My Papa taught me many things over the course of his lifetime. I was barely writing numbers and he was explaining algebra and geometry, not by name but by practical application. He took me to work with him at Cone Mills more than once and proudly showed me how every piece of equipment worked and …
Out of Darkness
My husband and I rewatch television series from decades ago on dvd, mostly detective shows, on evenings when the house is too quiet. The other evening, he asked if I’d like to start a new season and to be honest, I was so tired and it was so dark outside that I almost said no. …
Slanted Reading
“I want to be in your court,” stated two year old Thomas again flatly. I wasn’t understanding and he was clearly frustrated. His mom and I had taken him to see two sisters, students of mine, play basketball a few weeks before so I assumed he was remembering and wanted to talk about that, but …
Unshakeable
This Election Day was different. It passed like any other day for me. I voted early in the day as I have in every Presidential election since I was eighteen. As one gentleman and I agreed as I exited the polling site, voting is both a privilege and a responsibility of citizenship. I thanked each …
Can I Trust You?
My life from age twelve asked, “Can I trust you?” I asked myself this of every human being I encountered, particularly males. Everyone became suspect, even God. I fear I am not alone in my questioning. You have been hurt, have you not? Your trust has been shaken by sickness, circumstance, or sin in the …
Is That Legal?
I saw hundreds of posts during the power outages following Helene reminding drivers that to properly navigate malfunctioning traffic lights, follow the rules for a four way stop. I live in a comparatively small city but some of our major intersections where six or eight lanes converge reminded me of playing Frogger on the original …
Talking Myself Into It
After a dozen zoo trips in his second year, Thomas decided at three that he would feed the giraffes by himself. I’d held him while the imposing head reached through the rails and the long black tongue snaked out to take the greens from my outstretched hand. He talked about it after each visit, claiming …
No More Stumbling in the Dark
Our younger son, Jacob, recently renewed his hunting license in time for bow season. He has two small tree stands on property we own that had fallen into disrepair, but just before Helene, he and his dad replaced the tether straps and made them ready for deer season. He placed trail cameras which quickly confirmed …
Accustomed To The Dark
Our power was out for a week in the aftermath of Helene. My husband and I, and of course Jake, our Great Dane shared our space with my daughter and her boys whose neighborhood in the North Carolina foothills was hit harder and also at times with my son’s family who lives locally but was …
Biting Isn’t For Babies
Toddler silliness can quickly escalate to ugliness. Hitting, pushing, or biting seem to come out of nowhere but if you’re paying attention, it has usually been building gradually toward a crescendo. Either both want to do the same thing or simply don’t want the other to do it. The most recent incident involved opening the …
A Fitting Reply 