Perpetual Praise

You wouldn’t find me very sympathetic were you to complain to me about the inconvenience of traveling to or waiting to see your doctor. You may assume this is because of my husband’s profession but you would be wrong. For the first two years following Jacob’s brain surgeries, we traveled to Houston to follow up …

Praise Poured Out

Amelia Grace has a favorite book at my house. She knows where it lives and she invariably reaches for it at bedtime when she sleeps over at Yolly and Poppy’s but at almost every visit, she pulls it down to read on her own. Thomas would climb up in my lap, book in tow for …

Know Real Love

Thomas is precious with his baby brother, Timothy. He has a special voice reserved for their conversations and thankfully, not at his usual volume. He wakes up wanting him and throughout the day, he wants to hold baby brother, with help, of course. He’s good for a few minutes of pure sweetness but when he’s …

Pour Out Your Heart

The baby monitor’s dual display makes it easy to see who’s awake. The side of the screen outlined in red is registering sound, but before my eyes are fully opened, I’m unsure who’s cries I’m hearing. My grandchildren, like my own children, are close in age and their tiny voices sound very much the same …

Do You Hear That?

My digital photo frame was a gift from a dear friend who is now family. I’m not the only one who enjoys watching the pictures cycle through during mealtimes as it sits adjacent to the kitchen table. I was completely unaware that it could accept videos until one accidentally found its way in during a …

Venting

My youngest was the last of my children living at home until his marriage nearly two years ago. Jacob and I became venting partners during those last few years after his sister married and left home. Prior to his brain surgeries for his epilepsy, he didn’t drive and I was his Uber to work and …

Reality Filtered

Photo by Ashley Goodlett The community grocery store near our first home had an automated coin sorting machine the size of a smart car. My husband took our children there periodically to cash in the pocket change he’d saved up for special adventures. The kids loved the clanking and flashing that followed their upturned paper …