Tag: Nicole Phillips

We’re coming upon a season of great celebration. My mailbox is full of pictures of fresh young faces excited to begin a new chapter of life. You can see by the twinkle in their eyes that they are looking forward to saying goodbye to cafeteria lunches and study halls.

Parents are frantically sweeping out garages and hunting down folding tables in ... Read More


The same guy who has photographed the Dalai Lama, Jimmy Fallon and about a gazillion other famous people came over to my house last night to photograph my daughter. I’m not even kidding.

And it’s all because of you.

Remember last fall when my 11 year old was selling “Cozies for the Cure” in anticipation of the first ever Athens Race for ... Read More


My husband, some hotshot. Saul got to speak the other night at the Athens High School Senior Athletic Banquet. The speech itself was good, but I got the benefit of hearing all of the rough drafts. Most of them were takes off of Chris Farley’s Saturday Night Live character who talks about living in a van down by the river. ... Read More


I was sitting in my basement a few weeks ago with tears streaming down my face. The room was dark except for the glow of the television. It was a Saturday night and I was four days out from my reconstructive surgery. Something was wrong. The pain was more intense than anything I had ever experienced in my life. No ... Read More


My friend called me “classy” yesterday, and she didn’t even say it sarcastically. I’m thinking she doesn’t know me very well…

I started to laugh and told her I had never been accused of being classy before. I have indeed been accused of being the exact opposite, but that’s another story hidden in the closet with the rest of my skeletons. ... Read More


Two years ago today I was sitting in a Fargo cafe with my bestie eating a decadent chocolate torte with tears streaming down our faces.

Don’t let our cheery smiles fool you. We were both absolute wrecks. I was moments away from packing up my minivan and moving 16 hours away.

 

One year ago, I was in Athens nervously awaiting test ... Read More


If I don’t write this down, I know I’ll forget it. I don’t want to forget. I want to remember Tuesday for the rest of my life.

Tuesday was the day I went into my son’s kindergarten class for the last time.

Ben’s teacher has given me 30 minutes in the classroom each week for a mini-session I affectionately refer to as ... Read More


Have you ever had a time in your life that seemed to call for a fast-forward button? Maybe it was a painful breakup or season of illness or time of great loss. You would have given anything to grab the remote and skip to the next scene, the one where everyone is happy and reunited and reminiscing over a glass ... Read More


Pain is like a really mean bully. You look him in the eye and say “You’re not so tough,” and then he punches you in the face and you realize you were wrong. He is so tough.

I was recovering nicely from last Tuesday’s reconstruction surgery. So well, in fact, that I decided to go to my daughter’s volleyball game ... Read More


Quite a few months ago, I got a little black box in the mail. On the front, in simple letters, it said, “How kind of you.” I hadn’t done anything particularly nice that I could remember, so I couldn’t imagine who would be sending it to me.

Now, perhaps you should know, I am a sucker for things that come in ... Read More