I am the oldest daughter. My behavior proves it. I am the stereotypical blueprint. I am independent. I like you, but I will never need you. I carried everyone’s mental load. Asking for help feels …

When something deeply disturbs me, I will sometimes mull it over in my mind before I say something. I know it needs to be brought up for everyone’s good. Somebody has to say it. I don’t profess …

I am sitting here, listening to the sounds of silence, something I could rarely do in my lifetime. The sun is shining through the east window, and I am loving every minute of it. I am not a morning …

Sometimes my brain hits a roadblock, and my column doesn’t get written. It happened last week. I reminded myself of Sergeant Klink from “Hogan’s Heroes.” I see no-tink, I hear no-tink, I know …

Three funerals within a week. The last of my Tescher aunts passed. Aunt Betty. She was married to my dad’s brother Alvin. The end of a generation. We also lost another Tescher cousin: Jeff, my Aunt …

I am harried, again. It’s my own fault. I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew. I also have the right to say no, I just don’t have the ability. Of course, some things are beyond my …

Do you have a hero? Today it is hard to find one. Fewer and fewer people qualify as heroes, especially in the big-name categories. There are certain criteria to be a hero. The biggest is staying true …

I’m not sure what rodeo announcers don’t get about scores. They keep telling us how this one Canadian bronc rider has the highest score ever in pro rodeo. They fail to mention it was a Canadian …

My cousin’s son just posted a memory of mine on Facebook. Jordan Tescher held a family softball game. He is carrying on a Tescher family tradition Family softball games were held often over the …

That darned old woman is still trying to get in. No matter how hard I try to shut that door, she keeps pushing. The other night after the youth rodeo, thanks to her, I fell. Fell on the street, …

I was just reading about root cellars. We had one at home, and it was used. It was in the basement, had a dirt floor, shelves for canned goods, and bins for root vegetables. It had a pipe vent to the …

We call it the “cat house” for a good reason. It is where the feral cats live in our little town, and it is across the street from our house. The house is abandoned, and the basement is caving …

I have experienced several God moments, and God smacks. In the end, the smacks are probably God moments in disguise. The streets in Beach are under construction. They have been most of the summer. …

You would think that when you are retired, you would be less busy. I had to think again. Last week I didn’t get a column written because I am retired. I am getting lots of things done, though, just …

We had only hours to get everything done, and the temperature was in the 100s. I was given part of a house full of antiques and collectibles if I loaded them right away. I called in all the troops. …

In this day and age, it is amazing to me that anyone even thinks about fashion being “age” appropriate. “They” want to shove so many inappropriate things down our throats all the time, and …

I finally got dirt under my fingernails and was getting up and down like a “boss” great-grandma. I learned a new technique. I’d bend my repaired knee, put my hand on it, and push myself up. …

Sometimes my mind comes up with some curious thoughts. I often wonder why I have such deep feelings about some of the ways I feel. Why do I relate so much to certain things I have never experienced? …

Well, we are going to give it a whirl. My daughter, granddaughters, and I are going to open an antique/collectible shop in Sentinel Butte. We paid the rent and deposit, and that is when we got sick. …

I think this is the most upside-down, unorganized my life has ever been, and I am not handling it well. Everything, and I mean everything, is a mess. My house, my wash, my dishes, my yard, and my …