Summer Thoughts

Newsletter Time

I’ve decided to change things up a little and instead of stories or essays (I’ll still do those sometimes). I’m going to try a newsletter-type format for awhile and see if you guys like that. Here’s the first one.

FAMILY

It’s been a really busy month or two for my little family. For my new readers, I adopted my children as babies/toddlers years ago through the foster care system as a single parent.

It’s always been just the three of us and what an amazing journey it has been.

Today they are wonderful young people with very bright futures. Happy, healthy, beautiful, kind, compassionate, thriving. They make me so proud.

Hadley is 21 years old and he’s working full time while figuring out his next step and what career path he wants to pursue. He has many interests. Well, he wants to be a wealthy entrepreneur but don’t we all?! He’s handsome, funny, and very thoughtful.

While his paychecks go to things like expensive tennis shoes, cologne, and savings, he surprises me sometimes with items for the household, like an air fryer. Or he might bring home a Reese’s cup for his mama. So grateful for this wonderful young man I get to call son and friend.

Lexi is 18 years old and graduated magna cum laude from high school a couple of weeks ago. Joyful, authentic, beautiful, a leader, kind, a great friend to all, she’s a blur and is constantly on the go. She has a great big personality and great big plans for her future.

At the end of summer, she will depart from our home in Louisiana to attend college in Chicago. Very grateful for this wonderful young woman I get to call daughter and friend.

NO ACCIDENTS IN LIFE

The other day I thought about Reuben and Wanda for the first time in years. I met Reuben on my first week at a new job as a reporter at a large newspaper in Texas.

Reuben was a Jack of all trades. Nobody knew what his real job was. But one of his jobs was being a one-man unofficial welcoming committee.

He walked up to me in the newsroom, introduced himself, and said he had made me a leather keychain with my name on it - Lisa, and with hearts on both ends. I was touched. That was 30 years ago and I still have it and see it on my keychain every day.

When he gave it to me, like any piece of leather, it was hard and had no give to it. Over the years, the piece of leather became supple and the letters started to fade a little. I’m still touched when I think of his gift to me all those years ago.

Reuben was a very kind person and he had an effect on many people. One of them was Wanda. When Wanda first began working at the paper as a clerical person, she kept her head down, was shy, wore housecoat-type dresses, never wore makeup or fixed her hair. One day, I saw her husband dropping her off in front of the paper and he was yelling at her. In the elevator, just the two of us, she softly cried. I said, “Wanda, you deserve better.” She kept her eyes downcast and said, “I know.”

Enter Reuben. He became her friend, said a hearty hello to her every morning, smiled, encouraged her.

The months went by and there were changes in Wanda. A spring in her step, new clothes, a smart haircut, a little makeup.

Yes, the power of friendship! I don’t know where they are today and whether their friendship lasted or ultimately became something more but for a moment in time Wanda began shining like a diamond because of a beautiful spirit with the name of Reuben.

CELEB CORNER

It’s total escapism but I love celebrity news. There’s a lot of buzz lately in the entertainment world regarding the upcoming wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. As with any big celeb event, many details are unconfirmed. Wedding date? Possibly July 3, 2026. Guest list? Anybody and everybody in the who’s who of the celebrity world.

Speaking of Taylor, I love her new song for Toy Story 5, “I Knew It, I Knew You.” Precious song and brings back wonderful memories of watching the Toy Story movies with my kids throughout their childhood.

On another note, I’ve followed journalist David Begnaud for years and really enjoy his uplifting stories. He did something a little different recently - an interview series with actress Sharon Stone. Very interesting interviews and I was surprised to learn things about her I never knew.

She sought approval and love from her mother until the day her mom died but said she never got it. She’s so naturally beautiful and quite articulate. Stone has three sons, Roan, 26; Laird, 21; and Quinn, 20.

If you go to David’s page and follow him, you can access the interviews as well as all of his other stories.

THIS MONTH’S FUNNY

I got a new, shorter haircut recently and I wasn’t expecting the reactions I got from my kids. My son said it reminded him of Edna from the movie “Incredibles.”

He pulled up a picture and it made all of us laugh. My daughter said, “Is that the haircut you really asked for?” OK, maybe not my best haircut ever but I still like it!

SCAM ALERT

One of the latest scams involves people online pretending to be celebrities and cheating people out of thousands of dollars. Be cautious and always make sure who you are talking to is who they say they are! A couple recently got scammed out of their life savings after thinking they were talking to actor Tom Selleck for months. Stay alert!

THANK YOU!

I appreciate all of you! If you aren’t already, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Slow and steady wins the race. I’m relatively new to Substack but already have paid subscribers and more than 50 other subscribers. My goal is 500 subscribers in the next few months. Thank you for being here!