“I don’t know how you and dad have moved so many times, Mom,” Jacob half groaned as he passed me with yet another armload of boxes. “We’ve moved a crazy amount of stuff and we’re still not done!” Their closing is one day away and it’s crunch time. They sold, shared, and donated what seemed …
Stop At Nothing
My girls say their toddlers wake up with engines revving from zero to sixty in one point two seconds. There is no gentle or gradual wakefulness. Once the children are awake, they are immediately all systems go. Like miniature pit crews, their moms and dads and sometimes Lolly or Poppy refuel with three square meals …
Care and Keeping
Thomas added his weight to Timothy’s against the glass door of the restaurant where we were standing watching the birds outside while their mom gathered her things. The look that danced behind his eyes just before Thomas pressed the palms of both hands against the glass let me know this was sort of an experiment, …
Inexcusable, Not Unforgivable
I blew it. Deep down, I knew but I refused to see it at the time. My blood was boiling. My heart raced in my chest. A million thoughts crowded my head and drowned out the still, small voice of God. “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips …
Afterglow
I hear airplane, sounding more like air pain, from my grandsons every time we’re outside together. It doesn’t matter if they’re excavating the mulch bed or playing baseball, even the little boys sound off, eyes heavenward, searching for the flash of silver or the trail of jet exhaust. Thomas, who is four, has learned to …
Humbled
Amelia and Ezra experienced their first Camp Lolly and Poppy last week while mom and dad cruised through their fifth anniversary. I’ve kept these two overnight a few times to prepare for our week together and little Ezra, at almost seventeen months, usually waved goodbye cheerfully and settled right in for the night. This time, …
Mutually Encouraged
My daughter and I know better. When she visits and her boys are in bed, we should not be far behind them. She needs more sleep than she tends to get and so do I. I am able to buy her a little time in the mornings, but her boys will be up with first …
Don’t You Care?
“How is it Tuesday already?” I wondered, not for the first time. I am keenly aware that we all share the same twenty-four hour days rotating around the sun but some days and weeks, some seasons just feel different. Sometimes time seems to stand still and then it flies warp speed ahead. When sharing a …
What’s Really In My Heart?
I’ve noticed Amelia repeating herself lately and it occurred to me that she mostly does this when she has something she wants to say but she doesn’t feel she has my attention. She begins a sentence and you might think she is struggling with processing as she repeats the first phrase multiple times before continuing …
Faithful Keeping
My lone son in law, like my husband, is pursuing a career in medicine. He is beginning his ninth year of postgraduate work with one additional year to go. The training experiences and constant testing are overwhelming at times. I know the load I’ve seen my husband bear in order to attain the degrees and …
A Fitting Reply 