I do not like parking garages.
I like the concept of them.
I appreciate that they keep me out of the weather.
I just do not like the feeling I get when I drive in one.

Some parking garages are fine.
Some parking garages have very low ceilings.
They are the ones that bother me.
Though I am not textbook claustrophobic, I do not always like closed spaces.

Read More...

I was driving down the road and saw something odd ahead of me.
I was in the middle lane of a three lane road.
The car belonging to the driver in the right lane looked a bit odd.
From a distance, I could not discern what was shining so brightly from the side of the car.

As I drove along, my lane was clearer than the lane to my right.
I was able to drive up alongside of the little red car.
As I approached, I could see something shining in a place where a bumper should be.
My mind was trying to make sense of what I was seeing while still driving safely on the road.

Read More...

Driving home from church, I saw them.
A group of people were standing in a circle underneath a tree.
Their heads were bowed.
The mood was somber.

The writer in me connected the dots as I looked at the scene.
Since one man was holding what appeared to be a Bible, I concluded that it was a funeral.
Since children were part of the group, I concluded that it was probably a family pet.
The clouds were gray and no sun was shining, which seemed appropriate.

Read More...

I woke up to the sound of singing.
Each day, it was the call of the morning.
Some might have been frustrated that their sleep was disturbed.
I seemed to count on it.

I was only fifteen years old at the time.
Spring was ready to burst forth.
Crocuses that my mother planted around the lamppost were ready to bloom.
Soon the colors of spring would be everywhere.

Read More...

A friend of mine is getting ready to go on a cruise.
I saw her Facebook post.
I wished her well.
I know she will have a wonderful time.

As for me, I’m not so sure.
I have never been on a cruise ship but I have no desire to go on one.
I remember one experience that happened about twenty-three years ago.
I think of it from time to time and can still remember it vividly.

Read More...

She was walking with her father holding his hand.
She was skipping like little girls do.
It was a bitterly cold day and she was wearing her winter boots.
I heard the sound of the boots against the ground.

I was bringing my husband’s suit to the cleaners.
I was holding the suit tightly as the wind whipped around me.
I left the cleaners with my receipt in my hand.
I should have put the paper in my wallet since the wind was doing its best to steal it.

Read More...

If you came into our garage, you would see CD’s hanging from the ceiling.
The CD’s hang from the metal arm of the garage door openers.
No one hits their head on the CD’s.
They are up too high for that.

The CD’s are hanging from a piece of fish wire.
The CD’s twist and turn in the breeze.
They are definitely a conversation piece.
No one knows why they are there.

Read More...

They were married for 62 years.
They knew each other from the time they were 11 years old.
His 83 years and her 81 years were beginning to take their toll.
They each suffered from various health issues yet remained faithful and steadfast in their love.

He has spent the last three months in and out of hospitals.
Having diabetes, he has had four major surgeries because of poor circulation.
All the surgeries were an attempt to save his feet.
Within the past week, he had his middle toe amputated because of the disease.

Read More...

I remember the year she asked to go.
She wanted to go away for two weeks to a Christian camp with some of her church friends.
The camp was nearby but it would have been her first time away for an extended time.
She was young and was the first of our children to ask permission for such a thing.

I knew the camp and I knew the people with whom she would be going.
My husband was not agreeable to this whole idea.
She’s too young! he said, reminding me that she had just finished sixth grade.
Maybe another year.

Read More...