I know something’s up when the usher hands me a scrap of green ribbon. It’s not like our pastor hasn’t told us to expect the unexpected. That’s the title of this month’s sermon series, after all. And he believes in fun. I’m hoping this is fun. We find a seat front and center, our […]
Search Results for: moving
When Papa Comes Running
It’s the twilight hour. He’s settled across from my summer seating to catch some of the game. But he’s dozing. The Droid interrupts the outfield scramble. “Grace is in the field behind your house screaming. She’s not moving. She’s just standing there screaming, ‘Help me!’ I sent her through the field for a couple double-A […]
Five Minute Friday: The Lace of Life
My baby dress–crocheted by my Aunt Esther in 1949. “Grandma! Grandma! A worm. A worm in my room!” She sounds hysterical. I leap out of bed. “I’m coming! I’m coming!” She’s reacting to a new medicine. Not so well. “Don’t open the door! It’ll fall on your head! It’s moving!” She’s sobbing. I run to […]
I’ve Lost It
I’ve lost a contact. I mean, it’s here somewhere, but I just can’t find it. I did this morning what I always do. Close drain. Unscrew the right (blue) top of lens case. Retrieve tiny blue-tinted plastic sphere on my right index finger. Gently roll it between that finger and thumb. Rinse under running salt-softened […]
Surprised by Light
This is the day the Lord has made. And I am sad. I’ve misplaced my joy today. I’ve been thinking about my mom again. And I’ve been struggling to see her face. Why can’t I see her face? The box she gave me last summer still sits next to the pine grain bin in the […]
For When We Fail
It’s half an hour to the game. On good roads. The game starts at 10:20. I want to leave by 9:30. I’m up, showered, dressed. I yell up the stairs at 9. The roads don’t look so good. At 9:30, he’s shoveling, and I’m muttering. At 9:40, he comes in, putters in the basement. My […]
I Want You to Roar
A free-flying heart and mind and fingers for five short minutes. No second-guessing. No over-thinking. No editing. For Lisa Jo. On the word prompt . . . ROAR! Ready . . . set . . . GO! I want you to roar. To sink your teeth into the back of my neck and give […]
Puzzling the Pieces and Feeling Like Home
We’ve gone to the family room to Skype them in, the friends from the Netherlands. This technology, it’s new to my dad. My sister tries to describe the room we’re in. The sofa, she says, pulls out into a double bed. And the chairs recline. I’m surprised. They recline? Did they tell us that? They […]
If I Should Die
Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take. I remember. I’d pray this little prayer every night in my head in my little bed in the little (I mean little–I stood in it […]
Do They Sweat in Duke City? / Fiction as Research (repost)
In memory of novelist Stephen Bly, here’s a repost of an article he shared last year on western novel research, especially as it relates to Cowboy for a Rainy Afternoon. Do They Sweat in Duke City? / Fiction as Research by Stephen Bly New Mexico heat blanketed Albuquerque that July like too many covers […]
