READING BETWEEN THE PINES

Tag: family

  • Is That Your Daughter’s Bra Hanging From A Tree?

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    Because it’s not my daughter’s bra. Or at least, not yet. I took my girls to the mountains last week for some didn’t-get-around-to-doing-all-the-cool-things-I-promised-you-this-summer-and-sort-of-need-to-fit-it-all-into-one-day family fun. Well, family – two + two, because my husband had to work, my son was already back at school, and each of my daughters decided that bringing a friend would…

  • I Said I’d Never Write About Politics, But I Know Paul Ryan and I’ve Got Some Advice.

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    Who am I to Paul Ryan? No one and everyone. I’m a forty-two year old suburban mom who knew Paul in college. I’m also a registered Democrat who has voted for both parties over the last twenty-four years. I live in Colorado, a state that offers electoral votes crucial to the outcome of this year’s…

  • Why I Run

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    I run to be alone and I run to return to the world a better person. I run to ground myself and I run to be free. I run to practice what I preach to my kids because they have too many things to fight for fitness. I run to see the world from a…

  • It’s Not Easy Being Me

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    If the word “Mom” is supposed to be a term of endearment, why do my kids use it as a four-letter word? Even though “Dad,” by default, should elicit close to the same response, its aura is closely guarded by the lovely ankle-biters who buzz around my being like well-intended gnats in the same way…

  • Colorado Is Burning, But Not in a Way Anyone Could Predict

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    Colorado is still burning, but not in a way anyone would have dared to predict a couple of weeks ago. An eye-watering panorama of flames that recently scorched the earth and destroyed hundreds of homes has morphed into a massive wall of tears as everyone in our state, and the nation for that matter, feels…

  • Why You Can’t Pimp My Ride

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    Most people view the car they drive as a direct portal to their super-shiny souls. O.K. that’s not true. They actually see their wheels as a reflection of the bulging, glossy, shark skin wallet poached off an endangered Great White on some spendy dive trip to Belize. Not me though. I consider my car, or…

  • Colorado is Burning

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    I’ve always been a big non-believer in luck, at least the kind that bleeds bank accounts dry because it’s tied to an arbitrary sequence of numbers that careen down a treacherous path to nowhere. The definition of luck I subscribe to isn’t random. It can’t be bought or sold. It’s more of that mathematical equation…

  • How Do You Move Forward When You’re Grinding All Your Gears?

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    As humans, we’re constantly in motion. But motion and movement are two very different things. Just because you’re in motion doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going anywhere. Trust me on this, I know. If I could catch a ride with Richard Branson on his uber-expensive Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space, I’d easily be able to assess…

  • I Think I’m Smarter Than You

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    No, not you. The you I’m referring to in this post is my seven-going-on-seventeen year-old daughter, Essa. Running short on time and long on things to do, I had a simple conversation with my little girl the other day that went something like this. Me: Essa, we’ve gotta pick up Taylor and Grace. Get in your…

  • My New Dog is Gone

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    by

    Stacie Chadwick
    in

    When I started this blog a few months ago, my intent was simply to build an audience to support the book I’m writing, so an agent could cyber-stalk me and see that people were interested in what I had to say. Or so I hoped. But as I began to post, a beautiful yet unanticipated…