We have a summer tradition in our family that dates back to 1980. Yep, it’s hard to believe that it was nearly 40 years ago, right about the time that Spouse and I got married, that my parents bought a timeshare at a tiny family-friendly, older model motel-conversion tucked neatly between modern high-rise condos lining ...
Freedom Behind Bars
I received a letter from an inmate this week. It totally touched my heart. Actually, the publisher of my Too Blessed to be Stressed books received the letter then forwarded it to me. The female, 40-something inmate, whom I’ll call Shelly for privacy purposes, had a spiritual heart transplant nine months ago while in jail on drug ...
Sweater Love
There they were, sitting right in front of me. And I simply couldn’t tear my eyes away from them. A handsome couple, somewhere in their 70s, his arm protectively circling her petite shoulders as they shared intimate looks and warm smiles while waiting for the service to begin in the church I was visiting that ...
Singing to Sarah
Last Sunday I attended a reunion of sorts at the small church in which Spouse and I raised our kids. It felt like a passage back into time. Very little had changed in the 25 years we’d been away – same warm blue walls, identical sweet spirit of the welcoming people who currently worship there, ...
Superman in the Ladies Room
The other day, I treated my grandkids to a Chuckie Cheese-type game venue called the Fun Factory. Little did any of us know Superman would show up. And he would be me. Fun was had, tokens were spent, electronic dinosaurs were chased, and all was well until almost-four-year-old Bree had to go to the bathroom. ...
Staying Under the Umbrella
I’ve been enjoying a lovely summer visit to the Smoky Mountains this week. A lovely wet visit. It rained nonstop for five days. Can you say mountain mud? My shoes are caked in it. But rain or shine, the dog must go out. And since this is the inaugural and introductory trip to our special mountain ...
The Cave
I don’t like this cave I’m in. Not one bit. It’s dark. It’s uncomfortably damp. And it smells like rancid mushrooms. I feel terribly alone one minute and the next, I’m not sure I’m alone in here at all. I think I can hear someone – or something – breathing. If I strain hard enough ...
Answers to Word Fun
Many thanks to those of you who resisted the temptation to whip out your electronic professors and simply look up the answers to the questions posed by my recent Word Fun post. It was great fun reading your legitimate guesses – some educated, some hilarious – and believe me, mine were more off the wall ...
A Little Word Fun
I ran across a new word (new to me, anyway) this week that pretty much nutshells the attitude of several people with whom I’ve had the misfortune to interact recently: solipsistic. As in, “I had to break up with Ralph because he was way too solipsistic.” What do you think it means? Seriously – give ...
Kindness Necklace
I ran across a story yesterday that pretty much says it all. It was an article I’d clipped from the Tampa Trib (5/27/15) titled, “Carjacked Grandmother Details Hardest 20 Minutes of Her Life.” The story begins with a 60-year-old grandma, Susan Davidson, stopping for gas at a well-lit and populated gas station not far from ...