Three Days in Singapore

January 29, 2026 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

I accompanied Bobby on a work trip to Singapore. We set out on October 13, 2025. Getting there took even longer than planned because of a four hour delay at JFK. We got manicures and pedicures, and went out to dinner to pass the time. We had an eight hour layover in Istanbul. We took a shuttle bus to a hotel where we slept for about two hours and then went back to the airport. It was nice to spend all that time alone with Bobby. During the long flights to and from Singapore, I watched the entire Harry Potter series (eight movies!), The Materialists, and Megalopolis.

I bought a Go City pass for seven attractions without knowing if I would have time to get to seven, but I worked it out and got to see more than seven.

Day One:

Big Bus Red Line Tour

Gardens by the Bay: Flower Dome

Gardens by the Bay: Cloud Forest

Gardens by the Bay: Supertree Grove

I went up on the Skyway and it was my favorite thing up to that point. It was like each attraction was better than the previous one. I took so many pictures and loved the views. It looked like it was going to thunderstorm any second, but it never did.

From the Gardens By the Bay website:

Come face to face with 12 of the Garden’s 18 Supertrees at the Supertree Grove! Rising up to 50 metres above ground, these iconic giants provide shade in the day and come alive with an exhilarating light and music show at night.

… More than just futuristic-looking structures, the Supertrees present a bold new way to grow and display plants.

… 7 of the Supertrees are designed to harvest solar energy

Gardens by the Bay: Floral Fantasy

This place was breathtaking. I don’t exactly know what it was – some sort of garden with a mixture of real plants and artificial plants – but it was gorgeous. It was also great that there were not many people around. With the sounds of relaxing music and waterfalls it was a nice place to sit and meditate. I spent awhile in there, feeling grateful for the beauty, and the AC.

Big Bus Yellow Line Tour

Next I walked through the amazing Marina Bay Sands hotel to get to the bus stop for the yellow line tour. This brought me around the other side of the city, by the botanic gardens, hotels, churches, and lots of shopping galleries. I could see some interesting architecture as I rode by, but I had no interest in getting off the bus to shop.

Raffles Hotel & Chijmes

Here’s where I got off the bus to see the hotel where the Singapore Sling drink was created. I never drank one, and hopefully, never will. I walked over to another site called Chijmes, which was a filming location in the movie, Crazy Rich Asians.

Boat Quay & Merlion Park

At night, Bobby was free and we ate dinner together. (I took pictures of the subway because it was as clean as I heard it would be.) We went to a restaurant at the Boat Quay for dinner. Then we walked around and the lights were really pretty. We headed to Merlion Park because I wanted to see the Merlion statue, and the light show at the Marina Bay Sands. It was kind of dull because we couldn’t really hear the music, but it was pretty. I never did make it to the light show at the Supertree Grove.

Day Two:

Metropolitan YMCA Hotel

The hotel we stayed in was not in downtown Singapore, but the walk to the subway was not very far. There were also bus stops nearby, but when I tried to take a bus one time, it really didn’t work out, and I stuck with the subway after that. The hotel provided us with breakfast, so that was convenient. I canceled the downtown bike tour I had booked for Day Three. I would have been riding around the same areas that I had seen on the red and yellow line bus tours, and more importantly, I really didn’t want to be riding a bike in the hot, humid weather.

On the second day, I went to two sections of the zoo. I would’ve loved to have seen the Singapore Zoo, the River Wonders, and the Night Safari, but there just wasn’t enough time. So I picked what sounded most interesting to me, Bird Paradise, and a park called Rainforest Wild Asia because it was right next to it. I was not disappointed. Both parks were amazing. I got tired out at the rainforest because I had been walking in the heat and humidity for quite a while. I was drenched with sweat that day, but I loved it (the parks, not being sweaty) and took way too many pictures.

Bird Paradise

Rainforest Wild Asia

Day Three:

At night on Day Two, I planned what I would do on Day Three, which was to explore Sentosa. I decided to take the Singapore cable car ride (one of the Go City attractions) to get to the island. I already had a reservation in the afternoon for an observation deck at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. I had anxiety that the cable cars would be crowded and I would have to wait in a long line and not make it back in time for the reservation. Also, taking a subway there was gonna take an hour, so I ended up getting an Uber type ride, with an app called Grab. As is usually the case with projecting negatively into the future, there was no need to worry. I rode in my very own cable car because I was the only one there.

