Rockwall, TX (October 23, 2024) – The dark and musty garage laundry room with one small window that allowed a bit of moonlight provided a perfect atmosphere for our small group of neighborhood kids to meet. We sat in a circle as the older ones told ghost stories that made us shiver with excitement or […]
Rockwall, TX (August 14, 2024) – My husband and I have competing interests when it comes to long-distance drives. In his destination-driven perspective, the goal is to arrive as soon as possible. My own travel preference is to slow down and explore—stop and smell the roses, or the barbecue. When it comes to life in […]
Rockwall, TX (January 9, 2024) – “Na-na-na-na boo-boo. I’ll be with Jesus before you.” My mother-in-law sang that little ditty to me in our final phone conversation. She had just accepted hospice care, and, knowing I was crying, she tried to make me laugh. Marion, who I always called Mom, made me laugh for most […]
Rockwall, TX (September 27, 2023) – Hearing the distinct sound of an approaching garbage truck, my three-year-old son raced to a window to see his hero leap from a metal step and whisk away our trash. So, his early desire to become a garbage man someday made perfect sense. However, as his world broadened […]
ROCKWALL, TX (June 28, 2022) – Twenty years ago, the USS Spiegel Grove went down near Key Largo, Florida. But the locals happily observe the anniversary since the sinking was intentional. The state had received title to the retired Navy ship hoping it could become a haven for marine life. The sunken ship, just six […]
Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires — Song of Songs 2:7 (NIV) ROCKWALL, TX – February 3, 2022 — My second semester of college began with bleak winter days in the Ozark Mountains. I was only a few hours from home by road but more than a few degrees colder by […]
ROCKWALL, TX (Dec. 15, 2021) The girls’ faces fell an inch apiece after opening their mutual birthday present. Our small audience of parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles had expected a more enthusiastic response. While the eight-year-old dutifully recovered in time to produce a polite smile and a “thank you,” her six-year-old sister summoned the courage […]
April 2, 2021 – My friend Cindi, in the words of Dr. Seuss, has been in a “terribly prickly place.” Cindi undergoes intermittent treatments for an incurable cancer. During Cindi’s recent round of chemotherapy, her husband suffered an unexpected health crisis of his own and spent a week in the hospital recovering from emergency surgery. While […]