Entries by Amanda Waggener

Good Bye Teenager

Today Iā€™m giving myself a little pat on the back and a ā€œgood job, you made it.ā€ This self-congratulating is because today is my daughterā€™s birthday. Ā Good bye teenager. Ā Hello 20s. Ā Sheā€™s alive and thriving.Ā  I still have most of my hair left and pieces of my sanity remain intact as well despite the last […]

Grateful Rage

2020, as sh!tty as it has been, has not been the sh!tt!est of years that Iā€™ve ever had so on that scale I feel quite fortunate. I can quickly recall a couple years way worse for me. Covid19 struck both my teenagers several weeks ago, but they fared well and recovered quickly as young people […]

Beautiful Quarantined Easter

I venture to say that Easter 2020 wonā€™t be one we will ever forget. I doubt we will ever have the conversation that goes ā€œWhat year was is again when we couldnā€™t have an Easter program at church because of mass contagion?ā€ Itā€™s unlikely Iā€™ll ever be on the couch with my future grandchildren, looking […]

Corona Virus, Please Leave Starbucks Alone

On Christmas morning, after gifts were opened and before the extended family celebrations began, my husband and I went to Starbucks.Ā  It was like an extra gift to us that no one was in the drive thru. Ā The Starbucks angels were sitting there waiting on me to show up.Ā  But they werenā€™t.Ā  The friendly voice […]

FB Memories

My dad was battling brain cancer. We had 2 pre-teen middle schoolers. Job changes were around the corner for both of us. Volunteering at school, sitting on boards, leading a team at church; to list a few. We were on the move. We moved so fast that itā€™s hard to recall all of it. These […]

90% Chivalrous 10% Caveman

90/10. Ā Thatā€™s the ideal ratio for my idea of the perfect guy.Ā  90% chivalrous, charming, thoughtful, laughs at your jokes, just because flowers, remembers your motherā€™s birthday, does his own laundry.Ā  10% drags you, consensually of course, to the bedroom like a caveman.Ā  This balance is delicate and necessary albeit hard to find. Ā If you […]

Hero Stand-In Mom

My husband and I walked into a restaurant on Saturday evening. We were taken to a table where a waitress quickly appeared asking for our drink order. Our 16-year-old sonā€™s band was the entertainment for the evening. The band was already on stage tuning up and preparing to perform when we walked in. They had […]

Anxiety Attack Epiphany

A few days ago, first thing in the morning, I had my first ever anxiety attack. Ā I was sitting on the couch, eating my breakfast and watching the local news when my heart began racing. The Fitbit I was wearing on my wrist clocked that my heartrate jumped from 57 bpm to 189 in a […]

Outwardly Calm, Inwardly Turbulent

Outwardly calm, inwardly turbulent. Ā I took this pic from the window of an airplane yesterday. It was a beautiful, mild, spring day with blue skies and a spackling of fluffy white clouds. The sky looked calm and peaceful, yet the flight was riddled with turbulence. We were instructed by the pilot to stay buckled up […]

No Thanks I’m Just Not Interested

No thanks. I donā€™t want to join your Body Pump Class. I appreciate you thinking of me though. Iā€™m sure itā€™s great. Youā€™re great. Iā€™m just not interested. Iā€™m cool with yoga only because, for the most part, people keep their eyes closed in a meditative state and arenā€™t judging me for my middle-aged-mom-of-two-lover-of-carbs body. […]