On a sunny spring day, cool with no humidity, we sat and waited.
Waited for two sons to end one phase of their life and begin another.
Waited with other families who were there for the same reason.
We waited for that one name.

Our family came prepared for the college graduation.
We had our air horns, a small one and one that could signal a boat in thick fog.
We had our cowbell; a man behind us went into a comedic soliloquy about a cowbell.
One person in our family was able to join along.

Read More...

A well-known Christian theologian just gave his oldest daughter away in marriage.
Fathers do that all the time.
Weddings happen every day.
What made this marriage touch my heart?

This family has had its share of grief in the past few years.
The wife and mother lost her courageous battle to breast cancer.
Their youngest daughter, who was disabled, died ten months later.
Unspeakable tragedy; Sovereign God.

Read More...

Go wash your hands!
How many times a day does a parent say those words to their children?
Before meals, after playing, after sneezing into their hands, and after using the bathroom.
Washing hands is an important practice for good hygiene and for keeping the germs away.

We are a culture that loves to take showers.
We shower in the morning, after we exercise, or after a run.
Some people are bath people; they prefer to soak in a hot tub rather than take a shower.
We are a culture who insists on staying clean.

Read More...

With spring approaching, I will inevitably need new shoes.
New sneakers for walking; new dress shoes, just because.
Only a woman understands a “just because” pair of shoes.
Not extravagant, just something to make an old outfit look more interesting.

Shoe shopping now resembles entering a warehouse.
Rows and rows of shoes in boxes that coincide with the sample displayed above.
So often you find just the right shoe only to discover they don’t have your size.
We can get it from another store, is what they promise.

Read More...

There is a man made lake near my home.
It was built to provide additional drinking water.
I was built to limit the damage caused by seasonal flooding.

It is now a state park.
Fishing, boating, hunting, and swimming are enjoyed.
There are about twelve miles of beautiful trails for walking, riding horses, and biking.

Read More...

The Sunday paper arrives on the driveway each week.
I can almost guarantee its placement as the driver tosses it to each customer.
Like clockwork, it arrives wrapped in plastic; double-wrapped in the rain.

I was sorting through the advertisements, looking for the one of my favorite store.
I laid the coupons aside to look through later.
I stopped when I saw the comics.

There they were with the multicolored pictures, bright and cheerful.
The characters that many have grown to love over the years.
It brought me back to what seems like only yesterday.

Read More...

My oldest daughter had a quiet personality as she was growing up.
Not quiet with people she knew, but quiet with people she didn’t know.
Her quietness was never rude or awkward.
She was fine playing with a few friends and just as fine imagining on her own.

She likes her own company, was said about her and about me growing up, as well.
As a little girl she wrote stories and tied her books together with yarn.
She loved to draw and do creative things.
The quiet afforded her the space she needed to dream.

In her teen years, a well-meaning person asked her an interesting question.
What is it like to be quiet?
That question has been put in perspective now, but then, it was bothersome to her.

Read More...

I saw it hanging next to the door as I passed the house.
It seemed out of place, but it was practical, no doubt.
It was a whisk broom.

A whisk broom is usually made out of broom corn.
It is tightly sewn into a fan like shape, knotted, and bound in string.
The knot at the top makes a handle for the person using the broom.

Read More...

I sent someone an email three weeks ago.
I selected the address from my contacts.
I found out that they never received what I sent them.

They asked me to check and see which email I used, since they have two email addresses.
Pride crept in.
I know I sent it to the right address…It probably went to their spam folder.

Pride.
I’m right.
You’re wrong.

Read More...

The Super Bowl is now a memory.
I am not a huge sports fan.
I am usually quite indifferent…unless a home town team is playing.

There is always so much publicity before the big game.
Interviews, back stories, possible outcome scenarios.
There is always so much hype surrounding the Super Bowl commercials.
The outlandishly expensive cost of 3o seconds of advertising.
One source reported that 3o seconds of advertising this year cost $3.5 million dollars!

Read More...