How would she have known- that mom at the store? How would she have known that her red headed boy pushing that cart reminded me of my own. Memories of grocery shopping trips flood my mind. The time I knocked over a whole display of Queso? What's up with those flimsy, cardboard displays anyway? How can you maneuver 5 kids, a cart and myself through the store, around those displays? I think of the time I almost left the cart and took the kids out. . . Oh, wait, I did do that. Left the whole cart and apologized to the cashier. I loaded those kids into the car and sat behind the steering ... View Post
Farmhouse Musings
Soup simmers on the stove. The weather is mild. No sunshine. But no chilling wind either. I hang the sheets in hopes they will dry. A friends daughter was here so I could help her with her school work The table is littered with tax work and book work. There is laundry to fold. And I want to hold tightly to these moments. I want to slow down. I want to sit with the here and now. I want to count every moment holy. I want to be content in all things. Content with the messy table and dishes still to wash. Not wanting something else, not longing for something that is not mine to ... View Post
It’s Been Another Year
It's been another year. I can't believe it. 8 years. Where has the time gone? I saw a purple Nutcracker in the store the other day. I laughed. I would have bought it for you. You would have loved it. I can hear your laughter; even now. You made Christmas so magical mom. I've sat many nights in my parlor remembering our Christmas's on Putnam Street and then in your log cabin. Our tree resembles nothing of those tinsel, garland covered giants growing up. I loved coming downstairs and smelling the piney scent. I loved the stillness and glow of the colored lights. I will ... View Post
Sometimes the Naming is Hard, 30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 28
Sometimes the Naming is hard. 7 years and 4 months without our son, sometimes makes the naming hard. It still catches me off guard. The grief. The ache. The longing. A reordering of how life should be. There's room where there should not be. And the Naming of that for which I am grateful is work. Practice. A soul work. Because when the words do not flow and the heart hurts the desire to focus inward often trumps all else. I sit with the ache for a few days. It's Thanksgiving and there is food to make and pies to bake. And my heart just longs for a glimpse of my red headed ... View Post
A Different Kind of Thanksgiving, Day 22
The sun shines through the window. It's going to be a different kind of Thanksgiving. Plans are being cancelled. Travel discouraged. A different kind of Thanksgiving. The oven warms the kitchen as blueberry muffins bake and sausage fries. A second pot of coffee is made and scrambled eggs wait to be poured into the piping hot cast iron. I will set soup to simmer on the back burner and bread to rise. A different kind of Thanksgiving. Our church usually hosts a dinner on this night. A gathering. Fellowship. Warmth. Food. And Praise. Always praise. Because that is the ... View Post
Thankful Journal, 30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 18
On a whim, I sign up for an on line study. 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. A thankful journal. This was a few weeks ago. I have read the book and began counting my way to 1,000 - years ago. I start the study. It takes me most of the day to listen to the teaching. Most of it I have heard, or read. I find it refreshing. Naming the gifts we are thankful for. For 7 years I have recorded those gifts through the month of November, right here on this blog. Tonight. I wonder. When did I begin this naming journey? For a few moments I wonder. I head to the shelf for my 1,000 Gifts ... View Post
