4 Things I Learned from My Ancestors

My eldest brother is a person of note in a Christian denomination that is … well, not Amish. I remember the first time I told him that I had discovered a link to early Amish settlers in our own family history. His head just about hit the table. In the Valley of...

5 Things a Snow Day Shows Me

I should begin with a caveat. With the exception of seven months last winter, I have had the privilege of earning my fulltime income from within the confines of my home for more than eight years. On the one hand, this means that when I wake to eight inches of snow,...

Why Do People Do This?

Our son invited my husband and me out to dinner on Friday night, his treat. He recently got rehired to a job he had been laid off from a few months ago when business was slow, so he felt like celebrating. And he’s much better at celebrating than I am, one of the...

Installment 11: The Corner Trumpet

Twenty-one December 1942   Charlie left again as quickly as he had come. The days marched toward Christmas, another Christmas without Charlie. Mama was nervous, Daddy listened to the radio, the girls fussed about decorating the house. I heard Mama and Daddy...