The Lolly bus rolling one hundred thousand miles has caused me to recollect the places it’s been and the cargo it’s carried over the past eight years. There’s the surface memories: the trek to Houston with Jacob, many trips to the beach and the mountains of North Carolina, and Virginia, bikes in tow to ride …
Make It Stop
Hurricane Harvey arrived in Houston, Texas just before Jacob was scheduled for brain surgery that had the potential to end his seizures. Though he turned nineteen during his weeklong evaluation earlier in that year, he was to be treated as a pediatric patient. This would allow me to stay with him in the hospital as …
Shared Stories
Amelia’s courage grew as she reached for the handholds on the rock wall. She gripped tightly to the blue and yellow holds while moving her feet onto the green and red. My husband and I built the playground to last so I had boarded off two open rail sections to keep the babies from falling. …
Preach
I’m stymied! I’m committed to memorizing Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount this year but I’m barely twenty verses in and I’ve hit a wall. Focusing on new verses interrupts my memory of the initial ones. I could use my age as an excuse or cite unrealistic expectations and simply give up but I have other …
No More Ice Cream
Hot and humid was the forecast for our zoo day so I promised my grandbabies soft serve ice cream after lunch. We stood in line behind half a dozen other patrons inching our way toward the ordering window. When only two people remained ahead of us, the worst happened. We saw the lone cashier, half …
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 …
Spread Thin
Timothy wanted up and then he wanted down. He wanted to swing and then he didn’t. He would play contentedly for a few minutes then he would see Thomas hadn’t finished his snack yet so he wanted a bite too. His mama picked him up and snuggled him. He grinned and giggled before wiggling down …
Best Invitation Ever
Variety is the spice of life, they say. I especially enjoy variety in my diet but very often I seem to get stuck in a rut where I rotate the same few meals. My husband and I quickly tire of once favorites and I’m scratching my head wondering what’s for dinner again. My husband is …
No Shame
My husband and I have enjoyed the warm temperatures this week by taking a walk in the woods once daily and sometimes twice. Our path snakes around the top of our property before plunging through the middle above the creek line. While the trees were bare in winter, Paul and Jake, our Great Dane, have …
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 …
A Fitting Reply 