Wednesday, August 20, 2025 – Day 372 the landing

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Good morning, fans—welcome to a new day, a new start, and new opportunities.

Every morning I sit here wondering what’s worth sharing…this happens often. I want this blog to stay open, honest, and interesting. Some days, I don’t feel like talking about ALS. But then I remind myself—that’s the reason I started writing in the first place: to bring family and friends into this journey. So then I type “good morning” and let things go from there.

Yesterday was a laid-back day. I cracked open a new book, The Little Liar by Mitch Albom, a gift from my friend Di. I met Di 20 years ago when I moved to Lake Bluff after selling the Lake Forest house—mainly to keep Nikki in the district at LFHS. Funny twist: her son Peter was a swimmer and he competed in the 100 back stoke, same as Alex. Over time Peter and Alex became best friends and have remained so. It was enjoyable to watch them compete, Peter for Lake Forest, Alex for Libertyville. It was a perfect rivalry…and they traded off victories each time they met. You never knew who was on their game. You’re probably confused at this point. Nikki at Lake Forest, Alex at Libertyville competing against a Lake Forest swimmer. It’s a long story, You’re not alone on your confusion. I’ll save that tangled tale for another post—remind me if I forget.

Back to the book Of The book itself is set in Greece during WWII and weaves in the Holocaust. It’s about lies people told to survive—lies that shifted fates, sometimes costing others their lives. Then it follows the weight of those choices as people searched for forgiveness and love after the war. It’s a quick read, but a powerful one. While fiction, Albom slips in historically accurate details that make the story hit even harder.

As I read, the recurring theme of truth pulled me back to memories of my dad. He had a key ring—like most of us—but he named his keys. The one that stuck with me most was the house key, which he called “Truth.” He’d hold it up and say that as long as you were honest, the key of Truth would unlock the door. But if you were lying, it wouldn’t work. Of course, the key always turned, but the message was clear: lies and deceit had no place in the home.

So while Albom kept circling back to truth, I found myself smiling at the thought of Dad and his well-worn key. A little reminder that some messages never fade.

I’ll leave it there for today. ALS talk can wait for another morning. More often than not, I sit down planning to write one thing, only to have another story take over. Today was one of those days.

Thanks for the book Di. Have a great Wednesday. Love you guys! ❤️

Today’s photo, actually a video of Wyatt trying his tuxedo on…he’s the ring bearer in Alex and Nicole’s wedding. It’s vey cute, but I’ll let you all be the judge.