Singapore Cable Car

I really wished I had more time to spend on the island of Sentosa. There was a Universal Studios theme park, a wax museum and more…but I would have loved to spend a whole day (or week) at the beaches.

Madame Tussauds (with a Harry Styles banner)

On Sentosa, I found my way to the beach station and got on the tram. I stopped at Tanjong Beach, then walked over to Palawan Beach. I crossed over the rope bridge and climbed the two watch towers. I guess I made it to the islet known as the southernmost point of continental Asia. The views were beautiful. I so wanted to plop down on the beach for the day, but since I only had two hours, I made my way to Siloso Beach. (On the way I ate some gelato for lunch.) This place was empty, so I left my backpack unattended and went in the water up to my waist. I was wearing a bathing suit, but I only brought bottoms to change into so I didn’t want to get my upper body wet. The water was warm and wonderful. After a few minutes, I went to the changing room, back to the beach tram, and then I took the Sentosa express to a station where I was able to pick up a subway to the Marina Bay Sands hotel. I arrived on schedule.

Observation Deck

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel is no doubt the nicest hotel I’ve ever seen. And it probably should be the nicest because I think it cost $8 billion dollars to build. I probably could’ve spent a day exploring it. The observation deck was a comfortable space, not too crowded, and offering beautiful views.

Next up was a shower back at the hotel and a Grab ride to Mass. (I wore a pretty white dress and I didn’t wanna get it all sweaty before the banquet I would be attending with Bobby that evening.)

Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

So these are some of the things that I saw and experienced in three days in Singapore. Traveling home, we had a layover in Hong Kong. It was a very long way from home. I always get a little nervous before I leave my family, thinking of going so far away from them. I didn’t even know where Singapore was on a map before this trip. It was not only enjoyable, it was also a learning experience. I’m grateful that I had this opportunity.

Blogging in the New Year

January 4, 2026 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

As you can see, I made myself an index card for blogging to put in my Sidetracked Home Executives index card system. So… it’s official. I’m gonna be blogging regularly now.

I’m just wondering if I should start with a catch-up post. I have a whole list of blog post ideas in my beautiful, new 2026 planner, but I just looked through the photos on my iPhone, and I have loads of good ones to share. I still have a draft called “Three Days in Singapore” that was left unfinished before I completed the first day, but that can wait.

I think I just have to accept the fact that, although I want this blog to be about books and ideas, (someday soon I hope), it is also my online journal. It’s the place where I share where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing. And when I go too long between posts, it ends up being very list-like.

Mary got her braces off and got new glasses with progressive lenses.
I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to replace old gasoline by way of funneling it into our truck. So what if I bought two different funnels, (the first didn’t work out) and then I found the original one in the basement a few days later, and I had to prop my arms up (in the freezing cold) on our trashcan to be able to pour the gasoline in. I got the job done.
I brought Twinkie to his annual vet appointment. He’s a healthy guy. Still haven’t dropped off his stool sample yet.
Halloween was uneventful. It was the first year that none of my children went trick-or-treating.
I spent time decluttering and cleaning and organizing the basement. I always have the urge to do this around the beginning of November. I made a lot of progress in the basement. I’d say I’m over halfway through, maybe even 3/4.
There was lawn mowing and “winterizing” the house.
My birthday was wonderful. The kids all hung out with me and we worked on a puzzle together.
I had a plumber come in to replace a toilet and electricians fixed a bunch of things that were broken, hung up 2 new light fixtures, replaced outlets and switch plates in the last of the rooms downstairs that hadn’t been changed.
Hannah played Lavender in the musical Matilda at her high school.
I went on another Miles Christi silent Ignatian Spiritual Exercises retreat. My friend Carol drove us. Though I told myself I would start my resolutions immediately, once again I’m starting in January.
I spent at least a week prepping and painting the dining room. And a whole day hanging up the curtain rods and new drapes.
One night in November, Bobby and I went out on a date in Amherst and we came home with a new Christmas tree from the Hadley Home Depot. I think it’s gonna save me a lot of time in packing away the decorations. It’s pre-lit and works almost like an umbrella. I think it’ll be much more fun to take down, than an hour of circling around the tree to remove the lights, and then removing and carefully packing every layer of branches.
I spent a day with my father when he had a cardiac catheterization. He had a new stent put in, and he seems to be doing well now.

