Elin Stebbins Waldal

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Backseat Memories

Apr 10, 2016 By elinwaldal 26 Comments

Backseat Memories

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: Aging, Memories, Travel Tagged With: Aging, Backseat, memories, Road Trips, travel

Make a Splash

Jan 10, 2016 By elinwaldal 29 Comments

Make a Splash

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, 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 our day. […]

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

Empty Bowls

Nov 8, 2015 By elinwaldal 3 Comments

Empty Bowls

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, truth is, she is all about her empty bowls. First order of business […]

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: Dogs, Love

A Memorial Day Love Story

May 24, 2015 By Elin Stebbins Waldal 24 Comments

A Memorial Day Love Story

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

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

Pictures of You, Pictures of Me

Mar 13, 2015 By elinwaldal 22 Comments

Pictures of You, Pictures of Me

The Kodak paper envelope with its signature yellow color is as familiar as my reflection once was. And I feel my heart sink just a little when I realize there is not one picture of me in the 36 images from the developed role. It was 17 years ago. Other than I was the one […]

Filed Under: Living, Memories Tagged With: Aging, Motherhood, pictures, Time

The Act of Noticing

Jan 16, 2015 By elinwaldal 20 Comments

The Act of Noticing

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: Just Write, Parenting Tagged With: life observed, Love, mother and son, The Act of Noticing, Writing

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An excerpt from Tornado Warning, read by the author

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© Copyright Elin Stebbins Waldal and Beyond the Backyard Blues 2011 – 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Elin Stebbins Waldal is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must be in full and with clear credit given to Elin Stebbins Waldal, and Beyond the Backyard Blues, additionally, the appropriate and specific direction must be linked to the original content.

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