The day I learned about border agents – 40 years ago
By Gretchen Wehmhoff In 1981, after college, my friend Marcus and I drove home to Alaska. The adventure is a story in itself, but the relevance today is that it was my first lesson in ...
To school or not to school – a parent’s dilemma
By Melinda Munson Call me a bad mom, but my favorite days are Mondays. That’s the day I send my kids back to school with a wide smile and relief in my soul that I ...
Rotary phones and kissing DJ’s – it’s all part of growing up
By Gretchen Wehmhoff Ed McMahon never made it to our door, not that Dad didn’t try. After Dad retired, he filled out every Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes form that arrived in his mailbox. He attached the ...
Grumblings of an adoptive mom: What not to say to me or my kids
By Melinda Munson You wouldn’t believe the comments. A majority of the remarks come from strangers at Walmart or Costco. My favorite question is when someone meeting our family for the first time asks, “Are ...
Sammy the hamster joins the family in a weak moment
By Gretchen Wehmhoff Raise your hand if you’ve ever brought a pet into your home based on the desires of your child. Keep your hand up if you hesitated because you knew who would really ...
A house divided: keeping our family together
By Melinda Munson I have two houses. Not in the bourgeoise kind of way where one home is a snug winter retreat and the other is a summer getaway on the beach. My houses are ...
Turtles can teach us a thing or two about progress
By Gretchen Wehmhoff As a teacher, I’ve spent the last few weeks getting kids to the finish line. The move to online class wasn’t a big modification to my school. We are part home school, ...
Keep your pants on and other apiary lessons
By Melinda Munson We shouldn’t have spent the money. Hundreds of dollars on two boxes of Old World Carniolans bees; eight pounds of writhing females ready to work. With my husband’s job on pause due ...
Lucky or not, I know there is a pony in here somewhere
By Gretchen Wehmhoff I’m lucky. It may not seem like it sometimes, but for some reason, for every unlucky moment, I manage to salvage a bit of luck - if you squint. You know ...
Why I almost ran away; COVID choices
By Melinda Munson Two weeks ago, I almost ran away. Alaska’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 were rapidly multiplying. It was time to fly our 18-year-old to our new home in Skagway -- or put the ...