We hosted Thanksgiving as usual. We ate in the newly painted dining room. I didn’t quite finish the room because we were talking about sconces or pendant lighting above the table, so I’m waiting to hang up pictures until we make a decision about that. On the night before Thanksgiving, we started watching season 5 of Stranger Things. For some reason, Bobby always calls Vecna “Vector”.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is always our traditional tree trimming party. Matthew and Anna came over. After we decorated the house and tree, we watched the movie Elf and my 55 years of Christmases slideshow.
I started reading the book Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy during Advent. I finished it at the end of the year and will definitely be writing about that soon.
When it snows during the week, I’m in charge of snow removal because Bobby’s in New York.
Bobby had to go to Providence, Rhode Island for the first weekend in December. Rachel, Hannah and I joined him, and the girls and I took a day trip to Newport, where we toured three of the mansions there. It was really interesting.

Sarah was student teaching at a high school this fall. We attended the concert where she accompanied the vocalists on the piano, and then conducted a song on stage for the first time. She is now officially done with her bachelor’s degree in music with a concentration in education. Exactly one week later we were at my nephew Edward’s high school band’s winter concert. It was his last one because he’s a senior.
Rachel and I went with Hannah to see Merrily We Roll Along at Cinemark. She was supposed to see the filmed play starring Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe for a class. I loved it and gave it five stars and a heart on Letterboxd.
We celebrated Matthew‘s 27th and Joseph’s 25th birthdays together since they are back to back on December 11 and 12th.
Bobby and I spent a weekend in New York City with my sister and her boys and one of their girlfriends. We visited Rockefeller Center and Fifth Avenue, looking at decorations, had some nice meals out at restaurants, and waited in a long line to go in FAO Schwartz. We tried to look around the Winter Village at Bryant Park, but it was too crazy crowded there. On Sunday we woke up to snow on the ground. Bobby and I walked to Mass and took pictures of the winter wonderland on Morningside Drive on the way home.
Joe got a new job working at Peter Pan. He works in a cubicle now.
I spent a ton of time shopping and wrapping presents and watching not so great Christmas movies, so I could scratch them off of my 100 Christmas Movies poster that I received as a gift last Christmas.
We did some Christmas puzzles, and made up our Christmas cards to send out. My mother said they were late because she received hers after Christmas, but liturgically, the Christmas season was just beginning. I’m not sure if that’s a rationalization for not sending them sooner.

Then came the four Christmases: Christmas Eve with my father’s family, Christmas Day, with our own immediate family, then Christmas with Bob’s family, and Christmas with my mom at my sister‘s house. We hosted the first three.
After dinner on Christmas Eve, we played a game with a big ball of Saran Wrap. Then we opened presents and played Christmas musical bingo. It was a lot of fun. I laughed a lot because my father put pictures of Harry Styles all over Hannah‘s gift and told me to say when I handed out the presents that there was no name on the package and I didn’t know who it was for. Of course, everyone knew it was for her. At night, I went to the Midnight Mass. It was so beautiful. The only picture I took was of the three younger girls, with Christina, in their choir gowns.
On Christmas morning, we have a tradition of eating Santa pancakes and bacon, then we open gifts. Then we spend some time cleaning up the mess, and relax.
Christmas with Bob’s family was extra special this year because both of our nephews were home and one of them is married and has a little girl named Ramona. It’s been a long time since we had a little one around. Can you guess what we gave her for a present? Books!
Christmas at my sister‘s house with my mom was very nice. We had brunch and I forgot to take pictures but Rachel got some of us laughing. My mom always makes us laugh.

During Bobby’s Christmas vacation, he wanted to go to New York City alone with me. It was like a three day date and very relaxing for both of us. We went to Brooklyn the first night to DUMBO and an Italian restaurant near a place with good views of the river and skyline. We watched a movie called Champagne Problems that my Dad recommended. It was a Netflix Hallmark type movie. I loved being in the cozy apartment at night with the skinny Christmas tree. The second night we watched It’s a Wonderful Life after another nice dinner, followed by a Grease parody play. I would have rather seen a Broadway play, but there was really nothing available for a decent price. We saw some beautiful Christmas decorations and got our steps in walking around the city. On the last day, I spent a lot of time reading and resting.
On New Year’s Eve, it was just the girls, Bobby and I home. We played games and watched the finale of Stranger Things. Then we watched the ball drop. We put out loads of snacks and then had to put them all away because we didn’t eat that much of them. And now I’m doing a new meal plan and workout plan. More on that in another post….

