“I know it’s morbid, my daughter says, “but I’ve been thinking about it, and so I’ll ask. If you and Dad die, is there enough life insurance to fly you home and bury you?” She asks him the same question over the phone, and he assures her there is plenty and more. I tell her I don’t […]
My House Is On Fire
I’d just set down bowls of chicken and rice kibble mixed with canned lamb dinner when my phone rang. I’m used to not being able to understand the grandgirl because of giggling and commotion in the background. But tonight (Monday–the day after Mother’s Day) was different. Through her panic, I finally understood her screams. “My house […]
One Word Less For Lent 2015 – 11
Sharing three 11-word poems today. Still For someone who craves stillness, my life moves pretty fast still. Word Count: 11 Death and Life Kara passes A plane crashes And my lilac tips are pregnant. Word Count: 11 Note: A plane crashed in the French Alps this morning. I heard this during the […]
40 Words of Lent: Day 15
Winter’s worn out, and it’s melting into dirty banks and muddy waves, leaving browned tree skirts and revealing what’s been broken. Our world is puddled from the weight of it. I’ve learned: When life gets messy, spring’s on its way. Word Count: 40 Today’s Reading: Luke 20-24 In the stillness, Sandy Linking […]
scripture sunday: your precious life
So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed. Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don’t squander your precious life. ~Proverbs 8:32-33 (MSG) Still listening, Sandy With Deidra
i just want summer to last
I’m sitting in a black wrought iron chair on the patio, munching a cream-cheesed cinnamon-raisin bagel. I hadn’t meant to eat a bagel. I’d meant to opt for something more healthy–like scrambled egg whites tossed with spinach and tomatoes and onions. But I’m housebreaking a new puppy, and it’s a grab-and-go day. (We swore there’d […]
when you have no idea where you are going
It’s been one of those weeks. You’ve had them, right? Times of hard decision-making and what-ifs that lead to more waiting and second-guessing and flip-flopped fear and trust, and you just want a final decision to be made and hope you can live with it. Except each step on the journey brings more decisions […]
as the wheels turn
I’m on my bike. I don’t want to be. Well, I do kind of. But not really. I’m not in shape, and my husband has no concept of time or distance. Well, he does, and I know he’ll turn back if I ask, but I also know he wants to share this time with […]
big and small things
We’re packed up and on our way when he tells me about it. And it’s big. Life-changing big. Take-your-breath-away big. But this time I stay small and silent. And I listen. Do you know we use the same letters to build the words “silent” and “listen?” And it is this, this big thing, that […]
life, home, and hospitality
Please, God, let my parents come and beat her up. We’d had a sword battle with pencils, Patsi and I. And Mrs. Smith rapped my 7-year-old knuckles. But not Patsi’s. So I turned around and scribbled on Patsi’s picture. And now I stood in the corner, lump in throat, cheeks aflame. It didn’t occur to […]
