I have a love-hate relationship with a tree.
It is a tree that is on our front lawn.
It is a tree that has a swing my husband made for our youngest daughter.
It is a tree that children run to when they are at our house.

It is a walnut tree.
For anyone that has a walnut tree in their yard, you know the mess they create.
The walnuts drop constantly onto the driveway with a loud, PLOP.
As we drive up the driveway, the walnuts crush with a loud sound.

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There is a certain kind of sandal I like to wear.
The shoes are a bit more expensive but they are so comfortable for my back.
I can walk all day in those walking sandals.
They are not the most stylish shoe in the world but they feel amazing.

I went on the website to look and see what styles they had for fall.
We are planning to visit our son in D.C. in a few weeks.
I knew that we would be doing a lot of walking.
I want to see all the monuments again and want to be prepared to walk many miles.

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We had quite a few milk crates in our basement.
Years ago, we had a milk man deliver milk to our home but these crates were not from him.
The milk man’s crates had the name of the dairy prominently displayed.
These crates were just your run of the mill milk crates in various colors.

We had four red milk crates that were used to make shelves for my oldest son’s dorm room.
A sturdy piece of wood was placed on top of two milk crates.
With four milk crates, my son was able to make two instant shelves.
He chose red milk crates because red is his favorite color.

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I read her email and my heart hurt.
The mother of my dear friend is in the hospital.
I knew that she had been having health issues.
The email was difficult to read.

This woman is 93 years old.
She has been in my home.
She has come to the Bible study I teach when she was here visiting her daughter.
She was always feisty, and opinionated, and extremely independent.

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A friend was coming over to spend some time on my porch.
I was looking forward to the blessing of our conversation.
I was looking forward to the respite that time with a friend can provide.
I was looking forward to sitting on my porch swing while she sat on the rocker.

Isn’t it funny how you have your own seat?
Isn’t it funny how you tend to sit in the same seat in the places you frequent?
It’s not as if there is a gold plaque declaring the seat to be yours.
It just seems to be understood somehow.

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I am one of those people.
I am the one of those people that people shorter than me approach in a store.
I am always asked the question in a quiet, I don’t want to impose, kind of way.
I am the one who always gets asked to grab something on a high shelf.

Usually, the person will say, You’re tall; can I ask you a favor?
I don’t mean to bother you, but could you get that for me? They say pointing.
Oh, to be tall like you, then I could reach the high shelf.
Would you help me?

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We are the second owners of the house in which we currently live.
We built the house we lived in before this one.
Many new homeowners said, I wish they would stop building, now that we live here.
It was said tongue in cheek but the honesty of the statement always struck me.

All these years later, they are still building.
Villages with apartments, town houses, and single family homes have been completed.
Those villages have shops, farmer’s markets, concerts, and restaurants.
Those villages seem to be the up and coming way to build.

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She works in the floral department of my grocery store.
She and I have become friends.
The first time I talked to her, she was inflating three balloons for me.
We talked about family, our culture, losing a loved one, and hard work.

We just solved the problems of the world, I teased as she handed me my balloons.
That conversation seemed to solidify the two of us as kindred spirits.
I gave that name to us that day since we thought so much alike.
She seemed to know the Anne of Green Gables reference to Anne and Diana.

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A friend of mine loves animals.
She raised three daughters and homeschooled each of them.
She wanted to find a little job she could do that would still allow her to be at home.
She decided that she would take care of her neighbor’s pets while they were away or at work.

She told me about how wonderful her job was for her health and well being.
Walking dogs a few times a day gave her the exercise she longed for without going to the gym.
She loves people and walking the dogs allowed her to meet people on her walks.
She cared for whatever animals were in the person’s home and she loved every minute of it.

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I admit, I used to watch The Brady Bunch.
Every girl my age, at the time, wanted to be Marcia.
I confess that I even wrote her a letter when I was one of those pre-teen girls.
I never got an answer from her, but I got a letter from Jan and Peter.

Those letters got tucked away with other memorabilia.
Tucked away like my Happy Days book, signed by Richie, Fonzie, Ralph, and Potsie.
When I got older, I saw no need for those “childish things.”
I simply gave them away.

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