It was an assignment in elementary school that captured me.
We were given a word with no explanation.
We were to imagine what that word might look like.
We were to draw a picture of what we imagined.

The word was Jabberwocky.
After the giggles subsided, some serious art work began.
It was amazing how one word could invoke so many different ideas.
It was thrilling to see a word that no one had heard before, come to life.

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For some reason, I was thinking about a psychology class that I took in college.
The class was simply called, Perception.
The visual part of the class, discussing what we perceive, was quite interesting.
The scientific part, discussing why we perceive what we perceive, was not my favorite thing.

I thought the class would be interesting.
I remember, as a little girl, I asked a question about something I saw on TV.
A car moving forward on a street suddenly appeared to be moving backward.
I received a vague answer at the time and never asked a follow-up question.

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I am always amazed at the things people throw out in the trash.
There are lawn chairs that look as if they would not be able to hold a feather.
There are sofas that have seen better days.
I once saw a sofa bed, which had springs protruding from every side.

As I drive around, I take notice of the things that are on the side of the road.
I am sure that people put furniture by the curb in the hopes that someone will pick it up.
There are many people that find wonderful things on the side of the road.
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

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We have ten bookshelves in our house that are filled with books.
Some shelves are filled with classic books that I have read to my children.
Some shelves are filled with history books.
Some shelves contain theology books or books written by great thinkers and theologians.

In my mind’s eye, I know where any book can be found.
I can go to the correct shelf and pull out a book I am looking for at any given time.
The shelves are getting so full that some books are now laying horizontally on top of others.
Short of buying some new shelves, additional books will have to be stored this way.

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We have Google at our fingertips.
We have the ability to search for anything and everything whenever we choose.
We have access to huge amounts of data any time need it.
In minutes, we have our answer.

It was not always that way.
There was a time when you had to get out of your chair to get a dictionary.
There was a time when you had to go to the library to do research.
There was a time when you had to physically, systematically search for answers.

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There were only two checkout lines open.
The line of customers waiting to be checked out was getting longer by the minute.
The customer service desk allowed customers to check out there.
For the most part, people made the best of it.

Some people talked to each other in line even though they never met before.
I happened to see someone I knew who was waiting three people ahead of me.
We talked a bit over the heads of the people between us.
Talking around people feels a bit uncomfortable since it appears to be rude.

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A friend was coming over for tea.
She was going to stop over before going to work.
I told her the tea would be ready.
I was looking forward to a refreshing morning of conversation.

Tea by itself is fine, but when a friend comes to sit and talk, a bit more is needed.
I decided that I would bake my five grain breakfast bread that is healthy and delicious.
The house always smells so good when this breakfast bread is baking.
The smell of cinnamon seems to permeate every corner and crevice.

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My oldest son is a lawyer for a firm in D.C.
After finishing law school and passing the bar exam, he clerked for a year in federal court.
He moved into an apartment bringing many things with him from his apartment in law school.
It was a kitchen table that he needed.

The table he had during law school belonged to one of his roommates.
I knew so many places where he could find an old farm table.
However time was of the essence.
He needed a nice table with chairs and did not think much about finding something old.

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My husband came home from work carrying a box.
It was a gift he had received before he left for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
It’s candy, he said.
Probably one of those boxes of assorted chocolates, I thought.

I put it in the pantry with the intention of getting it out when everyone was home.
I forgot about it before Christmas.
I remembered the night we all returned home from the movies.
I knew that everyone would have their favorites.

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They came to my house for an afternoon.
Four young boys from church who are very precious to me.
Our home is familiar to them.
Our home is home away from home.

They know where all the toys are.
They know where all the snacks are.
They know they will find M&M’s in the chicken feeder dispenser on my kitchen island.
They know all the best places to play outside starting with the tree swing.

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