The Beauty of Change
Any type of change can be difficult, painful, uncomfortable: loss of a loved one, a move, a new job, a change in a relationship, a medical diagnosis. This morning, however, I am reflecting on changes that accompany the process of growing old which is difficult, painful, uncomfortable. I’m now buying concealer in bulk; soon a […]
Intentional Widow – A Short Story
“Hey! You’re kind of cute!” I jerked my head towards the voice in the left lane. The driver of the silver Corvette convertible winked as soon as our eyes met. A second later, the light turned green, and he took off. The car behind me honked impatiently, so I closed my mouth and stepped on […]
The Power of a Lullaby
Our middle child had a rough infancy. Our nights and my days were filled with trying to soothe him; he had colic in the worst way. I remember holding and rocking him at 3:00 a.m., not yet having been to bed. He was squirming and crying, and I was in tears, not knowing what to […]
Checkered Flag Only
Sometimes the mountain of negatives obscures my view of the positives, whether I am just trying to cook a meal, clean up the dog hair, or survive another day. I know that a lot of people have that same struggle. Lately, I have realized that while I tell myself I have the checkered flag as […]
Well That’s Awkward!
My most embarrassing moment occurred when my children were very small while my husband was working to grow a church in a small community. There was a large room with a separate entrance at one end of our house; the small congregation used that room for services. Sunday School (boy, that’s an outdated term!) classes […]
Measuring Up
Here in the Rhodes’ home, we are in the third month of our three-week renovation project. During this project, there have been a few times when I was on one end of a tape measure: not my favorite place to be. Who has time to count all those little lines and figure out fractions? Why […]
Family Dinner
Last evening was a mid-week, no-occasion, family dinner. Mother-in-law made a delicious lasagna, daughter-in-law made a fresh, tasty salad, and I made some bread and a dessert. Two little boys were also here. They brought the giggles and kept us all on our toes. Life doesn’t get much better. The dinner discussion was quite interesting, […]
Silent Music
The concert hall was packed. The largest orchestra ever was assembled on the stage and two young vocalists nervously awaited the moment in which they would begin to sing. The conductor stood on the rostrum with his baton poised in the air. All eyes on the baton, the orchestra began playing at just the right […]
Sometimes You Just Have to Fling a Pig
One of my favorite yet most-likely untrue stories from touring France is that of the city of Carcassonne. While this walled city is fascinating in and of itself, the legend behind all the pig memorabilia is worth pondering. Lady Carcas paced in her room, hands clasping each other behind her back. She had seen her […]
The Art of Being Right
I had simply told my sister what I had heard our mother say she was cooking for dinner. Next thing I knew, my wrists were pinned to the floor, and my spine was chiseling its way into the hard linoleum. The weight on my chest as well as the onion-laden breath in my face made […]