A Delivered Memory

It was four years ago this month that we were packing our suitcase for Cabo San Lucas. Tom decided to indulge in a few new shirts and a light jacket for our trip, but when he came home from the mall, I wasn’t real thrilled with the style of the new jacket. “It looks like the kind of thing a delivery man would wear to work,” I lovingly exclaimed. “Don’t you want a tropical look?” He said that he liked it and he seemed very proud of his independent selection of new clothes. “Okay, but you look like you’re going to deliver a UPS package.”

Tom wore that jacket everywhere we toured in Cabo. It’s on all of our vacation pictures. Even after we returned home and went back to work, he wore his boring brown jacket. Then something funny happened when he went to the grocery store during lunch one afternoon. When he returned to the office he told me about the guy that approached him in the parking lot and asked him, “Is UPS hiring?” He never wore the jacket again.

Yesterday, Tom had to pitch his current much worn gray & black jacket. I started to suggest he stop at the mall when he is in town next weekend, and quipped “Don’t buy a UPS jacket though; maybe we should do this together!” We both laughed merrily, and we’re not even going on vacation.

Comments

A Memorial Day Reflection

Memorial Day is always noteworthy for me and my girls. Next Thursday marks the third year of missing their father, my husband. So many thoughts run through my mind. The journey of loss takes on various emotions. The strongest feeling, at first, was emptiness. In a split second, I would forget he departed forever. I imagined things I needed to talk to him about when he got back home. My mind is realistic now. He's not coming back. There will be no more times of sitting on the porch swing together on the front deck staring at the moon and the stars. He would tell me all he knew about the majestic night sky. I have so much I wish I could tell him, like the excitement of seeing our oldest grandchild make a decision to follow Jesus and get baptized on Mother's Day! And our little Amy, 11 years old, I wish he could have seen her on stage receiving her induction to the National Honor Society. Our daughters have their own ...

The Lesson in the Middle

I wanted to dance when I heard the good news. I don’t need surgery! When my doctor examined me last month, he suspected further care and sent me to a specialist in a city up north. I had to wait only two weeks to get in to see him. The specialist did not agree about surgery so I’m off the hook. I learned an important lesson about my faith journey in the middle of the two-week period of waiting for my appointment to see the specialist. I needed to be educated in medical knowledge and procedures so I could make a wise judgment for my future. A friend suggested a support group with other women so I could glean info. I joined. I listened to their experiences and gained understanding. I researched like crazy. I became smart. I also became fearful and sometimes angry. I screamed at Baby, our spirited cockatiel, to shut up when he screeched too much and I noticed my husband spent more time in his man cave. You kno...

Abba's Lap

I noticed a behavior pattern in little Amy, twenty months old, that I want to imitate. She moves fast engaging in one toddler activity after another spinning like a whirlwind from one room to another. Yet, she pauses, intermittently , long enough to get refreshed. I want to be like this grandchild of mine because she knows where to go and how to get comforted. Amy moves at record speed, putting more miles on a pedometer in one hour than my accumulated weekly workouts at the gym. She can build a skyscraper so tall, I wonder why those bright pink Lego’s don’t topple to the ground as she continues to stack just one more piece on top. I learned never to leave the room to get another cup of coffee. Once, when I returned, I found her climbing past the couch with hands and feet reaching for the living room drapes. She has a consistent habit that I admire. In the midst of her activities, as she moves robustly from one play...

Choose Joy in the Journey

Search This Blog