“I love you, Grandpa and Grandma,” my twenty-year-old grandson said before he ended our phone conversation. He is about to turn the ripe old age of twenty-one and will be married in less than a month. With all that, he thought to say, “I love you.” I’m sure he didn’t deliberate over it. I’m sure […]
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It might have been at our little town’s parade, or maybe at the State fair, but I have a faded memory from childhood of a cart with balloons floating above it. They were bunched together like a bouquet of bright pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, and red flowers. “Hold it tight,” my parents warned. Mom […]
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I’m a mom. I know the tug of the umbilical cord from birth until giving each baby away to love and cherish another. I’m a grandma, and I recognize the family units that must even take precedence above my own, and I widen my heart to add another to the family. I’m a great-grandma, and […]
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You’ve worked hard, poured yourself into the project, sacrificed and finally it’s done. And it turned out good. No, even better than expected. In fact, you feel down right euphoric about it. It dawns on you later as your own applause and the exhilaration begin to fade. You aren’t going to get acknowledged. Not for […]
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“Owwwwwch!” I moaned to no one but anyone who might be so inclined as to listen. Making the bed has its risks. Working from left to right I consistently stub my toes on the hard edge of the bed foot and hit my shin on the metal corner of the mattress frame. Why such consistency, […]
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Slowly the crowd came to its feet. Some laboriously used the row ahead for leverage. Over the attendees, silver glinted, like imperfect halos, caught by the lighting above. Although the gathering, a conference on intentional Christian grandparenting, had its share of “over-the-hill-ers,” a spattering of younger attendees also stood. Strains of the hymn, “How […]
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A notice comes on my phone. A picture of my great-grandson pops up. I open the app and find a video of his mommy talking to him, leaning over his little tummy and digging her head into his soft middle. I hear the delightful sounds of baby gurgling which erupts into baby laughter. His shriek […]
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Our grandson drops his arms and ducks his chin. His despair comes from missing a soccer goal, a basketball shot gone wrong, or a race not won. His feet drag. He is disheartened. Unfortunately, I see myself in that dispirited droop of the shoulders, bowed head, and defeated shuffle of feet. It’s not just myself, […]
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The ring’s been on my finger over 50 years. When he gave it to me, I was afraid it would slide off and I’d lose it because my finger was so slim, so small. It’s kind of grown onto me now. Putting it on or off takes some planning and a jar of hand cream. […]
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Whiter than snow, Lord, whiter than snow. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Wherever you live in the USA, you’ve been aware of the great snow storm. You have likely been part of preparations, predictions, and in much of the country, its fulfillment. Before it hit, stores filled with people and shelves […]
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