"From the Bay to the Blue Ridge"
By Lori Welch Brown The Silver Linings of Summer Like many of you, this is definitely not the July I ordered, but somehow the one I did seems frivolous. It’s hard to concentrate on which tankini to order when the world feels heavy, scary, and perhaps a little lonely. Like you, I have friends and […]
By Lori Welch Brown 2020: Year of the Pandemic? For Me, It’s the Year of Dad Pandemic, pandemic, pandemic. I am tired of all the attention you are getting. I’d say you are distracting us from what is really important, but in some sort of messed up way, perhaps you have helped us do just […]
By Lori Welch Brown Chasing Happiness aka Not Freaking the F Out Mom—I sure do miss you. I can’t believe it’s been 14 years since I was able to hug you or pick up the phone to talk. And, trust me, I have wanted to talk to you so badly. This past year has been […]
By Lori Welch Brown Live Your Beach Life In 2018, XXL and I were able to realize our dream of purchasing a second home near the ocean. We love it. I mean, what’s not to love about being 250 steps from waves breaking on the sand? We are both native Alexandrians. We love our city—especially […]
By Lori Welch Brown Middle-Age Madness When I was in my forties, I kept hearing women say, “When I hit fifty, that is when life started,” or “At fifty, I really came into myself.” All good, positive things, right? My 40s weren’t bad, give or take an open-heart surgery to correct two blocked arteries. I […]
By Lori Welch Brown Adulting for the Win You get to a certain age and you think you’ve got this “adulting” thing down, right? You’re trucking along, monitoring your credit score, begrudgingly make colonoscopy appointments, take a vitamin or two—heck, you even make your bed on a consistent basis. Fantastic—you have earned your Adult Badge! […]
By Lori Welch Brown The Art of the Bounce Back Yoga teaches you flexibility. Meditation teaches you serenity and oh so many things. Algebra teaches you—well, I’m still trying to figure that one out. What no one teaches you, however, is the art of the bounce back which I’ve probably struggled with more over the […]
By Lori Welch Brown My Sybil Summer Anyone remember that 1976 movie “Sybil” about the woman with multiple personalities or perhaps the Netflix show, “United States of Tara?” I can relate. I don’t know if it’s the heat or Mercury Retrograde, but seriously—who am I and who is that woman who had a near meltdown […]
By Lori Welch Brown Born in the USA I am blessed with an embarrassing wealth of freedom and independence. When I think of freedom, I think of my ability to take an art class on a Wednesday morning, get a manicure during the work day or accept an invite for a Girl’s Night Out. Most […]
By Lori Welch Brown Tomorrow Never Knows My family took a big hit recently with the loss of my oldest brother, Phil. Actually—I think the ripple effects extend far beyond our family as he had a work family, a church family, a baseball family, a coaching family, etc. He had childhood friends and new chemo […]
