Wonderful Joy Ahead

“This traffic is terrible!” my husband stated flatly. “I think we can turn right and  bypass Main Street.”  “There’s a detour ahead,” I replied. “I’ve seen the signs the last few times I’ve driven up to visit.” The traffic wasn’t surprising really. It was half past five and we were headed into the mountains, a …

Baby Boy

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas means different things to different folks. We don’t have many white Christmases where I live. Stores have been stocking shelves for Christmas since the end of summer it seems and we still had temperatures in the nineties. Church nativities started popping up around Thanksgiving and yard scenes …

Too Spicy

Amelia and now Ezra are coffee foam connoisseurs. If I don’t offer a taste quickly enough for their liking, I can count on a tiny finger full being scooped from my cup. I enjoy lattes made at home and so does their mom. Lately, I discovered a new way to enjoy my morning dose of …

Yes Man

Timothy, at not quite two, is a well mannered southern gentleman. When his mom asks him to do something, he says yes ma’am in his sweetest voice, usually without being prompted. His vocabulary is expanding rapidly and though I sometimes need to ask his mom to translate, he makes himself understood with more patience than …

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 …

Under Authority

Amelia would make an excellent podcast or talk show host. She pulled her little chair up in front of mine in the garage today while Ezra was napping and said candidly, “Yolly, I want to ask you a question.”  “What would you like to know?” I asked. “What does a snake eat?” she queried. “Mostly …

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, …

Never Fear

Timothy and Ezra, nearing two, crave independence. They are big enough to walk on their own but resist holding hands when it’s necessary unless they’re sleepy, and then they prefer to be held. Observing them playing, you might call them fearless. Running headlong down our fairly steep concrete drive, their own momentum making it difficult …

Where Was He?

Before I leave to pick up Amelia and Ezra a couple of mornings a week while their mom goes to the gym, I have learned to close my bedroom doors and latch the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. Little Ezra is quick and he is quiet. Once he’s inside, he usually goes …