Summertime, summertime, it’s here! As kids, my cousin and I played a game in the pool. We bounced up and down on our toes, counting with each lift, until on three, we squeezed our noses and pulled ourselves underwater to talk. Big bubbles erupted from our mouths followed by bursts of bubbles of all sizes, …
Rarely does a handwritten note lean inside my mailbox anymore. Now when I tip back its door, travel brochures lay this way and that, each covered with colorful scenes competing against other mailers. Sometimes I trudge up the steep sidewalk with mail in hand and relax on a porch chair to peruse destinations on the …
Diggity trots beside me on the street which runs along the bayou. The waters are content this morning and reflect houses and docks on the opposite bank. The mirrored effect of twin roofs and windows, trees, and rows of posts marching out into the water where they meet themselves, enlarges my breath and I smile. …
Chasing Memories I ask my brother over the phone. “Do you remember driving down the dirt road to the ranch house and coming upon a dead horse on the side of the road?” “Yeah, I vaguely remember.” When we were kids, Dad explained that while men rounded up a herd of cattle, a cow hooked …
My neighbor stood on his ladder and unclipped Christmas lights from his gutter, while I, in my living room, snugged baby Jesus and His parents in a box to sleep until next year. Slowly colors disappeared, one light, one Christmas ball at a time, and we’re left with what feels like the longest month of …
Click, scroll, click. Our family exchanges lists for Christmas gift-giving. This eases the awkward moment of unwrapping a well meant gift, but one that doesn’t “fit” the person unwrapping it. With online shopping’s easy buy, easy wrap, no searching, and no angst, I click my family’s links and enter credit card information which I’ve memorized …
We push back from the table to give our bellies room to expand. Our plates, covered with smears of gravy and daubes of cranberry sauce, litter the table. Luke tips the bread basket to peek under the cloth, but we demolished the homemade rolls. “Surely you’re not still hungry,” I ask him while I replace …
Diggity barks behind our front windows like a rescue dog defending his forever home. A man wearing brown shorts flashes past. A package! I scrabble to unlock the door, retrieve the package and holler, “Thank you,” before rushing back in the house with a taped box. After ripping open the package, a book and booklet …
Zebra, our cat, luxuriates on the bed. He stretches to his length, exposing his spotted belly and invites, “Rub my tummy, scratch my chin.” He tempts, but if I fall for it, one of two things will happen. He will rocket off the bed or snag my hand with front claws, eviscerate with back claws …
The broiling air felt delicious after spending the morning in air conditioning. I sat in the shade of a grandfather oak in the backyard of a rental house. The Texas heat contained only trace amounts of humidity, so it felt as if a giant oven door tipped open. I relaxed in the Adirondack chair and …
Deep calls to deep At the roar of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have gone over me. Psalm 42:7 Waves barrel, one after the other, allowing just enough time to kick and claw up to the border of air and no air, only to encounter a foot of wet foam and another …
School starts this week! Teachers staple the last bulletin boards and finish lesson plans, while parents count outfits and figure schedules. Some years ago, I taught 6-9th grade sciences. Some years filled me with anticipation each morning, but other years, I counted the days until the students ran with backpacks bouncing into summer. The batch …