Dearest, As with so many, many things in my life, my memories of September 11, 2001, are all intertwined with memories of you. My dad, brother Will, and I had gotten up early that morning. We were driving here to help your family with building your parents’ home. The Country radio station was on (it…
Hey, Hey, Good Lookin’, whatcha got cookin’ How’s about cookin’ somethin’ up with me Hey, sweet baby, don’t you think maybe We could find us a brand new reci-pe. Hank Williams Jr. Hey Good Lookin’ Husband of Mine! I wish I could remember which visit it was that I first saw this little oven and…
Dear Ruth Ann, It was Sunday after church. We stopped at the gas station. You just had to go use the little girl’s room, despite the fact that we’d be home soon. We stumbled back out through the doors of the gas station—tired girls, you and me, ready for our Sunday afternoon nap. Our carriage…
Dearest Pen Pal, The lady who owns our local Hallmark teases you because she doesn’t see you as much now that we are married. But I tell her it’s because I get to see you now that we are married. Our communication isn’t limited to the pen and ink you filled each blank space of…
One of my first thoughts yesterday morning was of her. She came to our church with her best friend when I was young. One Father’s Day, we heard the ambulance sirens before we’d even left church. A few days later, I was in the church nursery during her dad’s funeral. And every Father’s Day, I…
It was hard to think of it as bad news when it came. Dan was so ready to go Home. A year and a half is a long time to deal with brain cancer in an earthly, pain-wracked body. Now, he has a new body. No more pain, no more tears. But last Saturday we…
My grandparents came to visit last weekend. For once, things weren’t too busy on the farm. We weren’t remodeling. Or cleaning up the garden for the year. We had time to just visit. We sat and drank tea—hot tea, iced tea, and watery tea from a tiny aluminum tea pot—and talked about theology and marriage…
The hardest thing about living far from where I grew up is going back. Going back and seeing how people have changed. The added wrinkles, the feebler steps. They jump out at you, mockingly asking why you stayed away so long. Yet it is because of the absence that they are so easily noticed. The…
We’ve been married just two years, but my husband and I have begun to realize we’re already falling into that “old married couple” category. We like going to bed early. We have to have our Sunday afternoon naps. And they just don’t make love songs like they did when we were young. A few months…
My dearest little Pumpkin, I wish Mommy had brought her camera with her tonight. And yet, the camera lens would only have captured the cute little redheaded baby girl eating tortilla chips at the Mexican restaurant. The camera might have caught her daddy and mommy sitting next to her. But it wouldn’t have been able…
My Great Great Aunt Ruth died on Good Friday. This July 4 would have been her 100th birthday. She almost made it to 100–she was sure planning on living that long. But she missed Uncle Charlie. And after being married over sixty years, who could blame her for finding the last seven years without him…
Our home is changing colors. As I write, I can see my husband and brother-in-law through the window, trekking back and forth in the mud, hanging hardi-plank siding on our house. It looks so nice, so proper and finished. But I can tell already, I’m going to miss the pink (“passion pink”, as Uncle Bill…
The End.
The End.