I found myself acting like my grandmother today.
All of a sudden it occurred to me as I was paying for something at a cash register.
I was doing some fall decorating.
I needed a bale of straw, cornstalks, pumpkins, and gourds.

I got most of what I needed at a wonderful little country market.
It is owned and operated by a friend and her family.
It is a farm to table kind of place.
They sell fresh beef, eggs, and dairy along with delectable baked goods.

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When I was in elementary school, math was not my favorite subject.
I did well only by working hard.
Math was never second nature to me.
Reading and writing were so enjoyable and never seemed like work.

But math was another story.
I liked math in the beginning when things made sense to me.
For instance, when I memorized multiplication tables and when I learned long division.
However getting into the higher math of algebra, geometry, and calculus was painful.

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It was hanging on the mailbox.
I saw it from the dining room window.
My husband brought it in when he went to get the mail.
He was carrying it in one of those plastic grocery store bags.

The phone book is here, he announced.
He proceeded to put the phone book on my desk in the kitchen.
Can you just put it in recycling, please? I suggested.
I guess it’s an end of an era, I found myself saying wistfully.

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I had no idea what my daughter was talking about when she described it.
I bought it at camp, she announced after a week of being a camp counselor.
It was only $8.00.
I know I will use it a lot as I take pictures.

This is my daughter who loves to take pictures.
This is my daughter that has her own photography business.
In other hands, I would have questioned the purchase.
However, in her hands, I knew she would do creative things with the device.

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Little redheaded Elizabeth was having one of those special moments with her daddy.
It was an early episode of The Waltons.
Elizabeth wanted to ask her daddy a question.
She had an important question that needed an answer.

Daddy, where did you find me? She asked wondering how she came to be.
Hiding behind one of your mama’s smiles, baby.
She was satisfied with his answer.
She turned and gave him a glance over her shoulder.

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I was waiting for my turn at the customer service desk.
I saw him out of the corner of my eye.
By the way he was walking, I knew where he was headed.
When he reached the doors marked men and women, he stopped.

He was shopping with his mother.
It was obvious that he was too young to go into the restroom by himself.
He wanted to go into the men’s restroom on the right.
But since he was with his mother he had to go into the women’s restroom on the left.

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I attended a beautiful baby shower over the weekend.
A baby shower for a mother-to-be that I have known for years.
One of my daughters was the maid of honor at her wedding.
This precious mother-to-be spent many hours at my house.

And now in less than eight weeks, she and her husband will be parents.
They are expecting a baby girl.
They have chosen her name.
Now they wait.

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I drink quite a bit of water throughout the day.
It is good for me; it keeps me hydrated.
I have a favorite cup for my water that is usually within arm’s reach.
It has a design on the front that suits me.

It is from the place of Amish buggies.
There is a variable star quilt pattern on the front.
The cup holds 20 ounces of water, which I fill multiple times throughout the day.
The design of the quilt on the front of the cup makes me smile.

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They had stayed there along enough.
She wanted to be obedient.
She knew that her good manners were expected.
But she wanted her mom to know that it was time to go.

She had a birthday party to go to later that afternoon.
If they left now, she would get home just in time.
She didn’t want to interrupt.
So she gave her mom a nudge.

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My oldest son is a JRR Tolkien aficionado.
He has all of Tolkien’s books on his shelves here at home.
One day, they will go with him to his own home rather than his current apartment.
Parents tend to hold things for their adult children since they tend to have more room.

He has well worn copies of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.
He has The Silmarillion and the volumes on The History of Middle Earth.
I remember when he voraciously read these books in middle school.
He would often tell me the tale as he was reading it.

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