The Case tractor spun its tires in the thick spring mud, and then jolted forward with an admirable tenacity. We weren’t stuck, yet, but the way my oldest brother was driving it seemed likely to happen at any moment. He was going too fast for the terrain, yet it was his teenage recklessness that made our errand fun. Hitched behind… Read More
!@#$%^& Cold Sores
I should have acted quicker. This morning, as a biological “April Fool’s Day†gift, I awoke to a blossoming cold sore on my lip. I HATE cold sores, and keep vigilance over potential eruptions. But this one snuck in without the usual host of symptoms…tingling in area, headache, numbness, redness, and feeling “off.†Cold sore triggers for me include: stress… Read More
Easter Memories
The young girl, maybe three years old, ran down the aisle at church. She was dressed in Easter finery—more than a bit of sparkle on a puffy pink dress—and she was crying. The pastor had asked any willing children to come to the front of the church for an Easter story. The little girl had initially walked up to the… Read More
White Sugar Blues
Chocolate chips melt into miniature puddles, the dough has little brown tinges, and the oven timer goes off. I pull the cookies from the oven and inhale the sensuous scent of sugar and sin. Baking is my Zen activity, and I hum happily. But more and more of late, people tell me not to bring my brownies, cookies, and cakes. … Read More
The Hands Of Time
Crescent shadows of dirt showed beneath ragged fingernails. His fingers were on the short side, tanned, and strong. They were also gentle when it counted. The skin on his hands was rough and landscaped with callouses thickened from hard, punishing work. I’m thinking of my father’s hands as I write this, and yet realize the same descriptions could fit memories… Read More
Happy Spring?
Cuddled beneath my two layers of blankets, I knew that spring had technically arrived. Somewhere else. It was 4 degrees outside our bedroom window with a wind chill in the below zero area. No fuzzy bunnies hopping through freshly sprouted grass, no butterflies drinking from dancing tulips in our back yard. Just lots of snow, cold, and ill-timed husbands. Uh?… Read More
Lard Sandwich Anyone?
It seems never-ending. “Experts†claim which foods are good for us and which are not. Wait a short while and, like the weather in Minnesota, it all changes. When I was young my grandmother told me her mom would pack her school lunch in a small bucket. Mostly it was fresh baked bread smeared with pork lard, and maybe a… Read More
Love To The Max
When the flu season took hold in Minnesota this winter, one of its first fatalities was a young man named Max. Max was just a young boy the last time we saw him, and was only seventeen when he died. Max’s parents had been active in our church as music and worship team leaders. Eventually their family moved to Texas… Read More
A Typical Friday Night At The Gates’ Household
The weather promised rain through the night and into Saturday. The air felt damp and cold, like a sweatshirt that hasn’t quite dried out after a hard sweat. Feeling a need to hunker down and bring on an extra dose of comfie, my husband and I poured some wine, curled up on the couch, and popped in a DVD.  We… Read More
A Tad Unfunny
Over the weekend my husband invited our husky, Booker, into the sunroom. This isn’t unusual, but it was a fairly mild day out and Booker seemed bored by being inside. Pacing, Booker created nose art on all available surfaces as he looked for something to catch his interest. My husband pantomimed that he should put his front paws on the… Read More
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