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    • The Fine Print
  • About Me
  • Organization
  • Personal Finance
  • The Widow Life
  • Resources
    • The Fine Print
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  • Reflections on Turning 40: Shaking Off the Dust of the Last Decade

    • August 5, 2017
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    • The Widow Life
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    • 2 Comments

    As I write this, I am midway through my final day as a thirty-something. Tomorrow, I turn 40 and part of me wants to complain about getting old. But I…

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    Until Every Little Piece of You is Gone

    • July 28, 2017
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    • Uncategorized
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    • 2 Comments

    Note: Amazon links on this site are affiliate links.   After my dad died unexpectedly, I distinctly remember sitting with my mom between visitations as she shoved his clothes into…

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  •

    The Privilege of Parenting an 18-Year Old

    • July 10, 2017
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    • The Widow Life
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    • 2 Comments

    We’ve been a bit off-topic here lately. However, with my daughter’s graduation from high school this spring, my mind has been elsewhere. More specifically, it’s been thinking about how unexpectedly…

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    Here’s to Being Average and Getting the Job Done

    • June 6, 2017
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    • Personal Finances
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    • 6 Comments

    My daughter graduated from high school a few weeks ago. She’s my oldest, and it’s the first time we’ve been through all the pomp and circumstance. The day before graduation,…

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    What I’ve Learned in Four Years as a Widow

    • May 31, 2017
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    • The Widow Life
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    • 3 Comments

    Here we are. We come to this place every year. An anniversary. There are plenty of anniversaries to be had – job anniversaries, wedding anniversaries, home-buying anniversaries – but this…

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    Surround Yourself with Good People (And Where to Find Them)

    • May 13, 2017
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    • The Widow Life
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    • 1 Comment

    I had yesterday planned with precision. There would be a Senior Mass and luncheon for my oldest daughter. Muffins with Mom with my youngest son. Then some quick shopping, packing…

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    Is your life an adventure or a tragedy? You get to decide.

    • April 17, 2017
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    • The Widow Life
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    • Comments Off on Is your life an adventure or a tragedy? You get to decide.

    I hope you all had a blessed Easter. We had a beautiful day here. It was a little wet in the morning, but eventually it warmed up and a pleasant…

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About Me

about-me

Maryalene LaPonsie

In a former life, I was a legislative staffer. Now, I am a personal finance writer, mother of five and keeper of memories for my late husband.




A Peek Inside My Life
  • Baby, it's cold outside.
  • The wise men arrived today, hauling massive presents behind them. Poor camels must be exhausted.
  • The dog was so patiently waiting for someone to not finish their cake last night.
  • Sometimes all you want for your 6th birthday is to go hang out at the MickyD's PlayPlace.
  • On the 6th Day of Christmas, the kids made commercialized gingerbread houses.
  • It's my anniversary today. Or at least it's the day that used to be my anniversary. I'm not sure what to call it after your husband dies. My relentlessly positive friends would insist it's still my anniversary, but that really doesn't feel quite right. . But whatever today is, I decided to use a Cracker Barrel gift card that had been languishing in my wallet for more than a year. For a single summer after high school, I was a server there and it was a regular restuarant in my husband and my dinner date rotation. . I haven't been there in years and expected it to be different, but it was exactly the same. Same smell of potpourri when you walk in the door. Same food on the menu. . I promised myself that I wouldn't be on the phone. And other than taking this photo (posted later), I didn't. I promised myself that just for today, I would let myself sit with my thoughts and remember. And I did.
  • It's been a beautiful Christmas in our house for those both young and old. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
  • Beautiful night and beautiful church for tonight's high school choir and band concert.

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