The text came last September when I was staying in a hotel at the Edinburgh Airport. Since my husband had returned home the week before when I took my pilgrimage to Iona, I was in the room alone. The text included the picture of the sonogram of our first grandchild, and that was when I … Continue reading Sweet Anticipation
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Everybody has a Story
The student had become a frequent-flyer in my school nurse’s office. I knew her pattern of dropping in mid-day when she had a class where she struggled. At first, I struggled with being patient with her because she stuttered. It was hard for her to get out a simple sentence about wanting pain medicine for … Continue reading Everybody has a Story
Reframe It: From Hillcrest to Heaven
Today would have been my mother-in-law's, Mary Dell (aka MeMa), 87thbirthday. It’s hard to believe she passed away two years ago—sometimes it seems like longer, sometimes like yesterday. She would be so excited about her first great-grandchild, even though she may have been a bit disappointed that she wasn’t getting the great-granddaughter she’d been hoping … Continue reading Reframe It: From Hillcrest to Heaven
Hometown Journal: Going Back
There are people who feel they can’t go home again. But for me, that’s not the case because I’m in my hometown of Sanford at least twice each week to visit Mama. Since it’s just a fifty-minute drive, I often have occasions to get together there with my family and friends. We sometimes eat in … Continue reading Hometown Journal: Going Back
Moving Question
I followed the blue heron along the shoreline of Coquina Beach, amazed that the large bird would allow me to trail so close behind. I’d seen many of them flying over Jordan Lake in central North Carolina during my years of living in that area, but never had I walked within feet of one. He … Continue reading Moving Question
Depth of Despair
We sat in front of the television eating our barbeque sandwiches and watching Perry Mason reruns. My cousin, Linda, had loved that show since she was a twenty-year-old when it was produced in 1961. I remembered seeing it as a girl, and at the time, I didn’t appreciate how handsome Raymond Burr was—which I saw … Continue reading Depth of Despair
Happy Wanderer
I should have left an hour earlier. That’s what I said to myself when I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic for almost an hour, just after leaving Jacksonville, Florida with a seven-hour drive ahead. My rental car was due back at Raleigh-Durham airport by 8:00 p.m. and I didn’t want to add an extra day of … Continue reading Happy Wanderer
Bridge St. Breakfast: People in Our Path
Saturday morning of my Florida pilgrimage began in the usual way; taking my morning walk and praying for God to bless me and the people in my path. Starting with this intention fills me with curiosity about who I will encounter along the way. While most of the day would be spent with my cousin, … Continue reading Bridge St. Breakfast: People in Our Path
Places in our Path
I saw the old church up in a field of broomsedge—or broom straw as we called it when I was a girl. I wanted to go inside, explore the abandoned building that once had been so alive-- maybe a hundred years ago. When I walked to the edge of the property, there was a fence … Continue reading Places in our Path
Letter to Santa
I look at the picture of Daddy from 1964 when he was caught in the act of Christmas shopping by the photographer from our hometown paper. He must have been amused at my father managing his cigar above the Rose's Dime Store box and shopping basket. When an acquaintance saw the picture and heard my … Continue reading Letter to Santa
