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

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

Dear 16 Year Old Me

May 14, 2015 By elinwaldal 13 Comments

Dear 16-Year-Old Me, Just you wait. Oh, how I cringe when I hear those three words. I cringe because what is inferred is this: you don’t have a clue, you haven’t seen anything yet because the life you have led thus far doesn’t measure up to what someone else has experienced. Truth is, I don’t […]

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Dear 16 Year Old Me, Dear Daughter, Dear Son, Parenting, Teenagers

The Act of Noticing

Jan 16, 2015 By elinwaldal 20 Comments

For years I had been in the habit of carrying a notebook, a catch-all where I collected bits and pieces of things that interested me — quotes, observations, facts — all notations that begged me to return to them. Then I read The Memoir Project, A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life, written by Marion Roach […]

Filed Under: On being a parent Tagged With: life observed, Love, mother and son, The Act of Noticing, Writing

Books and Memories

Dec 9, 2014 By elinwaldal 14 Comments

Books and memories…for me they go together in a way that elicits feelings of love. When I look back as far as my mind’s eye will take me, I can’t see a period of time that didn’t include books. According to my mother, my first favorite was Pat the Bunny. Mom had a story, which by all appearances was […]

Filed Under: NaBloPoMo Dec 14, On being a parent Tagged With: Bedtime Stories, Children's Books, memories, NaBloPoMo Dec 14, Parenting, reading, Rituals

The Joy of Rain

Dec 4, 2014 By elinwaldal 10 Comments

It’s no secret that California has been suffering from drought. In case you aren’t sure what that looks like…here’s a visual from Central Valley.     Living further south than the image above, I have often felt starved for weather. Come fall, without fail, I threaten to move. Given we have lived in SoCal for 18 […]

Filed Under: Music, NaBloPoMo Dec 14 Tagged With: Joy, Music, NaBloPoMo Dec 14

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