We planned a day trip to the city to visit my aunt.
We were going to take the train so we would not have to worry about parking.
I only had one child at the time and she was two years old.
I was expecting my second child in about six months.

I parked my car at a local train station, so it would be there when we returned.
I was so thrilled to see a parking space right near the entrance.
It was so convenient, since I had extra things in one hand and a toddler in my other.
I locked the car door and we were off.

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Walter Brueggemann taught Old Testament classes for over forty years.
Before each class, he would pray a prayer he wrote himself.
His students were abundantly blessed to have this man as their professor.
He has written more than 58 books, as well as articles, and Bible commentaries.

A collection of his personal, written prayers was published in book form in 2003.
Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth is a wonderful collection.

One prayer in particular has never left my heart.
I think of its title often, and ponder what Walter is asking of the Lord.

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I am partial to full moons.
I have always been amazed at their beauty.
I will stop what I’m doing as I’m getting ready for bed and gaze up at the moon.

The balcony off of our bedroom beckons.
Many evenings I will open the door just to see the masterpiece before me.
The silhouette of the trees in the light of the moon makes me wish I could paint pictures.
Everything is illuminated with a silvery glow in the moonlight.

Simply exquisite.

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Back in college, everyone dreaded the famous oral presentation.
It didn’t matter the subject, the professor, the class, it was cause for much anxiety.
You hoped for a good friend that you could glance at; the smile you could count on.
You mustered up a support team and you were there for each other.

One girl was confident about her presentation; if she was nervous it didn’t show.
She got up to the podium and began.
Her presentation was wonderful; she had put a lot of work into this.
It was the days before power point and smart boards; you made your own visuals.

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I was lovingly corrected by two of my children one night after dinner.
The correction concerned things I had taught them.
Not character things, or morality things.
Old wives tale things that we pass along as truth.

I have always told my children that cows lie down when it is going to rain.
I learned that as a child and I passed the pearl of wisdom down to them.
I learned that cows have arthritic hips and the change in barometric pressure affects them.

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I have eight black-eyed Susan plants near my side porch.
They were planted this spring.
I enjoy the whimsy of them as they bloom.
They are next to daisies and day lilies, forming a sea of yellow, white, and orange.

Five of the eight plants are growing beautifully.
Some have already flowered.
But three plants are so much smaller than the others.

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Today I celebrate fifty-four revolutions around the sun!
That sounds so much more distinguished than saying, it’s my birthday!
Inside, I am still the girl roller skating, jump roping, and riding my purple bike.

My husband’s birthday is in March.
I always like when he is older than me…if only for four months!
I like it especially now!

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We have all played board games with our children.
Sitting cross legged on the floor, we teach rules, patience, and how to lose with grace.

Candyland and Chutes and Ladders were favorite first games.
I always dreaded turning the cards over as I got closer to the Candy Castle.
It was so frustrating to get a character that required me to go back to the beginning.
The children would laugh since they would inevitably win the game.

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It is my morning routine from May to October.
Talk my morning walk.
Come back home and water my plants.

There is something soothing in the routine.
The hanging begonias on my shady side porch.
The hibiscus on my sunny back deck.

Pull a weed here.
Dead head the hanging basket there.
Enjoy the daily growth I see.

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It caught my eye as I drove down the narrow road.
It looked out of place in this rural setting.
In fact, I don’t even know how I saw it because the road was so curvy.

It was a stone fountain with a lion’s head perfectly intact.
The fountain had a stone basin to collect the water.
I wondered if the fountain even worked anymore.
The weeds were overgrown around it.

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