I graduated from Saginaw General Hospital’s diploma nursing program in 1969, a member of the last class. Most programs lasted three years, but this one packed all the work in two. We went year around. The hospital staffed around the students, and some of us also worked as aides on the weekends for a little […]
Straining Memories
I’ve heard the story many times. I’m dawdling as I dress for school in front of the furnace. My mom’s trying to speed things up. If I miss the bus, she threatens, I’ll spend the day in bed–at least until the bus would normally return late that afternoon. I don’t care. I miss the bus. […]
The Harder Path
Flipping through pictures. Cutting up the memories. Take the harder path. Inspired by chapter 4, “Cut up.” Leaving some whitespace here this month as I rest with Bonnie. In the stillness, Sandy This post is part of the “Finding Spiritual Whitespace Blog Tour” which I am a part of, along with a group of […]
One bloom in my mom memory bouquet
They were probably separate Christmases, but they’re tied together to make one bloom in my mom memory bouquet… We still live in the little four-room house. I’m off on another hunt that takes me under the couch cushion, inside a chartreuse kitchen cupboard door, under the gray formica table, behind the toaster, on top of my parents’ dresser, and […]
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 […]
mama said never judge the inside by the outside
My mama. She was a clever one. And she loved practical jokes. They were probably separate Christmases, but they’re fused together in my mind. We were still in the little house. I sat on the couch facing the bathroom door and the tree draped with single strands of tinsel, oil stove on my left, gray […]
Black Friday Fellowship – A Repost
I am a member of the Black Friday Fellowship. Or maybe it’s the Sisterhood of Silliness. Whatever it is, it’s tradition. This dark rising to set forth into the land of cold and crowds. Slushing through snow in tennis shoes and unbuttoned jackets. Gloveless. It always begins with a coffee stop. Sometimes there’s a plan, […]
First Home
I’m all giddy. Squirming in my seat. There. There’s the water tower. And here’s the exit. Do you suppose the Dairy Barn is still there? It’s been almost 40 years. Is that where I picked up Puppy on my way to work that morning? Poor little stray. Sweet little dog. I’m not sure I recognize […]
The Tick Tock of My Heart
Egg salad sandwiches. I’m pretty sure that’s what she served. And sweet gherkins in a glass pickle dish. We probably drank iced tea while seated knee-to-knee at the formica table right here, our backs to the window. And pie. I suspect we had pie. Or heaping bowls of ice cream. It was the first […]
