I was walking around our backyard tonight at dusk. I looked back at the house and realized how lovely it looked with the winter sky as a background and the lights from the inside, my people living in it and going about their evening. I had just put something in the oven for dinner and…
A New Year
I drove home from work yesterday crying. As I made my way, I took note how most of the flags outside of businesses and in front of churches and schools were at half staff. I realized it could be for multiple reasons. Yesterday was a national day of mourning for our country’s former President, Jimmy…
Still Here.
I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention. I regret it now. Hindsight and all that. I regret that I didn’t always answer when you called for me, or pay attention to what you were trying to say to me. But sometimes I did. I know I did. Because I helped you tie your shoe and…
Choices
Last weekend I told Brandon I have decided to bow out of the church choir for a little while. The realization of my children only having a fairly short amount of time where they will sit in the same church pew with me every weekend, recently hit me like a brick. I think it hit…
At the Farm
I open the creaky screen door to the small back porch and the warm breeze grazes my face like an angel wing. I look out as far as I can see and watch the maze dancing to the wind, its tall limbs swishing and reaching for the blue sky. The clouds are sparse and move…
Day by Day
My father turned 88 on New Year’s Day. I know a lot of people think that is old, however I do not see him that way. I see him as my Dad, the man who always shows his love for me in one way or another, even if he’s not big on talking to me…
A Different Thanksgiving
When I close my eyes and think about Thanksgiving I smell onions. Every year my mom would start cooking the turkey very early in the morning, and I would smell the sauteed onions for the beginnings of the cornbread stuffing, as I lazy-eyed rose from my bed. This tradition continued even after I left home,…
I Still Wear The Earrings
I am a very sentimental person. When I was a kid I made scrapbooks from those old “magnetic” photo albums, which contained everything from concert tickets, to cards people gave my mother when I was born. I think there are even some dried flowers still clinging to a few of the pages. All of these…
That Fridge Life
I took a photo last night of my daughter’s hair after I braided it. When I looked at the picture on my phone I noticed our refrigerator in the background and how it is covered with papers, printed photos, magnets and calendars. So much so, I could barely see the surface of the appliance. I…
Amid the Destruction
Every morning when I drive to work I look down the same few neighborhood streets with enormous piles of tree debris in front of the houses. Some are so huge it would take at least two people holding hands to wrap their arms around the trunk. As I glance down the streets I am reminded…