Soon after we moved into our home almost nineteen years ago, I saw him.
He would take his walk around the neighborhood.
He took the same route then that I take now.
He would walk with a walking stick and he always wore a hat.

It was his hat that he would tip in my direction.
It was his walking stick that he would raise in the air to wave to me.
My aunt would have called him a dapper man.
I called him a gentleman.

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We got our first video camera when our oldest daughter was eighteen months old.
It was the perfect time to capture her life as a toddler.
It was the perfect time to record her little voice.
Time stands still for a moment when you watch old family videos.

Unless you had a video camera back in the early 80’s, you cannot relate to the differences.
Unlike the iPhone you can easily take out of your pocket or purse, this camera was large.
It resembled a brick; a brick that needed to rest on your shoulder.
A brick that needed to be plugged into an electrical outlet since the battery life was short.

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I remember playing the game as a little girl.
Since everyone had sidewalks, it was easy to play.
Don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mother’s back. When I think of the words we said in our singsong voice, I cringe.

We didn’t think about the words; they rhymed and that was all that mattered.
We only thought about the rhythm.
We only thought about our footsteps.
We only thought about avoiding every crack.

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We needed to run to the store with the bulls-eye.
Except this store was not in our hometown.
This particular store was near my daughter’s college.
She hung soft white lights around her dorm room and needed another strand.

As we walked through the store, I heard it.
The desperate hunger cry of a baby.
The cry was loud and demanding.
This little one was obviously very hungry.

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You couldn’t wait until you were old enough.
You would finally be the oldest ones in the school.
After years of waiting, you were now the ones in charge.
Not in charge of the teachers or the principal; rather over all the younger students.

It was the privilege of an eighth grader.
Only an eighth grader could be a safety.
A safety got to wear a badge on their upper arm.
A safety was assigned a post that he or she was in charge of.

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I love people.
They energize me.
I always find it fascinating to listen to their stories.
I could go about my days just talking and listening to people and be wonderfully content.

I learn so much when I listen to another person.
Not the nosy kind of information.
Rather interesting reflections and insights.
Different perspectives to view the world.

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I wind my clocks every Monday.
There are two clocks that need my attention.
The mantle clock that my husband gave me when I was carrying our first child.
The grandfather’s clock that my husband gave me years later for our anniversary.

I love the sound of my clocks.
They faithfully chime on the quarter hour.
There is comfort in the sound of the chimes.
There is solace in the sound of the ticking.

Until today.

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It was another mother-daughter day.
This time my youngest daughter and I toured two famous artists’ studios.
We have been to the museum before and enjoyed the paintings of these two men.
This day was different, this day we would walk where the famous artists walked.

A shuttle left the museum at 10:00 in the morning.
We drove a short distance to the first studio.
The studio of N.C.Wyeth, the man we know as illustrator.
The man who wanted to be known as painter.

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In the beginning of June, I left my wedding band and my mother’s ring at a jeweler.
I wanted them to be resized.
My wedding band has remained on my left hand for thirty-three years.
My mother’s ring is removed daily along with my anniversary ring.

I know now that my knuckles are the problem.
I have a size six finger with a size seven knuckle.
That presents a problem.
It was extremely difficult to get my wedding band off my hand.

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Did you ever think about the way our brain works? I asked my daughter the other day.
She looked over at me as I was driving.
There is a myriad of decisions we make each day without even thinking about it.
Just now, I made quite a few.

We were driving on a four-lane road and I was in the left lane.
Ahead of me were three construction trucks.
I instantly decided to get over to the right lane and continue on.
After doing that, the trucks got into a turning lane to turn left.

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