Subscribe
And you will receive an email for new articles by Amy Laundrie
In Honor of Fathers
It was 2007, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I walked into the funeral home for my beloved step-father’s visitation. He’d married my mother a few years after my father died, when I was in my late twenties. Needing to work up courage before I viewed his body, I read the cards on […]
Your Bucket List
On a beautiful spring morning at Baraboo’s International Crane Foundation, friends and I talk about people who have recently passed away. One friend says, “I told my husband we’re at the age when we need to check the obituaries every time the paper comes out.” I agree. Others nod as well. Our tour begins and […]
Mystery Bird
Earlier this year, I had fun with mystery columns on a local man, woman, and business. Now see if you can guess this mystery bird. The bird whose scientific name is Cathartes aura flew directly over my head last night as I was finishing up some gardening chores. A second, third, fourth, and a fifth […]
The Value of Cemeteries
My daughter Heidi flew in from California over Mother’s Day to spend time with me. Since her two boys weren’t along, we had the chance to dine out, visit Madison’s botanical garden, kayak the Wisconsin River, and have a memorial walk around the Spring Grove Cemetery. A few years ago, my husband and I debated […]
Tell Your Story
“To survive, you must tell stories.” Umberto Eco, Italian philosopher Two weeks ago in my Mother’s Day column, I talked about Mom telling me she’d gotten angry with my father and had cut her wedding dress up to made curtains. My mother and I had been interrupted and I’d never thought to ask her about […]
Memory Scraps on Mother’s Day
You might be like me, motherless on Mother’s Day. My mother was a smoker who quit her Raleigh cigarettes too late. It’s been 16 years since I last heard her voice and laughter, was warmed by her smile, or saw her face light up when I came for a visit. My memories of her are […]
May: The Perfect Month for Chuckles
According to “The Teacher’s Calendar,” May is National Teaching and Joy Month. If you’re like most of us, you could use some joy and maybe even a chuckle, so sit back and enjoy this collection of classics. Thanks to fellow teachers who shared. I’d set up an incubator with quail eggs so all interested students […]