I will always remember one line in the play Death of a Salesman.
Attention must be paid.

How often we forget!

The weight of providing for a family day in and day out is enormous.
The provider lives between two worlds.
The world of work and the world of home.
These two worlds cannot be conflated.
They are vastly different.

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My son, Brian, is twenty one years old today.
That is not possible…because I just delivered him!
That “it was just yesterday” feeling is common to mothers.
No matter how old your children are…even when they have families of their own…they will always be your child.

When my children were little, we had devotions each day.
Hiding the Word in their heart was so important.
There was one devotion that Brian took very seriously.

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Here it is…the day after…the day after Christmas.
What a wonderful Christmas it was.
Here in Pennsylvania, it began to snow late afternoon on Christmas Eve.
It was such a beautiful drive to church for Christmas Eve services.
The snow covered the ground and clung to every branch…every rooftop.

Something so peaceful about new-fallen snow.
Something so pure…so clean…so new!
It was a Christmas gift…sent right from His Hand.
We haven’t had a white Christmas in years!

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Every four weeks I get my hair cut.
When you wear a shorter style, it needs to be maintained frequently.
My daughters have long hair and don’t need to get it cut as often.

I have been going to the same girl for years.
I like her…and trust her!
It matters to know that the person cutting your hair knows what they’re doing.
She does!

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Wednesday is our trash day.
We put the trash out the night before, since the trash men come very early.
I am usually out walking when they make their rounds.
We do our weekly wave.

Waving to the trash men and the recycling men is one thing.
Knowing their names is another.
I am always so glad when they leave a Christmas card taped to the side of the trash can.
Then I finally know their names.

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You can imagine what was on the lunch menu.
Leftovers!
Everyone thinks Thanksgiving leftovers are the best.
A smorgasbord of yesterday…enjoyed today!

It is fun to set everything out and watch it disappear.
Who wants their food warm…who wants their food cold.
Who chooses a sandwich…who wants a platter.
Something for everyone.

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“Smoke lifting out of a chimney is one of the most comforting sights. That and sleeping kids. And books. Also a pantry full of cereal.”
So says Andrew Peterson, Christian music artist, in a Facebook post this afternoon.

How I appreciated the simplicity of what he wrote.
It challenged me to think of my own comforting sights…my own comforting things.

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Shopping carts.
Such a necessity in the grocery store.
Such a blessing at other retail stores.
Items can go in the cart instead of carrying them around in your arms.

Carts can leave the store and get wheeled to your car.
Load up your car with your packages…return the cart to the designated area.
Return them…unless there is no room because the designated area is filled with carts.

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