When my brothers and I get together and recollect our childhood, we recognize our memories are extremely idyllic! We have great memories and feels of our growing up years. One of those idyllic memories is of my grandparents’ house. Oh, it wasn’t a beach house or lake house, not a cabin in the mountains… it was a small, plain house…
Category: Family
Little Ginormous Things
I’m lying here in the hotel at 4:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning in Rochester, MN. I just said goodbye to my parents whom I just said “Hi” to 24 hours previously. Now I’m alone again. It finally hits me, and I start crying in the bed that I shared with my parents, just like I used to do when…
Christmas at Peach Bottom
It was late October when fire reduced our barn to a heap of ashes. The landlord came from Bethesda, Maryland to tell my father that insurance did not cover his property. Only the 30 milk cows survived the flames. A temporary milking system was installed in a large shed, but hay and grain were destroyed in the inferno. Providentially a Nazarene…
God’s Love for Your Children
Old people have old friends. You know, the ones you haven’t seen in years. I guess that means I’m old! From 1985-1992 my wife and I lived in Kansas City. We had, and still maintain, many rich and meaningful friendships in that fair city. But a common theme bonded five couples — we were all newlyweds just starting our families with at least one…
The Value of a Dream
Edward lingered at the edge of the food tent. His classmates were celebrating their graduation from high school. Chatter and laughter filled the tent, but Edward was not engaged in the merriment. I sought him out. So, what are your plans now that high school is behind you? I listened for a half hour while Edward shared his knowledge about…
Emmaline’s Doorpost
I loved visiting my grandparents. Some things never changed in their homes. My mom’s parents lived near Washington, D.C. with its museums and historical sites. Funny, though, I really got charged up by the endless supply of sweet cereal and cartoons on a TV that, unlike ours, worked all the time! Who could forget Grandpa Brackett’s repeated efforts to teach…