“This traffic is terrible!” my husband stated flatly. “I think we can turn right and bypass Main Street.” “There’s a detour ahead,” I replied. “I’ve seen the signs the last few times I’ve driven up to visit.” The traffic wasn’t surprising really. It was half past five and we were headed into the mountains, a …
Baby Boy
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas means different things to different folks. We don’t have many white Christmases where I live. Stores have been stocking shelves for Christmas since the end of summer it seems and we still had temperatures in the nineties. Church nativities started popping up around Thanksgiving and yard scenes …
There’s Time
Single digits in the countdown to Christmas for an adult means everything seems to move faster, but for a child, the days creep by at a sloth’s pace, same as ever. There’s no real hurry and twenty-four hours lasts just as long as it always does, there’s just that sense of urgency that presses in …
Chasing the Wind
Amelia and I were outside enjoying the sunshine in the backyard with Jake and Ella, the Great Danes. Out of nowhere, Jake tore across the yard toward the fence, Ella close on his heels. Such outbursts typically mean there’s a bird or a squirrel bold enough to enter their territory or a package is about …
More Than God
It’s the time of year for making wishes and wishlists. I’m from the era of Sears Roebuck & Co. Christmas Wish Book. Eldest of three, I learned that checking the mail insured I got the first look. I remember pouring over the pages, cover to cover, listing, revising, and listing again. My shopping was limited …
Promises Long Kept
As I contemplate taking down my Christmas tree, I think of the bare spot it will leave behind. I can arrange the furniture as it was before carving out a space for the tree but the twinkling lights and aromatic greenery speckled with red and white checkered or lacework angels, snowflakes, and nativity scenes will …
Where Are You Tonight?
The shepherds were watching their flocks the night that Christ was born. The wise men were far to the east when the Christ star appeared, doing whatever wise men do. Joseph and Mary were crowded into a stable in Bethlehem for a census decreed by an emperor who was merely concerned about his tax base, …
Quickly Met Need
I have vivid memories of a night during the elementary years for my three children when I stood at the edge of the parking area behind our church, tears threatening to spill over, as a train ran its track only a few yards away. Its noise was the only thing loud enough to muffle the …
Light in the Darkness
I am simply not a morning person. I’ve tried over the years to press myself into a schedule that more closely approximates my husbands, especially when our children were small and insisted on being awake with the sun. This is my predicament once again with small grandchildren, but try as I might, I just cannot …
All I Want For Christmas
I lose track of my phone more often these days. I check my email less frequently. I scroll social media less often and more quickly, scanning for birthdays and baby pictures. I don’t have dementia (at least I don’t think so!) I have grandchildren! It’s so much easier to put a pause on my devices …
A Fitting Reply 