“I need to open the window, Lolly. Mr. Leo and Mr. Noel are cutting grass. What kind of snack can we take them?” The rush of Thomas’s words matched his sprinting pace as he rounded the corner to the kitchen. He’d heard the mowers cranking and lost no time in getting into place for the …
Know Him
We sat in the front corner booth by the windows for lunch. My daughter and I sandwiched her two kids between us, alternating bites with juggling babies. Our view of the breezeway and the front parking always provides a great distraction. People walking by, driving out, or coming in often smile or wave to the …
Pockets Filled With Holes
“Do you have a pocket? No. Would you like for me to hold that for you until you’ve finished building?” I accompanied my daughters and grandkids to a local hardware store’s monthly kids building event. The toddlers were chomping at the bit to begin pounding away with their pint sized hammers while their moms unfolded …
What Does Repentance Look Like?
“I need to ask you a question.” When the girls and I are together and turn our attention from the children to chat, this is Thomas and Amelia’s favorite interrupter. It’s their attempt at polite manners. “What do you need?” “Timothy was trying to knock over my tower or Ezra jerked that from me.” “That’s …
Like Father Like Son
Now that my son has a son who’s a year old, it’s fun to watch for similarities between Ezra and his dad, things I remember so clearly when I see them fleshed out in his little boy. He doesn’t have his dad’s dimples as his sister does, much to his mom’s chagrin. He has one …
Finishing Strong
“Who’s first?” In my experience, the answer depends entirely on what precedes the question. I’m instantly back in my public speaking course in college. If you’re like me, you’re petrified but prepared and you just want this over and done with so you sit in the front row and your hand goes up before the …
Compared With When?
I despise needing reading glasses but I reach for them more and more often. My husband and our three children have worn glasses since they were teens. Our grandchildren, like their parents before them, look suspiciously at Poppy when he takes off his glasses to wipe his eyes. They’re trying to find the familiar face …
Living Testimony
Some days it’s difficult to remember who I’ve talked to or where I heard something by the time Paul and I sit down to dinner. I’ve promised to pass along a message from one of our kids or I wanted to share an amusing story about one of the grandkids. I’m reminded of a childhood …
Use Your Words
Two of my grandchildren are celebrating birthdays next week. Ezra will be one and his sister Amelia turns three two days later. Ezra came home from the hospital on his sister’s second birthday. We’re experiencing a lot of firsts just this week with Ezra standing on his own and adding more words to his vocabulary. …
See the Snake
Blistering heat and palpable humidity has settled in to stay in my neck of the woods. Stepping outside is like walking into an oven, no, a sauna. I’m drenched within a minute. I’ll need to join the grandkids in the water sprinklers for the wet to actually be refreshing. The sun is shining fifteen hours …
A Fitting Reply 