I’m all caught up now and ready for some regular blogging. Happy New Year!

A Slowing Down Pep Talk

August 24, 2025August 24, 2025 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

A staircase below a food court in Soho, NYC

I’m home again! Blogging on my hammock in the backyard. I will likely be home until mid-October. New York City with the six teenagers was fun. (I’ll show some pictures without people in them to protect their privacy.)

On Wednesday night we ate at the Carnegie Diner. I think we watched the new episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty when we got back to the apartment.

The next morning, I wrote my previous blog post and we didn’t go out until the afternoon. (They slept-in and takes a while for seven people to get ready with one bathroom.) We went to Brandy Melville and edikted, which were clothing stores I didn’t know existed. Then we went to two thrift shops, one that was crazy expensive and another, called The Reshop, which was decent. I think everyone was tired by that point, so we returned to the apartment and we had takeout for dinner. (V & T’s… our favorite nearby Italian restaurant.) One of Hannah‘s friends wanted to work out, which was cool because it also got me to work out. I hadn’t thought of it and didn’t bring workout clothes. The girls sang some karaoke songs, we went to Times Square, and ate gelato. When we got back to the apartment, I stayed up late in my bedroom while they stayed up late in the living room.

On our final day, Friday, I worked out again with Hannah‘s friend, and nobody was ready to go anywhere until it was time for us to bring two girls to Grand Central Station. On the way back, Hannah and I bought a couple of rolls of toilet paper because we ran out. 🤣 I took a long time eating and packing and cleaning the apartment before we left at 5 o’clock. And it was a long ride home. I’d do it again though. I forgot how fun it was to be a teenager. When I look back, I usually forget about sleepovers and going out with friends, and singing and dancing and giggling. I usually remember the angst, and the mistakes. What’s up with that?

Yesterday, I spent time with my other kids, my mother, and then my father and his partner Cheryl. And now I’m resting. I’m trying to do not much of anything. When I was journaling earlier, I wrote: too busy to pray = TOO BUSY. As you probably know, the reoccurring theme of this blog is “slowing down.” So that’s what I’m doing today. I’m remembering my priorities. I’ll do some weekly planning, making sure to plan to do “first things first.” And if there’s not a lot of white space in my planner around the “first things” and the “have-to’s”, then I’ll lower my expectations about what I can accomplish this week.

Here’s a meditation that I have always liked:

It’s not about getting loads of things done, it’s about doing the things that I believe God wants me to do. And how would I know what those things are, if I’m too busy to listen?

Be the tortoise.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead, and Being in the Moment

August 21, 2025 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

I’m writing from New York City. It’s quiet here this morning, so I thought I would take some time to write. Bobby is at work, and Rachel, Hannah, and four of her friends are in the other room. I am sure that some of them are still sleeping because I don’t hear any talking. We arrived yesterday. Hannah and her friends stayed in the apartment with Bobby, who was working remotely, and I met Rachel and three of her friends and their moms for lunch and a matinee. Mamma Mia!

The show was great! I’m not sure what Hannah and her friends want to do for the next two days. I know there are some stores they want to visit.

Last week was our family vacation. Because our children are teenagers and adults now, and many weren’t sure if they would be able to take a vacation with us this summer; we decided to spend a week in New York City instead of booking somewhere else ahead of time. Bobby and I ended up coming to New York with Sarah, Rachel, and Mary. Here are some highlights and photos from the trip:

Anne Frank exhibit
Little Island, where Sarah played Billy Joel‘s Vienna on a piano
Walking on the High Line (where I thought I was going to die because it was in the 90s and we didn’t want to spend whatever the exorbitant price was on water… we walked til I nearly dropped)
The Godfather at Bryant Park
Liberty Island
A hardhat tour on Ellis Island
Hamilton (10 year’s old now)
Stranger Things: The First Shadow

We were very tired after the busyness of the first couple of days, so we stayed in the apartment for most of the last half of the trip and watched some movies (Freaky Friday, Minecraft, The Parent Trap, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and we binge watched Stranger Things.

The girls and I watched The Summer I Turned Pretty episode of the week, and we played Payday and many games of Sorry!

Bobby, Sarah, and I worked out in the gym. Unfortunately, I have not worked out in about a week. In between the two New York trips, I was pretty busy. My father-in-law was in the hospital when we were away. We visited him at his home on Sunday and he is doing OK. I brought my father to an ERCP on Tuesday and that went well. They removed a stent he had put in when he was in the hospital when I was in Vancouver.

