Disrespect comes in many forms. We’re big on manners in the south. Watch your tone! Don’t take that tone with me! Being called a smart mouth is never a compliment. Our words have a literal meaning but they can also be interpreted differently when spoken in jest or with an emotional tone. We can communicate …
Invited By The Bride
When you’re invited to a wedding, where do you like to sit? If you’re close kin, your seat is usually reserved, but when you get to chose, do you sit close or near the back? Do you choose an aisle seat for a quick escape or so you can see the faces of father and …
Numbered
Meeting GrannyBob 💕 Last week, I attempted a family tree for Thomas, tracing back through the generations still living on both sides of his family. He wasn’t necessarily following, but it was fun to write out all the names he knows and have him recognize them by their first letters. He has a great great …
Eyes To See
New grand-babies means additional car seats and I believe in being prepared, so I used some of my Christmas bonus bucks to order the first one last week. It’s stored away in the guest closet and I have the bruises to prove it. When I hoisted the box chest-high to clear the footboard and stepped …
Wait For It
Contemplative. If one word could define a person, this is me. My mom recalls my first grade teacher (also her first grade teacher) informing her that I routinely stared out the window of her classroom. She thought I was daydreaming, but when she asked a direct question of me, I promptly gave the correct response. …
Finally Finished
Done! That feeling of relief or of exasperation you get when the thing happens that you’ve been plugging away at steadily, or in the case of my right knee, unexpectedly gives out again. After nearly forty years of managing an odd catch somewhere in the anatomy of my right knee, I had learned not to …
Keep the Light On
Old school Christmas lights ran in series so that if one bulb burned out, the entire string went dark. If you could find the faulty bulb and replace it, the series was restored, but testing each bulb often wasn’t worth the effort. For years, I saved the spare bulbs provided with each light strand I …
There’s Time
Single digits in the countdown to Christmas for an adult means everything seems to move faster, but for a child, the days creep by at a sloth’s pace, same as ever. There’s no real hurry and twenty-four hours lasts just as long as it always does, there’s just that sense of urgency that presses in …
Light & Life
Newborn cries are a welcome relief to parents and caregivers alike when a baby is delivered into the world. A collective inhale and a sigh of exhale accompany the mother’s final push, but not before the baby takes his first breath. The whole room is waiting expectantly, and if anything prevents that all-important gasp, immediate …
More Than God
It’s the time of year for making wishes and wishlists. I’m from the era of Sears Roebuck & Co. Christmas Wish Book. Eldest of three, I learned that checking the mail insured I got the first look. I remember pouring over the pages, cover to cover, listing, revising, and listing again. My shopping was limited …
A Fitting Reply 