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Recent Posts
Colliding with Social Cues
What social cues did your parents teach you to observe?
Roberta Sarver
2 days ago3 min read
12 views
0 comments
Corrie ten Boom: The Power of Forgiveness
A lesson in forgiveness.
Roberta Sarver
Apr 163 min read
31 views
1 comment
A Hot Mess
Laughter really does good like a medicine.
Roberta Sarver
Apr 102 min read
66 views
0 comments
Cousin Rufus and Sensitivity Training
The old mountaineer learns to walk on cultural eggshells.
Roberta Sarver
Apr 42 min read
19 views
0 comments
Sneaky Sandwiches
Who could guess they were burnt on the bottom? “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be...
Roberta Sarver
Mar 273 min read
24 views
0 comments
Cousin Rufus on the Economy
Image by Ilona Ilyés from Pixabay We hear a lot about the economy in the news. I thought it would be fun to rework a former post about...
Roberta Sarver
Mar 212 min read
15 views
0 comments
If Dogs Could Text
If only dogs had thumbs.
Roberta Sarver
Mar 132 min read
19 views
0 comments
The Unlikely Connection Between Shoes, Post-It Notes, and the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled Team
Jan Earnst Matzeliger, 1852-1889 Who knew that one young man saving scrap metal, old cigar boxes and pieces of wire could obtain a major...
Roberta Sarver
Mar 62 min read
13 views
0 comments
Life with the Brady Bunch
This guest post was written by our daughter, Jen, when she was in college several years ago. Enjoy the perspective of one who grew up...
Roberta Sarver
Feb 273 min read
66 views
2 comments
The Other Faces on Mount Rushmore-Part Two
Which president's likeness is carved on Mount Rushmore between Washington and Roosevelt? Hint: his image also is on the $2 bill and the...
Roberta Sarver
Feb 202 min read
19 views
0 comments
The Other Faces on Mount Rushmore-Part One
Visiting Mount Rushmore is on many families' summer bucket list. Here's one reason why.
Roberta Sarver
Feb 172 min read
18 views
0 comments
Social Mishaps
What could be more embarrassing than a fall in a public place?
Roberta Sarver
Feb 132 min read
45 views
0 comments
LESSONS FROM THE RECOVERY ROOM
You can do what you have to do, whether you feel like it or not.
Roberta Sarver
Feb 62 min read
60 views
0 comments
Parenting Tips: How to Be Your Child's Lie Detector
Parents: don't let your kids see this post.
Roberta Sarver
Jan 313 min read
38 views
0 comments
Raising Kids for Success
A new year is here. To parents, it means a fresh start at molding children into productive citizens - training them to be thoughtful,...
Roberta Sarver
Jan 233 min read
30 views
0 comments
Is That All? A True Story
Special thanks to prolific author PeggySue Wells for permission to use her writing on this week's guest post. ...
Roberta Sarver
Jan 164 min read
37 views
0 comments
We Survived Play in the Good Old Days
The picture showed a family riding bikes, all wearing helmets and safety gear. Poor things, they’ll never know the freedom of zipping...
Roberta Sarver
Jan 84 min read
40 views
2 comments
New Year Challenge
This is the week we talk about New Year’s resolutions. And, if you’re like some of us, yours may not last long. I would like to take a...
Roberta Sarver
Jan 22 min read
50 views
0 comments
The Christmas Truce of 1914
Sometimes the best Christmas gifts can’t be wrapped in paper and tied with ribbons. Sometimes they touch the heart more than what we...
Roberta Sarver
Dec 24, 20242 min read
16 views
0 comments
The Christmas We Never Forgot
Simple but meaningful family celebration
Roberta Sarver
Dec 22, 20242 min read
56 views
0 comments
Christmas Gifts: What They Left Behind
Unusual gift-giving by those in the first Christmas.
Roberta Sarver
Dec 21, 20243 min read
26 views
0 comments
Christmas at Poverty Flats
Simple Christmas memories for a struggling farm family
Roberta Sarver
Dec 18, 20243 min read
59 views
0 comments
Surviving Christmas Visits with Young Children
Managing peaceful visits with the grands So you’ve committed to hosting the family Christmas get-together at your house. What were you...
Roberta Sarver
Dec 16, 20242 min read
33 views
0 comments
Yankee Schoolteacher's (Almost) Last Day
Two angry horses and a clueless teacher
Roberta Sarver
Dec 5, 20243 min read
67 views
0 comments
Copy of Thanks Living at Thanksgiving
Amid the flurry of activity this week, I was reminded of the reason we’re getting together on Thursday. We’re supposed to emulate the...
Roberta Sarver
Nov 28, 20242 min read
36 views
0 comments
How to Recover Your Memory
Did you hear about the lady who drove away from the gas pump with the nozzle still in her tank? She probably wished she had signed up for...
