She would go barefoot 24/7 if she could, this little granddaughter of mine. Snow, rain, and puddles do not phase her at all. In fact, she loves to press her cold hands against my face just to hear me holler. We were there, her grandma and grandpa, when awkwardly, robotically, one step, and then two, […]
Letter: She Loved the Nativity Most of All
A couple of the grandkids stopped by the other day, looked around and one of them said as only an uninhibited child can do: “Grandpa, you have a lot of work to do to get ready for Christmas!” Then the other chimed in: “We can’t have Christmas without coming here! We always have Christmas here!” […]
Letter: Silver-ribboned Stairs – Where Will They Lead?
On the rare early mornings this winter time of year, it used to be that as the sun appeared over the top of the hill the momentary sunlight would turn the edgings on the stairs into silver ribbons, horizontal icicles, shooting stars. Then, lost in thought, my hands cradling a cup of coffee in order to stay […]
Letter: A Bunny for Broken Hearts
Tired from sorting through boxes and otherwise trying to reorganize my life following the death of my wife of 50 years married, lost to cancer, just over eight months ago, as well as attempt to return our home to some semblance of order so as to host our first Christmas without her, I wearily headed […]
Letter: We Realized Our Dream
I’m standing in the toy aisle at Walmart yesterday, shopping for my grandson’s birthday, and this woman approaches me and says “I’m from Kansas.” And I’m thinking ‘oookkkk?’ Then she says “In Kansas we don’t have locked toy cabinets!” So, I say, “Maybe that’s because in Kansas there’s nothing to steal?” Now, with hands on […]
Letter: That’s What We Do
Yesterday was a difficult day in the most difficult time of the year. Yesterday I stood in front of a world-gone-brilliantly-white beautifully decorated Christmas Tree, one of 26 on display at the Mary Bridge Children’s Festival of Trees. And as I stood there, I was still trying to hide my emotions. Moments before the song […]
Letter: Our Hearts, Hardwired for Home
Moms and dads with their little ones are lined up for pictures with Santa. Smiling arm-in-arm couples watch their children hop about on snowflakes which twirl about on the floor, their images projected from high in the rafters. Exquisitely decorated, soon to be auctioned, Christmas trees line the pavilion where husbands and wives consider their […]
Letter: I Found That One
We met at the University of Washington. That first day on campus I was lost. With over 500 buildings, occupying over 20,000,000 million (as in million) square feet, the University of Washington was, to me, during Orientation Days, as foreign as the Orient and I was as forlorn a freshman as was ever admitted on […]
Letter: Can You Laugh and Cry At The Same Time?
As I entered the kitchen this Thanksgiving morning to get my cup of coffee, there on the stove was a pie, made by our daughter, decorated with a simple tulip in honor of her Dutch mom, my wife. And just like that the tears started. Don’t ask me to pray today as the family gathers […]