Handwritten letters have almost entirely disappeared, having been replaced by electronic communication. Invitations, with the exception of weddings, are more than likely texted nowadays. RSVP, when attached to an invitation, once meant the host expected to hear from you. A meal and a place at the table were being reserved in your name at the …
Learning
Peekaboo with my six month old grandson has progressed from a quick distraction to a game of predictive analytics, much like the game my smart phone plays as I begin typing any given word into a text box. In spite of the fact that I have a son and a son-in-law named Jacob which I …
Have You Decided?
Menu confusion is my nemesis, hovering over every lunch date and dinner plan. I can’t concentrate on making conversation for trying to decide what I should order. Usually there are so many excellent choices, it’s hard to choose just one. In my experience, most servers are pretty good at reading their costumers. They recognize indecision …
Whatever You Can Carry
By far my favorite scene of the 1998 movie EVER AFTER: A Cinderella Story with Drew Barrymore plays out in a dense wood. Prince Henry has been detained by a band of Gypsies while he is walking with Danielle(Barrymore). The leader of the Gypsies has taken Danielle’s dress from where it was discarded on the …
Feel The Heat
What does pure, unadulterated faith look like, the faith of a child that Jesus commended? I saw it in the face of my eighteen year old son and heard it in his voice, as we contemplated the possibility of brain surgery after eight years of tweaking and changing medications failed to stop his seizures. I …
Fitting In
The year my daughter received a fifteen hundred piece puzzle for Christmas and determined we would not to go to bed until it was finished was the year I stopped enjoying jigsaw puzzles. We finished it, framed it, and said never again! She still enjoys puzzles and games, but with a newborn at home, they’re …
Don’t Look At Me
Nobody ever believes me when I confess that when I was younger, I was painfully shy. I wanted to hide if anyone looked my direction, much less spoke to me and expected a reply. I preferred to blend into the crowd and watch from the sidelines. I’m not sure when that all changed, but I …
Walking Down Briers
When I received my cancer diagnosis and we found that I would need radiation and chemotherapy before having surgery to remove my tumor, my husband began walking with me and the Danes twice daily, weather-permitting, to keep my heart healthy for surgery. Our community has many well-groomed walking trails, but Paul began cutting a trail …
Service Not Status
It snowed again last night. Here in the south, we rarely see two snows in one winter, much less in one week! As the temperature neared fifty midweek, the first snow melted, leaving sketchy patches of snow across the dormant grass. Bermuda turns straw-colored in winter but remains thickly thatched year round. It’s very much …
I Will Not Be Moved
Twelve. The number of homes I’ve occupied in my lifetime. Three before I was married and nine since. Half we’ve owned, half we’ve rented. Some of our moves have been from necessity but some have been our choice. All have been within the same state. In every location, I’ve felt secure, but not necessarily because …
