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A Veteran's Story

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  I noticed Bill sitting in our local park where I walk.   He glanced my way just as I finished the last exercise walk song on my playlist.   He shouted and pointed to my car:   “Hey, is that your car with the Nam front license plate?   I stepped closer into the veranda where Bill sat on a picnic bench.   I noticed his Vietnam Vet cap and instantly I knew why I walked there that day.   The Marine Vet served during the 1960’s, the same time span as my husband.   Bill talked a lot about the war evoking my emotions from laughter to tears.   My South Vietnam front plate often prompts a conversation with a stranger and I’ve learned a deep respect for it over the years.   It is my way of listening to a veteran.   I enjoyed listening to Bill.   He made me laugh in spots but he made me cry as well.   Like when he talked about the sandwich lady.   “Do you ever eat at the sandwich shop in the gas station down the street?”   I replied that I’ve order coffee once in that place with a turke
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Book Review: Homespun Devotions, Volume One

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  How do you read devotional books?  Sometimes I like to start my day with a hot cup of coffee and a short inspiration.  Sometimes I like to end my day propped up on my pillows with a cup of Chamomile Tea and a short story or two to relax.  If my husband stops at the hardware store on our way home, I usually tell him to take his time and I pull out a devotional book that fits nicely in my purse to sit and wait for him at such times.   Homespun Devotions, by Cheryl E. Smith, arrived in the mail and I can’t put it down.   I read it as I wind down before bed with tea.   It’s my go to choice for those times of waiting in the parking lot, too.   I've been taking more breaks in the middle of the day to relax so I can read another chapter!    I like stories that touch my heart and help me to reflect on my faith.   Homespun Devotions does that for me every time I pick it up to read.   I’m facing a challenge these days.   My raw emotions are a set up for encouragement from such stor
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We Made It to Fifty Years

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August, our anniversary month, is always significant for me, especially this year; we celebrated our golden anniversary.  I dreamed about reaching our fiftieth year goal.  Ideas filled my brain with ways to celebrate our special day.  E arlier in the year, back in February, we told our kids we do not want a fancy celebration.   Parties with plaques of rhyming verses with gold wedding bands attached don’t define us, but family in an informal venue with a simple menu is who we are to a tee.   The early summer brush fires put the kibosh on planning a picnic for the event when forests closed down in surrounding mountains.   Our daughter, Amy, loves to plan a party and she devised a lovely gathering.  She and her husband took us out to dinner along with Tom’s cousin and wife from New Mexico who surprised us with a weekend visit.    Tom’s cousin, our best man at our wedding, has a wonderful sense of humor.  We laughed as we  reminisced how he wrote “help me” on the soles of Tom’s shoes at th
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