"You have to make a wish before you blow." Buttercup bent down to pick another dandelion, being careful not to disturb the ball of fluff. She handed it to Ponder who brought it close to his face.
Yuletide
Christmas. Not feeling it. I am used to being behind the season. Even after tulips have come and gone I still feel that it is winter. It is not until we are well into May that I put the boots and jackets away. It usually takes me until it is high time to carve the pumpkin before I have given up the hope of summer. But Christmas? I am nearly always the first on the block with the tree.
Timepiece
I have never liked clocks. The tracking of seconds, minutes, and hours. The movements, the displays, the sounds. The tics, the tocs, the winding, the chimes. Don’t even get me started on the alarm. All reminders of the passing of time. Why do I hate this so much?
Candor
I have never learned the fine art of candor. I think when I was young I had it briefly. Children come by it naturally. Yesterday I subbed in the first grade and was bathed in it all day.
Heat
When you wake up in a cold house, you put your feet on the cold floor ready to work. A fire must be kindled. If you are lucky there are stout embers waiting, and the wood is dry. If you are very lucky your heater will be ignited with a flip of the switch. If there are others in the house they will wait for the heat to begin to circulate before they begin their ascent into the day. They are the luckiest of us all.
Sparkle
We have always been attracted to the sparkle. And the world, while seeming to have an abundance, has portioned it out to hidden places, fleeting moments, and sacred times. This is probably why it has kept its allure so long. Sparkle holds for us all the excitement of encountering something rare. Our reaction to it is built into our very genes. We get an emotional charge when we see it. But what happens when this sparkle is no longer hidden, or fleeting, or sacred?
More Than Goodbye
We have always been a family that made much of good-byes. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or even just a summer get-together. It doesn’t matter the occasion or who or how many people are in attendance. When the day is done and it is time to disperse, the coats and purses carefully returned to their owners, a full half-hour is given over to everyone crowding to the area by the door, hugging and kissing and exchanging heartfelt statements of love and affection to each and every other person.
The Lean-to
When we bought this house we didn’t love it. We looked at several in our “you’ll never find a house in this town at that price” price range. One house we had to walk through the only bedroom to get to the only bathroom and another we walked out with fleas. When we saw this house we saw a house with two whole bedrooms and no varmints. Sold!
Buttercup and Slow River
Ponder woke up to the soft noises of Mama packing up her healing pouch. "Where are you going, Mama?" Next to Ponder, Winter sat up, too.
Power, Humility, and Clarity
I have a bit of a super-power. I can see where the truth lies. I can sense when I should not follow the advice of the wisest sages. I have good instincts of who to trust and who not to. I can see people's fragility. Yet, I have spent most of my life doing my best to look away from this wisdom, to not act on it, to not even fully embrace this wonderful part of me..
Ponder
Ponder huddled closer to his big brother, Winter, under their covers. It was cold this morning, colder than usual. He could hear Mama and Papa talking in early morning whispers about how it was likely today would welcome the first snow and how the first snow always reminded them of the day Winter was born.
Impact
July 2, 2012
When I was 20, yes, 20, I married well. How can one decide something and so well at 20 I do not know but I did. You see, one of my great challenges in life is showing up for myself.
Photographs
July 8, 2012
Today is Kaleb's 16th birthday. I had a craving to look at old photos, which is unusual for me because they make me so melancholy. I meticulously kept albums for years and then carefully stowed them away in a high, deep cupboard.
Writing
June 25, 2012
When things become difficult and the ease of living is clearly out of one's control, what does one do? I believe one turns their focus to something one can control entirely.
The Nightmare
"I don't want to go to sleep tonight," Ponder admitted finally as Mama sat down next to him to tucked him in. He had been dreading his bedtime all day. As night got closer he got more and more worried about it. Now that it was here he could not hide his fear any longer.
Ponder- Prologue
This is a prologue to my new book, a series of short stories centered on a young boy named Ponder.
Capacity
Just because we have the capacity for something, does that mean we need to be full to it?