Category Archives: The Union-Recorder

There’s a famous line, “remember, remember, the 5th of November.” I don’t mention it in order to wander off on a history lesson. I do mention it for the sake of how ominous that line is. I am sure not to forget the 5th of this November. On that very day, while dealing with my own stresses at work, my husband lost his job. So indeed, the fifth of November will likely have some significance for us for some time to come.

You never know when life’s unpredictability will affect you. Life had already been stressed. Despite my medication my seasonal depression was already creeping in. I had been stressed out by matters at work that were of course out of my control. And then, upon reaching home, I could sense that something was different with my husband. He was somber, a quality I don’t usually use to describe him. Not too long after settling in, he broke the news to me. I went silent. I thought that my heart had stopped but I’m sure that was just me making the moment more poignant. I sat for a moment, not believing that what I heard was true. We had been so blessed for the past year and now it seemed to be crashing down.

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October 19th was Evaluate Your Life Day. It’s a yearly thing! Honestly, there seems to be a day for everything! Sure, I could talk about the government shutdown, national healthcare, or any number of disappointingly frustrating things. Rather, I’ll reflect on more positive things such as evaluating one’s life. It’s never too early or too late to do so. We should always take the time to reflect upon the person we are, would like to be, and the person we once were.

This seems to be a topic I circle with many of my articles. And depending on how you look at it, evaluating your life allows you to take stock of everything or just the things you’d like to really reflect on. I believe I’ve been doing a lot of that lately. It has included jotting down and prioritizing a list of things that are important to me, defining who I am, looking at my approach to life as well as a few others that I’d like to go into. Read the rest of this entry »

While reading a book by my current favorite author, Grace Burrowes, I was forced to give pause by a few words made by the book’s titular character. “Life doesn’t owe us happiness.” In the day-to-day living of life one can’t help but to think, what does life owe us? Or are we the ones who owe life something?

There are days when I feel as though life just isn’t fair. I think that the vast majority of people can attest to that. Life sometimes feels like it has more downs than ups. I know that I can say this not solely as someone who has battled depression the majority of my adult life. For all of us life can be, well, life. Sure, we’re often told to think about how great we may have it in comparison to those who have a great deal less. However, I think doing so is only for the sake of trying to keep some perspective. Read the rest of this entry »

I have found that I have become a person who watches television shows after they’ve already ended. This was definitely the case with The West Wing and even Firefly. I voraciously watched all seven years of The West Wing in a month earlier this year which was many years after its last episode aired. In so doing I was able to watch it when I was really ready and when I could appreciate it more. That’s the great thing about services like Netflix, a television series is never really over. When the screen fades to black, it doesn’t mean that it’s truly over. It may signal the beginning for a new generation of fans. Read the rest of this entry »

Two years ago I wrote a web-exclusive article about my abstinence from social networking. I can’t help feeling the need to drag it back out, polish it, and put it back out there. What’s different now? Well, rather than abstain from social networking for a week, which had previously been my goal, I’m going to do it for the remainder of the month. Thus, I’ve dubbed this my Social Networking Abstinence Month. Why? Because much like taking a shower or brushing my teeth, it’s become something that is among the long list of things I feel I’m to do in the course of an already very busy day. At times I feel like being on Facebook, Twitter, and other networks is like a second job. It can be quite exhausting and I just needed a break. I assure you that it’s not forever. How can it be? Social Networks have become something that you can’t get away from no matter how hard you may try. So much so, there are some companies that use social networks rather than having an actual website. And, for as many bad things there are about using them, it’s hands down the easiest and fastest way to keep in touch with the people you care about. Read the rest of this entry »