So, once again it’s been a busy summer. A mixture of work and fun times. Some worries and stress, and some peace and joy. It went by so fast. School begins next week. I know my calendar is looking pretty full, as it usually is at this time of year.

My perspective on life seems so seasonal. I wonder if this is part of my personality… to reflect on things so chronologically. I am a thinker. Summer used to be my favorite season when I was in my 20’s. I was quite the beach lover. But for many years now, my favorite season has been fall. I’m looking forward to more structure and order, and cool, crisp, blue sky-bright foliage days.

It’s also a tendency of mine to think a little ahead too much. I don’t want to think too far into the future, but I often think about the next few weeks. Sometimes, I overwhelm myself. The best thing for me to do is to stay in the moment. Just for today, I want to listen and be present.

Summer and the End of Homeschooling

July 22, 2025 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

Ah, the beauty of summer…

I’m ready to write, but this isn’t gonna be another catch up post. Or… is it?

Bobby joined me as I completed another eight week body transformation challenge. We followed the meal plans, and did the same workouts, sometimes together and sometimes separately. Joseph was in Guys and Dolls. My father was in the hospital for about a week. He seems to be OK now. Bobby and I spent a week in Vancouver, and a week in Seattle. I’ve been mowing the lawn, bringing my parents and children to doctors’ appointments, driving Hannah back-and-forth to her summer job at Six Flags, and I prepared a lot of Italian food for our triple birthday party. The girls and I have been watching The Summer I Turned Pretty together. This week I am super motivated to declutter, and I’m starting to sell homeschool curricula.

OK, that catches me up. Now I can tell you why I thought I’d be blogging more frequently, although it has not come to pass. This past June, I finished homeschooling. As in… I have finished 20 years of homeschooling my six children! Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like a very big deal. I knew it was coming, and it happened gradually. At one time, I was homeschooling six children, and then it was five, and a couple of years later it was four, and the next year, it was three. Eventually, only Mary was doing school at home. And this September, she will be going to high school.

But on the other hand, this will be a big change for me. It’s the end of something that was a very large part of my life for a very long time. Many days, I have grieved the loss of those little ones, and my younger self, and those simpler (but not easier) days. I do not regret any of it. Well, there are things that I wish I would’ve done better, but I understand that I could only do things to the best of my ability at the time. I’m so grateful for my experiences, and especially, for experiencing this way of life.

I see that school supplies are out in the stores now. I have memories of years of stocking up on dry erase markers, and crayons, and notebooks. I remember the excitement of beginning again in a clean schoolroom with sharpened pencils, new books, and big plans. Pushing my Walmart cart by the end caps, I feel sad for a couple of seconds. I really miss the laughter of those little kids…

But it passes quickly. I prefer to stay in reality. Those days are gone, and I am blessed to live the life I’m living today. And there’s always the excitement of not knowing what the future will bring. I expect it will be good.

I imagined I’d have so much more free time when I came to the end of homeschooling. In June, I thought I might write here a few times a week, but so far it’s like any other summer. Five of my children are still home. Three of them are adults and two of them are teenagers. I’m close with my parents, who are divorced, so I usually see them separately. My days are still filled with meaningful work and building or maintaining relationships.

I’m starting to tackle some projects. One of them is selling homeschool curricula, which is a part of the organizing the basement project. I’m starting another whole house declutter, and finishing up with assigning homes to all of our possessions. And there are lots of tasks that crop up such as covering my blueberry bushes with netting, fixing the tent that was damaged in the thunderstorm, taking Hannah to open a checking account at the bank, and going to the eye doctor. And there are loads of books I want to read…

Maybe it’s time to do a time assessment or a brain dump. I gotta sort out my priorities. And I need to pray. And sleep. And I hope I write about it all really soon.

Spring 2025

June 18, 2025 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

Mt. Baker, WA (photo taken in BC, Canada)

I know I keep saying I’m gonna blog regularly, and then another whole season goes by in silence here. So, once again, this is my catch-up post. I have a good feeling about posting more often in the future, and I’ll explain why in my next post. Right now I need to write about:

March

Hannah’s high school performed the play, Shrek the Musical. She played one of the three little pigs, and one of the three blind mice. Rachel’s boyfriend was hilarious as Lord Farquaad.

