The phone call signaled the beginning. The assisted living facility where my elderly neighbor resided had closed its doors. No visitors until further notice. That edict concerned me because said neighbor had recently spent time in the elder care unit at the hospital and had been sent back to the assisted living facility under the […]
Faith Matters
Love–Not on store shelves
Reposted from February 2014 In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a work of which I am an ardent fan, Elizabeth Bennett wonders who first discovered the efficacy of destroying affection with verse. She declares that poetry must indeed kill love. In surprise, the oft maligned hero Fitzwilliam Darcy replies, “I have been used to consider poetry as […]
Re-homing A Tree
The tree arrived in a pot—scrawny and with little foliage to help identify it. A woman where my husband worked wanted the tree removed. Carry it away. She had no use for the seedling. My husband had a thing about trees. He couldn’t kill it even though he didn’t think the tree would survive—the roots […]
The Legacy of King
More than thirty years ago, (1986) Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a national holiday. Designated to be observed the third Monday in January, near King’s birthday on the fifteenth, the date did not happen without controversy. The civil rights leader who advocated harmony, became the center of conflict. Some states refused to adopt the […]
Abide–A Word for 2020
A writers forum I follow posed the question this week— ‘what is your word for 2020?’ People of faith often choose an expression to lead them through the year. With writers it makes sense because those who compose prose are in the business of words. I had to give this some thought. 2020 represents the […]
Where will Christmas find you?
I posed that question to the bank teller this week. She groaned, shook her head, and broke into a dismayed laugh. “I think I’ll fake the flu. I can take my time after the holiday and do it right.” Not the answer I expected. I asked the checker at the grocery store. “I’m ready for […]
Oh Christmas Tree!
Our Christmas festivities always begin with the arrival of the tree. It’s a ritual my family has honed to perfection (and exhaustion) over the years. But this year the tree hunters were met with a surprise. The lot from which they chose to buy had sold out. Its sister location across town had also disposed […]
Oldest, Coldest and Wet
The weatherman predicted a downpour here today for the 67th Springfield Oregon Christmas Parade, an event that boasts it is the oldest and coldest parade in the nation. But despite the warning, people flocked to the curbs along the streets and endured a mild drizzle for about a half hour before the rain gave it […]
When Holidays Hurt
My sister died July 1, 2018. No warning. No extended illness. No freak accident. The only memory that remains is the frantic call from my brother-in-law to tell me the news. Like a pebble tossed on a lake that leaves a brief ripple upon the water, then disappears, the event passed. No goodbyes. No closure. […]
Make Someone’s Day
Today I stopped to pick up some groceries on my way home from a haircut. The store seemed busy. When I went to check out, I found all available checkers engaged. I pulled into the most likely line to finish first and soon discovered my mistake. At the register stood a woman with a pile […]