Confessions of a WAHM

May 1, 2020

Editor’s Note: Carrie Olson Tagg is a graduate of Webster City High School and a former Daily Freeman-Journal reporter. Today, she lives with her husband and daughter in Pennsylvania. When the quarantine started, it was recommended by a couple people that I write a blog post on my experiences as a WAHM (work-at-home mom). I thought about it, and a few days later, I vetoed that idea. My work as a department store copywriter, along with my husband’s college teaching load, has allowed us to keep our toddler at home full time. And in a state far away from family (and with incredibly ...

Practicing self care in times of uncertainty

April 23, 2020

During these uncertain times, many people are experiencing higher levels of mental health challenges. It is important to do what we can to help not only ourselves, but also others around us. One of the most important things one can do at this time is to take care of ourselves and encourage others to do the same through the practice of self-care. Encourage your family, friends, and those around you to engage in self-care activities. What is self-care? Self-care can be different for everyone. How we may have practiced self-care in the past may also be challenged right now, and as ...

Looking forward to another time

April 20, 2020

Several weeks into the Great Quarantine of 2020 one of the topics I am seeing discussed on Facebook is hugs and how much people miss them. People are missing the physical contact denied by social distancing. For the most part, I grew up in a non-hugging family. We are of northern European descent and were a stoic bunch. The exception was my maternal Dutch grandmother. Saying “good-bye” at Oma’s house always included a warm hug. Though we knew we were loved, in the early years our family just wasn’t physically demonstrative. Aside from Oma’s, I wasn’t comfortable with ...

Getting ready for open water

April 14, 2020

I think my ice-fishing season is over for now. I didn’t get to go ice-fishing as much as I would have liked, but that’s the way it is most years. Today I started sorting through my open water fishing tackle boxes to see what I needed to start the open water season. One thought kept ...

Spring river walleyes

March 31, 2020

I took a drive the other day and happened to travel over the bridge that spanned one of my favorite spring walleye rivers. There were several anglers within eyeshot of the bridge. It’s a small river, very similar to many of the small rivers that are found across the Midwest. It’s maybe ...

Getting ready for open water fishing

March 17, 2020

I think my ice-fishing season is over for now. I didn’t get to go ice-fishing as much as I would have liked, but that’s the way it is most years. Today I started sorting through my open water fishing tackle boxes to see what I needed to start the open water season. One thought kept ...