April

Bobby and I spent a weekend in Manchester Village, Vermont, at a beautiful, old hotel called The Equinox.
Sarah performed in various choral concerts
We celebrated the Easter Triduum with Holy Thursday Mass, the outdoor living Stations of the Cross, and the Easter Vigil. We had our traditional breakfast on Easter Sunday morning, and dinner with family at our house.
During April school vacation, Hannah and I traveled to Boston to see a Role Model concert, which was really fun.
Mary and I spent some time in New York City with Bob, who was working in Midtown. We checked out the Macy’s flower show, took a ride on the Staten Island ferry for the first time, and saw two plays. Maybe Happy Ending was amazing. I’d see it again. Redwood was just OK, in my opinion. The main draw was to see Idina Menzel in person. I got a really bad cold and spent a lot of time in the hotel room.

May

I went out to lunch with my father and my aunt to a local restaurant where Sarah was playing the piano for a tea party.
A new pope was elected.
Rachel and Hannah went to the junior/senior prom with their friends. Many parents came to our house to take pictures and we took a lot of of them!
Mother’s Day was super. I visited my mom. (Forgot to take a picture.) Bobby and the girls worked out with me, and then we played tennis, with Joseph too. At night, we ate Chinese food out on the deck. Matthew and Anna, and my father and Cheryl, joined us for dinner. Then we started watching Anne of Green Gables: the Sequel, but we haven’t finished it.
Bobby and I began another transformation challenge. (I’ll write more on this in another post.) I’ve been preparing all the food for our weeks on Mondays. Sometimes we’ve worked out together, and other times he’s working out in New York while I’m working out here. Having him do it with me has helped my motivation.
There was a really busy week that included Hannah‘s art show, my nephew Ed’s spring concert, my nephew Patrick’s senior night baseball game, and Mary’s 14th birthday.
I did another day trip to Boston, this time with Bobby, for our niece Phoebe’s graduation. We left early in the morning. We ate lunch there, walked around Boston, visited the aquarium, and had dinner at an amazing restaurant called “The Table.” We were served a seven course meal. Eight courses, if you count the bread at the beginning! It was nice to spend time with Bob’s family from Washington state, and also the members from our hometown.
My father had his annual Memorial Day picnic. I wore my bathing suit, but did not go in the pool.
I helped my mother with her third wrist surgery. This one was more extensive and also more painful for her. I slept over one night and we had a very nice time talking with each other longer than our usual visits.

June

On June 7th, Bobby and I celebrated 28 years of marriage. He met me at the train station in NYC, we took a subway to the apartment where he had flowers waiting for me. We worked out in the apartment gym, took a long Uber ride to JFK, had a lovely airport dinner, and flew to Vancouver. It was fun spending the day together. After that, he worked, and I enjoyed the perfect weather. I went biking around Stanley Park (the Vancouver one) twice! I saw a bald eagle for the first time (in real life). I took a bus and ferry tour to Butchart Gardens and Victoria (the capital of British Columbia). I walked all over downtown Vancouver including stops at English Bay Beach, Sunset Beach, Gastown, Granville Island, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, twice! Good times.
We celebrated Father’s Day with a cookout, corn hole, and sitting by the fire pit at night. My dad and Cheryl came over, as well as Bob’s dad, Matthew, and Anna.

Now I’m all caught up, just in time for summer!

The New Year: Time to Review and Renew

January 16, 2025 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

Now that we’re two weeks into 2025, I am finally ready to write again. The end of 2024 was such a whirlwind of busyness. I didn’t plan for that to happen, but it happened once again. Now I’m in that place where my eagerness to change my whole lifestyle has worn off, and I’m realizing that all I have is today. I’m not going to radically change my body, my home, or my habits in a couple of weeks. I’m just going to live one day at a time and focus on turning to God as much as possible each day.

Of course, the first thing I must write is a review of the end of 2024. It was a mixture of traditions and new experiences.

There were some field trips with Mary. First to Old Wethersfield, CT with my father-in-law, and then to Salem and Boston with my father, and my brother (who was up from Tennessee) and his girlfriend.

Joseph was in a community theater production of Beauty and the Beast.
Hannah was in the play, Big Fish, at her high school.
Sarah and Rachel sang in a choral concert at the college they both attend.

