Is Titus here yet? It’s a well timed question. My fifth grandchild is due in eleven days. Messages and comments from family and friends confirm that my husband and I are not the only ones anticipating his arrival. Many people are excited for my daughter and her husband, ready and waiting to welcome Titus. Thomas …
Reflected
Not long before Caroline’s college graduation, her first grade teacher confided that she would hold onto Caroline’s crayons during their weekly tests. Once Caroline had answered all of the written questions, she gave the crayons back and six year old Caroline colored steadily until the rest of the class was finished. Even at such a …
Unlimited Refills
Timothy needs lots of squeezes right now. His new baby brother, Titus will be arriving soon and he has been especially clingy with his mom of late. Her lap, once his favorite spot, is now completely occupied by her pregnant belly and watching him, I realized that try as he might, he could no longer …
Rightful Claim
We purchased five acres of land once only to find out at closing that it had no actual road frontage. It was not landlocked. It simply did not touch the road. The deed was recorded before the existing roadway was paved and the winding drive now passed by our property a dozen or so feet …
Focus
Amelia stood at the end of the kitchen island, sticker sheet in hand, matching uppercase letters to the alphabet page in her notebook. Ezra climbed up beside her and reached for a sticker so I pulled out his notebook, flipped to the first blank page and handed him a sheet of animal stickers. He eagerly …
Wait For It
“But I wanted to eat it now!” Thomas exclaimed, palms upward, accenting each syllable. His fifth birthday ice cream cake sat on the table in front of him. He had finished his lunch, played all the games, beamed through the chorus of Happy Birthday and blown out his candles. He watched eagerly as his mom …
Facing The Truth
“Can they hear me?” Amelia asked as she turned questioningly from watching the last roof truss being placed on top of her new house. We had watched the crane set a dozen or so trusses in place from the window before going onto the front porch. She and Ezra ran back and forth excitedly on …
Level
“There’s something wrong with your level, Papa,” my nephew, Caden said after applying it repeatedly to the surface of one board after another of the foundation of my niece, Ava’s tiny home. My dad, who is overseeing the ongoing construction project, learned contracting mostly from his dad but also from his father in law, my …
Skewed
Our Great Dane, Jake is so big that every other dog looks, well, not so big. I’ve been shadowed by Jake with his long legs and massive body for the past eight years until my dad’s Labrador Retriever, Buddy, who is fairly large for a Lab resembles a Welsh Corgi. When my dad was hospitalized …
I Know It
I have four grandchildren. Two sleep with a night light and a white noise machine while two prefer white noise and total darkness. Bedtime is tricky already with four exhausted toddlers trying not to fall asleep by egging each other on but when I switch the lights off entirely, I hear, “You forgot the moon …
