Speak truth to us. That was all I could think of while the top-of-the-class teens walked onto the platform and spoke to their graduating class. But instead we heard platitudes. Follow your dreams. You’re on the road to success. Life is just beginning. Five hundred names were announced and five hundred diplomas passed out. I…
We’re going to Texas next week to see our nephew graduate. Hello family and Texas BBQ. But what if I die before leaving on vacation? We have family coming to stay with Aunt Joan while we’re gone, so of course the house has to be perfectly clean and the yardwork meticulously done and somewhere in…
Matt and I walked past a refrigerator in Costco a couple of days ago. “Look at that nice fridge,” I said. “It only costs $1000.” In the last few months, he has joined me in listening to the Ramsey podcasts, and we’ve really enjoyed talking through the phone calls they take. It’s a fun game…
In big block letters, Dad wrote Matt and I a silly yet touching roses-are-red, violets-are-blue poem many Christmases ago, when we were young and had gotten ourselves in credit card debt. The poem spoke of Dad’s desire to pay off our credit card as a Christmas present. This man, who had labored hard for his…
The last few months and especially the last couple of weeks have been intense, as we have moved into more caregiving for Matt’s sweet aunt who lives with us. This is the very reason we moved in with them seven years ago, so it is a complete joy to be here for this season of…
As I sat in the emergency room with Matt’s aunt, many medical professionals came and went, but one beautiful young woman came in and introduced herself as Tova. “Is that Hebrew?” I asked. She paused and gave me a surprised look. “Yes,” she said. This was meaningful for me, because my soul had been living…
It’s spring in the Rockies, which means as I write this I have turned the calendar to April and am watching it snow outside. I’m using these cold spring days to do some cleaning in the crawl space, where we store most of our worldly possessions. Yesterday I brought up a Rubbermaid filled with years…
After dropping my price on a small table, a man on Facebook Marketplace said he wanted to buy it. He lives in Missoula, but his sister was coming to Kalispell and could pick it up. She was a lovely young woman, and we chatted as we tried to wiggle that table into her hatchback. Turns…
I just got home from my normal Friday grocery shopping, and it wasn’t a great experience. First, in a checkout lane I struck up a conversation with the worker. She was probably in her mid 20’s. Our conversation turned to gardening, and she vehemently stated that she would not garden and that she was so…
I’m preparing to walk into my mother-in-law’s bedroom this morning and apologize to her for something thoughtless I said yesterday. It’s not a huge deal, except it is, because it’s something I could have phrased in a different way that would have been more respectful. It was the first thing I thought of when I…
“I think I just need to go see her,” I told Matt. “If that’s what you think you need to do,” he said. So I girded my loins with courage (dramatic language) and filled a baggy with chocolate chip cookies (modern day peace pipe). Matt dropped me off, and I went inside to give cookies…
I’ve been hungry for so long. Maybe it started in middle school, when our old piano sat right by the front door. I would open the door in the summer and play as loudly as I could, so that everyone who walked by could hear and enjoy the music. Back in those days, I started…
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