I enjoy baking.
I enjoy cooking.
Old-fashioned aprons are part of my kitchen attire.
Aprons that cover the front of me but not the back.

Taking things out of the oven requires the use of oven mits.
Oven mits are an enigma to me.
They are usually sold, not in pairs but singularly.
They are usually made for the right hand.

Being left-handed, that presents a problem.

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Two psychologists set out to investigate depth perception.
E.J. Gibson and R. D. Walk developed the visual cliff experiment.
The apparatus they used simulated an actual cliff.
Yet a sheet of Plexiglas protected the subjects from injury.

In my psychology classes in college, the visual cliff experiment intrigued me.
The sheet of Plexiglas covered a cloth with a checker board pattern.
On one side, the cloth is placed directly beneath the Plexiglas.
On the other side, the cloth is dropped about 4 feet below.

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Seven of us grew up on the same street.
Actually one lived around the corner, but basically the same street.
We all went to elementary school and high school together.
There are pictures of us in our graduation caps and gowns on a front lawn.

In the days of neighborhoods with sidewalks and close-together houses, this was common.
There was always someone to play with or someone’s house to visit.
Most of us lost track after high school graduation when college or work took us away.
Social media has helped us reconnect.

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The little girl was leaning against her mother.
Actually, she was leaning against her mother’s tummy.
Leaning against her mother’s tummy and talking sweetly.
Talking sweetly to the brother or sister who is growing inside.

The little girl was having quite a conversation.
All the events of her day were being told.
The new song she learned at preschool was being sung.
It was wonderful to watch.

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I saw them on a country road.
A bicycle built for two upon which an older Mennonite couple rode.
If I was an artist, I would have painted a picture to capture the moment.
Since I am a writer, painting a picture with words will have to do.

I watched as they pedaled in tandem.
Their legs moving in unison.
The ground they gained was far better than the ground I gained in my car.
The familiar clothes, the head covering, the bike basket that held their packages.

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It was a Facebook message that seemed to come out of nowhere.
A man introduced himself as the husband of someone I once knew.
This girl was the oldest of seven children.
She and her family lived on my street.

Five girls and two boys grew up in a three bedroom house.
Since I went to school with two of the sisters, I spent time in their home.
The five girls all shared the master bedroom.
Being an only child, I had never seen so many beds.

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Dreams.
We all have them.
We may not remember all of them.
We may not understand many of them.

Our most vivid dreams happen during rapid eye movement or REM sleep.
REM sleep is about one quarter of our total sleep, about 90-120 minutes each night.
The first REM sleep may occur about an hour after falling asleep.
The longest REM period usually occurs close to morning.

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Do you ever think about what a privilege it is to hear the heart of your child?
The heart, the thoughts, the dreams, and the fears that need a safe place.
A place of unconditional love, acceptance, support, and encouragement.
Often, a mother is that safe place.

No matter the age, there is a heart that needs to speak.
There is a heart that needs to be heard.
There is a heart that needs to hear itself speak.
A heart that needs words to somehow capture the depths of its feelings.

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It is not often that I see a Biblical truth lived out so precisely.
Lived out in such a way that the pages of the Bible come alive.
Especially when it is an Old Testament truth, I know that I have been given a gift.
The gift of being able to witness such a thing.

I went to my place, the place of farms, and cows, and open space, and plain people.
Plain people is what they call themselves.
It is a sweet truthful term.
They are a people who know so well what being in community is all about.

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