that mowers skip cutting the wildflowers until after they had dispersed their seeds.
She even asked that mowers scatter flower seeds the last time they mowed in the fall.
Former Texas Governor John Connally offered free packets of wildflower seeds to Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and anyone who wrote to him. Other states followed, setting up their own wildflower programs for their roadways.
Lady Bird’s efforts provided the wildflowers we see when we travel through the Texas Hill Country each Spring. Funding cuts over the years have eliminated many seed sowing programs, but the show still happens every year.
This year is a good blooming year. We even have Bluebonnets in my neighborhood.