Roberta Sarver
Nov 21, 20242 min read
31 views
0 comments
Hearing Loss: It Helps If You Laugh
Do you ever feel frustrated with a friend or relative who has hearing loss? Wish you could help? Then read this insider's view. My...
Roberta Sarver
Nov 14, 20243 min read
54 views
2 comments
I'm Silently Correcting Your Grammar
Grammar foibles from our friends
Roberta Sarver
Nov 7, 20241 min read
70 views
1 comment
Celestial Piano Lessons
Unique piano lessons for one pastor's wife.
Roberta Sarver
Oct 31, 20242 min read
48 views
0 comments
Drawn Swords/Help, Lord!
How one associate pastor dealt with conflict
Roberta Sarver
Oct 24, 20242 min read
62 views
0 comments
The Cattle on a Thousand Hills
Unusual answers to prayer
Roberta Sarver
Oct 17, 20243 min read
86 views
0 comments
Copy of Finding Buck
Did you ever cross paths with someone who was both loveable and exasperating at the same time? Then you will understand in our early...
Roberta Sarver
Oct 10, 20243 min read
38 views
0 comments
Cousin Cletus and Technology
Dear Cousin Rufus, Greetings from the city...er, country. Not much goin’ on here except shoppin' once in a while and rakin’ leaves in the...
Roberta Sarver
Oct 4, 20242 min read
27 views
0 comments
Five Things I Learned from People Over 50
Answering those who get annoyed with habits of people over 50
Roberta Sarver
Sep 27, 20242 min read
52 views
0 comments
Ordinary People Who Changed History
God often doesn't call the qualified; he qualifies the called.
Roberta Sarver
Sep 19, 20242 min read
55 views
0 comments
View from the Empty Nest
Empty Nest Syndrome: aka Parental PTSD
Roberta Sarver
Sep 14, 20242 min read
43 views
0 comments
Copy of Life's Simple Pleasures
In honor of Grandparents' Day this Sunday, I submit the following from a longtime grandma - me. Anyone who grew up in the last century...
Roberta Sarver
Sep 6, 20242 min read
58 views
0 comments
In Defense of Introverts
Some people are born salespersons. They could sell freezers to Eskimos. Then there are the rest of us. I usually end up giving away...
Roberta Sarver
Aug 29, 20242 min read
42 views
0 comments
The Unlikely Connection Between Shoes, Post-It Notes, and the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled Team
Jan Earnst Matzeliger, 1852-1889 Who knew that one young man saving scrap metal, old cigar boxes and pieces of wire could obtain a major...
Roberta Sarver
Aug 22, 20242 min read
38 views
0 comments
What It's Like to Be a Dad
Why kids adore their dads.
Roberta Sarver
Aug 20, 20241 min read
50 views
0 comments
The Other Faces on Mount Rushmore-Part One
Just in time for President's Day
Roberta Sarver
Aug 1, 20242 min read
52 views
0 comments
Murphy's Law: Assault by Batteries
A car that's toast, and three other headaches.
Roberta Sarver
Jul 25, 20243 min read
53 views
0 comments
The Summer We Hope to Forget
After living in church parsonages for many years, we felt elated to buy a place of our own. However, we weren't prepared for the hazards...
Roberta Sarver
Jul 18, 20243 min read
52 views
2 comments
The Worth of a Dad
What kids said about their dad.
Roberta Sarver
Jul 11, 20243 min read
48 views
0 comments
First Father Facts
I thought it might be enlightening to dig up little-known facts about the man we call the father of our country. You will find...
Roberta Sarver
Jul 4, 20243 min read
61 views
0 comments
View from the Bottom Rung
Eye-opening experiences at a homeless mission
Roberta Sarver
Jun 27, 20243 min read
52 views
0 comments
Ridding Your Home of Two-Legged Pests
Warm summer months are here. When we moved to the Midwest, we learned to deal with mosquitos, chiggers, ticks, and a variety of pests...
Roberta Sarver
Jun 20, 20243 min read
66 views
0 comments
Nathanael Greene: Quaker Turned Military Hero
What does a peace-loving Quaker do when an outside nation threatens his way of life? That was the issue faced by Nathanael Greene nearly...
Roberta Sarver
Jun 13, 20242 min read
31 views
0 comments
Granddaddy's Ten Rules For Livin'
Age-old wisdom from an Ozark mountaineer.
Roberta Sarver
Jun 6, 20242 min read
142 views
0 comments
Graduation Humor
With all the hoopla surrounding commencement speeches, I thought a little humor might lighten things up a bit. Am I the only one who...
Roberta Sarver
May 30, 20242 min read
113 views
0 comments
About Me
I am a wife and mom who also happens to be an English teacher and a newspaper columnist. And, I am the daughter of one of those armchair wits.
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During my childhood, as we sat around the supper table—we were country people who called it supper—our dad told funny stories about things that happened to him that day. And, often he punctuated them with comments about human nature.
It is in tribute to those wonderful insights that I offer this blog, which may make you chuckle and say, “Been there; done that.”
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