Elin Stebbins Waldal

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Backseat Memories

Apr 10, 2016 By elinwaldal 26 Comments

One of my earliest childhood memories finds me nestled in the back of a wood-paneled station wagon with my brothers and sister, crocheted afghans pulled to our necks, eyes fixed on the ceiling of the car, and little padding for our backs. Above us, centered in the beam cast from streetlights and traveling cars, our hand-shadow puppets danced across a stage until the […]

Filed Under: Childhood Memories Tagged With: memories, Road Trips, travel

Make a Splash

Jan 10, 2016 By elinwaldal 29 Comments

The alarm sounds, the mind wakes up, and unless we are on vacation, our to-do list unfurls itself in our head. We roll out of bed and think, what do I have to do today? The unfurled list follows us to the bathroom. Joins us in the shower and then rides shotgun as we make our way through […]

Filed Under: Life Lessons Tagged With: Death, Life, Living, To-do list

Empty Bowls

Nov 8, 2015 By elinwaldal 3 Comments

Too old to climb stairs, mornings begin with a welcome sigh of relief from our dog, Chinook; she sleeps at the base of them on her bed, and although I pretend her eager tail wag is a euphoric response to my arrival downstairs, the truth is, she is all about her empty bowls. The first order […]

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: Dogs, Love

Fear is a four letter word

Sep 28, 2015 By elinwaldal 2 Comments

Last October I faced my decades-old fear of the ocean by simply getting wet. You know, the up to your knees kind of wet. I had reached a point in my life where I realized that only I could redefine what getting older meant to me and I was determined not to lead a life […]

Filed Under: All things Midlife Tagged With: Facing Fear, Midlife, Ocean

A Memorial Day Love Story

May 24, 2015 By Elin Stebbins Waldal 24 Comments

Because my mother is no longer alive to ask, I try to imagine the emotions that would have been swirling through her mind as she entered Penn Station on an unknown day in early January of 1944—fear, excitement—surely she must have experienced both. It was cold then, temperatures hovered around 27 degrees—and although I don’t […]

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: Love Story, Memorial Day, WASP, WWII

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