My fondest childhood memories include my siblings and I waddling up steep Pennsylvania hills, towing our sleds while laughing and talking until we piled onto our reckless crafts and flew screaming down the hill. During Christmas holidays, our church families had a tradition of getting together and driving around the neighborhood, where we sneaked out …
Category: Family and Friends
From my window
From my chair at the desk, I can see the neighbor man working on one of his decrepit vehicles. J is wearing a billcap on backward, a black, sleeveless t-shirt, and saggy jeans. He looks sad as he works among the weeds. A cigarette droops from his mouth. After a while, J drops his tools …
Peter Rabbit
"The Peter Rabbit movie you returned was two months overdue," the librarian announces. "When we finally got the movie, it no longer worked," she says, "so you will need to pay for a new one. In the future, please do not keep movies so long. We had a list of people waiting for Peter Rabbit …
Tips for Communicating with a Deaf Person
Out of curiosity, I once googled "how to communicate with a deaf person." I read the lists, all written by hearing people. Some of the suggestions were accurate, others made me shake my head in despair or giggle with amusement. A majority group speaking for a minority simply doesn't cut it, so I decided to …
Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Me
1. I once licked a pig's snout to earn $2.50. When my (then) future mother-in-law found that out, she said she always did want frugal wives for her sons. 2. I didn't get along with my 7th grade teacher, and I'm not even sure why. He was a very good teacher and I learned a …
blessings
I almost feel apologetic for the pensive nature of my last few posts; I say almost, because the reality is that life is not always easy, and sometimes the most powerful thing we can do for each other is to say "I identify with you." Still, last night as I was drifting off to sleep, …
My eternal home
When Will and I got married, we bought a dear little three-acre patch of overgrown property in the country. A crumbling-down house stood in one corner of the lot, and most of the rest of the area was covered with trees--a luxury for Kansas. We cleared out a space in the trees and moved in …
New Year’s Resolutions Reversed
On a rare evening out together a few weeks ago, Will and I took the chance to discuss some of the challenges we are facing and how to adjust our lives to better fit our calling. We made some goals for the new year, and talked about how we might go about accomplishing them. As …
He came into the mess
This year, the Advent season felt totally wrong. To start off, our family was sick for the first two weeks. Instead of being Mary in the Kid's Club Christmas program, my daughter laid listlessly on the couch, her little body burning up with fever. Mostly due to the sickness, Will and I didn't join an …
The Cat’s Indignity
This story has no point, other than to say, watch out for the cat! And perhaps it will give you a chuckle on a dreary December day. Last week our family received the unsettling news that Will's dad was in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism. On a whim, we decided to pack up the …
arabah rejoice 