first

6 comments

Happiness is so Fun To Watch by Lisa Batten Kunkleman

When life gets tough, try to find things to make you smile. Use all your senses to find it. Smell that toast. Rub that fleecy blanket. Listen to upbeat music. Taste that good smelling toast. Watch our granddog living large with his best friend, Water. He’s using all his senses I’m certain.

March 20, 2022
lisakunk

8 comments

Even Windchimes Have Off Days

If you’re feeling kind of “off” and not your usual melodic or chipper self, take a look inside for stuff that needs to be cleared out. Even windchimes have visitors like dirt dobbers and spiders that leave gunk behind, clogging up lightness and tinkles. Don’t keep that mess inside clogging up life. Talk to someone […]

April 28, 2021
lisakunk

9 comments

A Message From a Friend From Heaven

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman I was clearing out bookshelves a couple of days ago, March 26, 2021, when I’m pretty sure my friend poked me from her heavenly home. Purging away, I came upon a book with an e-mail tucked inside from my friend Pam Medlin. Unfortunately, Pam, a non-smoker, died far too soon from […]

April 9, 2020
lisakunk

3 comments

Everything Longs to Be Free

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman While appreciating our shelter and safety we seem to always want those greener pastures beyond our own space. You know how the strawberries always look plumper and redder on the next row over but you have to pick on your assigned row? Such is life at the moment.

May 20, 2019
lisakunk

9 comments

Empty Nest: Obstacle or Opportunity?

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman   “For every stage your baby passes through, for every sweet phase you think you’ll miss, you’ll get new stages, new phases. It’ll keep on getting more and more interesting all the time. Just wait until you can have a conversation with your nine-year-old. It’s wonderful. Change doesn’t have to be […]

24 comments

From Buzz Cuts to Bombs: Innocence Lost and Secrets Kept (A Classified Incident Declassified)

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman I remember finding the tiny manila envelope, tucked under a blanket in the trunk of your Oldsmobile eighty-eight. When I discovered the black and white military photos inside, I was both shocked and thrilled. Seeing you and your army buddies with a couple of tiny-waisted ladies sporting floral summery dresses, I […]

19 comments

There’s an Empty Bowl in the Empty Nest: When a Furbaby Passes On to Glory

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman This week, after losing our floppy-eared hound, Single Stare Sadie, our empty nest became extra quiet. Sadie was the life of the party. She could howl like a master coon dog, chase squirrels in complete glee, and pose royally like the queen of our menagerie. I’ll speed through this so I […]

July 30, 2018
lisakunk

13 comments

Long Live Mr. Treehouse: Only Now He’s Mr. Bridge Patio Thingy Over the Stream

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman After seeing our empty-nester treehouse come down last week, many people from all around shared how they felt the pull of childhood fun coming to an end. End? Never! Transform, yes. We live by rules such as Waste not, want not and all kinds of cliches like that. As we will one […]

July 27, 2018
lisakunk

26 comments

Empty Nest Flutterings: Come on Down, Mr. Treehouse

  By Lisa Batten Kunkleman There comes a time, when the nest is empty, we push back the tears and make room for other things; like hammocks and memories. Today’s the day. Once a sturdy sight for kid’s eyes. Barn red siding, climbing pegs, and a yellow slide, you were a group project and a […]

24 comments

Lives Worth Remembering, Stories Worth Telling

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman My hometown lost a treasure recently. A popular music teacher and friend to so many,  Carol’s unexpected death left people speechless, unable to fathom the senselessness of the loss. Unable to accept that someone took her life. For those of us fortunate enough to know Carol, we each have cherished memories […]

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