My friend, Carol, and I went on a Miles Christi Spiritual Exercises retreat in Wappingers Falls, New York.
We hosted Thanksgiving.
We had our annual tree trimming party.

Mary and I spent some time with Bobby in New York City. We saw loads of Christmas decorations, and we went to Madame Tussaud’s wax museum for the first time. It was one of the touristy things I had not done yet.

I started a huge project. I made a slideshow of pictures of my Christmases from 1969 until 2024. I did it methodically, and it was very time-consuming. I still haven’t created the DVD yet, but after Christmas we did watch all four parts by connecting a laptop to the TV. A true family movie night.
I spent the day with my mom when she had eye surgery.
The girls and I went to my nephew Edward’s high school band concert.
Matthew turned 26.
Joseph turned 24.
I created a Christmas musical bingo game to play on Christmas Eve and we tested it out.
There was a lot of time spent Christmas shopping and wrapping presents.
We took pictures and made a Christmas card.
My sister and her family hosted Christmas with my mom.
We hosted Christmas Eve with my dad.
I attended midnight Mass. Rachel and Hannah sang in the choir.
On Christmas morning, we did our annual Santa pancakes and bacon breakfast and opening of gifts with the “kids” and Matthew’s fiancé, Anna.
Then we hosted Christmas with Bob’s side of the family on the 26th.

I took another trip to NYC with Bobby, Rachel and Hannah. Rachel wanted to see the decorations and Hannah wanted to see the Harry Styles pop-up store. We ended up seeing A Complete Unknown at the Lincoln Square AMC and it was so much fun. We considered New Year’s Eve in Times Square, but I wasn’t feeling up to par, and it was going to rain, so we came home on New Year’s Eve day.

And this brings me to 2025. I started a new method for keeping a schedule. It’s a combination of using a planner and the index card filing system laid out in the book, Sidetracked Home Executives. (These were some of my Christmas gifts from Bobby.) So far, I’m liking how it’s going. Maybe I’ll write a post about that sometime.

Mary and I have gotten back in the groove with homeschooling. For my meals and workouts this year, I decided to do the transformation challenge again. I successfully completed it last year and the results were amazing! Unfortunately, I didn’t keep up with it. I went back to my unhealthy eating habits, and walking occasionally was my exercise. So I’m back to meal prepping on Mondays for the whole week and I’m doing great on that end. I haven’t been keeping up with the workouts. I did a bit too much on the first day and I could barely walk. Then I took a few days off. I’ve been procrastinating a lot when it’s time to work out. I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do about this. I need to pray about it.

I’ve been taking down the Christmas decorations. Bobby turned 55 years old, so we’re the same age again. We celebrated his birthday last Sunday. A box of 60 eggs now costs $26.32. I remember a few years ago, when I first started buying these boxes at Walmart, they were $8.00. I got my haircut and I want to figure out how to style the layers. Or… I could just keep straightening it.

I love a new year with new possibilities!

I did spend some time reading my retreat notes from last November, and once again made some index cards to read every day to keep my focus on what’s most important. My resolutions this year are not really things I want to accomplish, but rather attitudes that I want to have. One of those attitudes is gratitude. I think this writing was helpful to me. I feel grateful for the blessings of 2024.

Writing always helps me to slow down. Sometimes my thoughts seem to go too fast and I feel like I’m not keeping up. I focus on the things that I’m not getting done. I can be way too hard on myself. But when I am still, and very quiet, I know that it’s enough. Everything is as it’s supposed to be at this moment.

And it’s gonna be a year of hope!

Portugal, You’re Beautiful Too

October 13, 2024October 13, 2024 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

I was blessed to accompany my husband on a work trip to Braga, Portugal. I also spent one night in Fatima on my own. I started writing a detailed post about how this was less like a vacation, and more like a lesson on detachment, because so many things did not go as I planned. Then I accidentally deleted the post. So now I’ll just say that acceptance and gratitude are the means to peace, and add some photos.

Fatima at night

Fatima the next day

Braga Cathedral

Bom Jesus

More Braga

Poland, I Love You

August 29, 2024 / Cheryl Wilcox / Leave a comment

I love your potato pancakes, pierogis, paczkis, people, and churches, churches, churches…

I spent a couple of days in Warsaw, and a few in Poznan. I walked around A LOT, ate a lot, attended a Mass in English and three Polish Masses, took a tour of Poznan, visited many churches, an applied art museum, and spent one night dancing!

I also watched all of these movies on planes.