Amazing Grace – Beyond My Doing
This morning I woke to a quiet and still house that changed within minutes of my teenage kids coming to life from their slumber. In a half hour the ukulele, guitar, piano and didgeridoo (a long, hollowed-out instrument of the indigenous people of Australia) had all been played. I stood at the kitchen sink and listened to their ensemble of creative sounds, and as their music filled the air I...
Read MoreTraditions – Hold On to the Good
Grandma’s attic used to be a place that safely kept treasures and would take its visitors to another world through the memories it held captive in its archives. One could go there and sit for hours, nostalgically sifting through old photographs, hand-made treasures and mementos that would bring their heritage to life. There within the old trunk, dusty and musty, you could undoubtedly...
Read MoreThe Collector – What More Do You Need?
When you have been married as long as I have, you tend to accumulate many things, both wanted and unwanted . . . and hopefully the spouse is in the wanted category. Our twenty-eight-year anniversary just passed, and as usual we did not look to the traditional or modern anniversary gift list to figure out what to get each other. In an odd and somewhat unconventional way this turned out to...
Read MoreHelping Hands – Willing Souls
Last night I joined a group of more than 40 volunteers gathered together on a warm, muggy evening ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work. The plan was a rather simple one, but as simple as it may have appeared, it took orchestration and desire beyond those individuals waiting patiently in the church parking lot to be assigned to families willing to let strangers in. The...
Read MoreSpontaneity – A Freeing Action
The other day I received a call from a friend asking if I wanted to go to the desert to photograph the meteor showers. I would have less than one hour to prepare and get to the meet-up location if I chose to participate in this last-minute field trip, and we would be up most of the night to maximize the time spent there before having to turn around and drive home. The decision had to be made...
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