Just Five Minutes of Laundry?
This is the day when we write for five minutes non-stop, no editing for Lisa-Jo Baker's "Five Minute Fridays". So, here it goes: I finally did it. On the Thursday before he was to come home from college for fall break, I rummaged through the pile of discarded clothes in Youngest Son's bedroom and made stacks -- what to give away, what to store...
Five Minutes of “Ordinary”
Blogging today at Lisa-Jo Baker's Five Minute Friday. Those were such "ordinary" days -- those weeks, months and years when our four boys sat under their Mom's tutelage. Trying at times, rewarding most of the time, we were just "doing school". They're four young men now, off to do life on their chosen paths. I often wonder if they think back...
A Little Soft Shoe Among Friends
It could have been a day when I crawled into bed feeling discouraged and feeble. Silly little things -- like forgetting to put on eye make-up before leaving the house, then coming home to find a personally-addressed offer for a hearing aide appointment in my mail box. Really? But in between, I had a few "God spots". They salvaged my day....
What Are You Waiting For?
Winter will soon be pressing in on us here in this Indiana valley and today seemed like the perfect day to make plans for spring. An afternoon stop at my local home improvement store turned up packages of colorful anemones, purple crocus and an array of red, orange and yellow tulips. Add those bulbs to a cluster of Madonna lilies donated by a...
Write! What, Why and How?
Blogging today at Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo Baker and hundreds of other writers. Join us! "Can cursing and blessing come from the same mouth......the same pen?" Sitting in the retreat center, with beautiful Lake Michigan just half a mile down the driveway, I thought about that author's statement. Her twist on the Proverb has caused me to...
Have You Been Poured Out in the Crush?
I sat there, in the presence of saints, and my heart wept for them. For the woman whose husband left for work two years ago -- and never came back. And the mature mother who quietly shares that her son is in prison.....again.....then whispers that she lost another to the grave. For the familiar face whose well-known father welcomed her home...
Why It’s Not Too Late to Claim the Gift of Creativity
On a morning when I sit, all fuzzy-brained, clutching my coffee cup there on the red couch taking in the morning's news, I hear this: "Creativity can increase with age and help you live longer." My 60-year-old ears perk up and my brain cells tingle. What did he say? I set down the cup, suddenly wide awake. Scientist Jeffrey Kluger, a guest on...
To Bear Fruit is To Honor the Giver of Fruit
I wrap my fingers around the warmth of its redness, and the apple fairly drops into my palm. Two-fisted, I pluck one, then another and another. The crop is so heavy -- branches bowed to the ground, leaves splayed onto the grass. There is a bounty this year. These apple trees entered the season with a showy display of pink and white, blossoms...
When Maybe It’s Okay To Say “You’ve Got a Friend”
Between doing loads of laundry.....checking off that college packing list....swiping at those unbidden tears.... I popped the CD on the top of my music stack into the CD player and was taken back 40 years to my one and only year in college. "You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am I'll come running to see you again......You've...
What Makes You Happy, Happy, Happy? 10 Little Actions That Lead to HAPPY
There she is, on the cover of my magazine -- that skinny, auburn-haired actress who.... "KNOWS WHAT SHE WANTS....AND SHE'S MAKING IT HAPPEN". Perusing other titles on the magazine cover, I decide that maybe she's not "STUCK IN A HAIR RUT?" She probably has learned to "LOVE YOUR BODY AT 30, 40, 50+" From the smile on her face, I'm guessing...