She handled each person expertly.
It was crowded in line so I had plenty of time to watch her interact with the people.
She was a master of small talk.
She put each of her customers at ease.

Two women were ahead of me.
The one who was being waited on was buying baby gifts.
The cashier was complimenting her on her choices.
When was the baby born? She asked as she scanned each of her items.

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We all struggle with distraction from time to time.
I tend to be focused but I can get lost in the family pictures and find that an hour has gone by.
When I search for a quote in a book, I will sit there rereading passages for far too long.
If I go through my closet to make a give away pile, I pull out old clothes and try them on.

Distractions.

Any teacher can tell you that it is painful to watch a child that struggles with distraction.
Their inability to focus hinders their learning.
Teachers are always looking for strategies to help a child focus on the task at hand.
One such strategy is the personal office.

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Even when my children are not here at home, I still close their blinds at night.
There is something about the routine of that simple act that comforts me.
It allows me to walk into their rooms and think of them.
It allows me to pray for them at that very moment.

Closing their blinds is a prayer trigger.
We need those in our day.
We all have our concentrated times of prayer.
Maybe we talk to God on our walk, or in the car, or at the beach when we feel so small.

Prayer triggers are so important.
They are little serendipitous reminders to lift someone before the Lord.

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Mom, I’m right down the road.
Do you want to see my hair?
My daughter was a bridesmaid in a wedding this past weekend.
She had her hair styled for the occasion.

Of course! I can’t wait to see it! I said, hoping she would catch my excitement.
I can’t come in, she said; I have to head over to get ready so meet me on the driveway. Within minutes, she was pulling into the driveway.
She was out of the car and I hugged her.

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Going for your walk? my husband asked as he left for work.
I am, I said knowing I would walk after he pulled out of the driveway.
I got myself together, gathered some mail that needed to be put in our mailbox and left.
It was a lovely morning, cool before the humidity set in and sunny enough for sunglasses.

I set out to walk the hill first.
When I got to the top of the hill, there was a lawn service truck.
I see this man faithfully cutting neighbor’s lawns each week.
We both smiled and said, Hi, to each other.

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I swallowed a bug on my morning walk.
I was going up a hill and my mouth was open just enough for a gnat to fly in.
Before I knew it, I was like the infamous lady who swallowed a fly.
And this was all before breakfast.

Absurd.

A resident of St. Paul, Minnesota lost everything when his house burned to the ground.
He lost everything except his cable service.
He and his daughter tried for an entire week to get the cable company to listen to them.
He was still receiving a cable bill.

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As I was filling my teakettle with water for a cup of tea, I saw the brilliant yellow.
Forsythia that was not blooming yesterday is a blaze of color today.
I can see them clearly from my kitchen window, though they do not belong to us.
They were planted years ago by our former neighbors.

I had mentioned once that I loved forsythia.
It was the one bush my husband would not plant since it tended to grow so wild.
That’s probably what I loved about it: the wildness and abandon.
My neighbor planted two forsythia bushes near the property line, for me to enjoy.

My neighbor, the one with the same last name, did that just for me.

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My daughter brought some friends home to stay at our house for a long weekend.
A house-full of girls.
Young women really.
Young women of beauty, talent, Godliness, and promise.

How I loved sitting at our long kitchen table and hearing their hearts.
How I loved sitting at our long kitchen table listening to their dreams.
How I rejoiced when I heard them share what God is doing in their lives.
How I loved their laughter, their conversation, and their vitality.

The future is in good hands.

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I knew that my daughter would like the boots.
The boots were for her birthday, nineteen years old.
At that age, birthday presents mostly consist of new clothes.
I was sure these boots would be a new favorite.

I was right.
They were leather with flannel inside.
They laced, but also had snaps.
You could turn down the leather sides to make them various heights.

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Gutter guards are causing the problem.
Gutter guards that my husband wanted to install on our gutters.
Gutter guards that I agreed to if it meant that he would no longer have to climb ladders.
I regretted my decision soon after I made it.

Cleaning out the gutters is a messy job.
It is my husband’s annual fall ritual.
He would remove the debris and allow it to fall on the walkway below.
Some debris would blow away as soon as it fell, the rest needed to be swept and discarded.

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