I’ve already emailed Barbie and Kelly at The Prospect-News that once more, I didn’t have a blurb. So I wasn’t expecting one to materialize, in, of all places, the kitchen. My folks are coming to Doniphan this weekend. My Kansas folks. The Joneses. We are having our brother/sister reunion. It’s become a tradition, held somewhere around Thanksgiving but before Christmas arrives...

I have the privilege of working with an unusual group of individuals. I’m not stretching the truth at all by saying you don’t keep returning day after day week, after week, year after year, unless you believe in trying to make a difference and loving the children (most days!)  These folks are the most responsible, and probably show up more, than many other occupations. Extremely safety-conscious, they operate with one goal in mind, safe transportation. ...

To give or not to give…that is the question. It’s easy, isn’t it? Much too easy to dismiss someone as being somehow not as deserving as the next someone. It’s harder when that person has a name. When it’s summer, the subject of homelessness doesn’t hardly enter into my psyche. But…during the recent plummeting temperatures, and factoring in the cold rain, it’s not as easy to dismiss...

I almost called The Prospect-News and asked them to put me on hiatus for awhile. It seemed I haven’t been able to put pen to paper for several weeks. I’ve been discouraged lately. I don’t know about you, but the “low down” times force me to cling to God for comfort, because nobody else can comfort me at those times.  And so I did. And so He did, oh so lovingly...

“I’m not suggesting that we have the power to heal physical conditions with our human fingers. But I do believe there’s a healing of the spirit that takes place when we touch others. There’s a comfort that can’t be found anywhere else but in a touch or a hug. Somehow, God’s love and power is shared with others through the simplicity of our physical touch.” ~ Amy Nappa...

“So hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk”. - Don’t know who started this one. And I wonder, did they try it first? “Hot like the letter H”.  -  One of my wee bus kiddos, as she climbed on the bus one day. (Evidently, they were learning about the letter H.)...

It looks like a tornado just whipped through  my house. I’ve got two overflowing baskets of dirty laundry. I’m “fluffing” the clothes in my dryer for the first (or second) time. Sidebar here. I always think of my South African friend when I fluff my clothes. ...

Missing Their Little Boys Last week, as I wrote about the joys of being a momma to our little boys, my heart ached. The same day I wrote those words, five years before, my sister lost her little boy, at age 47, in an automobile accident. Danny took the call, and I heard him say, “Oh, no!” and forever I’ll remember we got that call the day before my son Jake’s birthday. ...

“Where are you going my little one, little one Where are you going my baby, my own Turn around and you’re two Turn around and you’re four Turn around and you’re a young man, Going out of the door.” ~ Kenny Loggins. Tomorrow, on August 19th, 39 years ago, in another life, a curly headed baby boy was born in Sedalia, Mo. ...

After the recent murder, and the things I see and hear representing foster children, I think signs proclaiming “Pray for Ripley County” would be welcome. After all, the prayers for Callie worked a miracle for that sweet girl. I hear the birds beckoning me outside. ...

Tending The Garden Last night, I set my alarm for the first time in awhile. The first day of school is rapidly approaching, and I need to “get in practice”. Yes, we only live one mile from the school. Well, two if McDonalds is on the way. Tending our birds is an early joy of mine this summer. Our hummingbird always comes by to thank me for “burping” his feeder. One morning, he came by the kitchen window to remind me he was not liking a “burpless” feeder...

Do you feel reborn??? This cool weather is just what we needed after that horrifically hot (and let’s not forget HUMID) weather we just experienced. I DO so love Missouri weather because if you don’t like it…just wait a minute. Just when we think we’re in the “holding pattern” for heat and humidity that is Southeast Missouri in July…we’re given a welcome respite. The sky has seemed bluer, the trees more vivid green...

I was searching through “stuff” in my second home…my car…when I found it. Months had gone by before it resurfaced. I still don’t know the answer to that question, but I couldn’t deny that I had found it. A labelmaker. You know the kind. You type what you want on a label push a button, and shazam! Out comes your label...

Yesterday, we said our last goodbye to a friend we’ve had since we moved here. This fall, the last week of August 2008, that amounts to the beginning of our 12th year in Doniphan. I just made a quick calculation on my fingers, just to check the accuracy of that last remark. ...

Counting (And Recounting) On The  Benevolence Of Others Benevolence: Disposition to do good. An act of kindness. A generous gift. Synonyms (same meaning) of benevolence: Courtesy, favor, grace, indulgence, kindness, mercy, service. It was my good fortune to wake during the wee hours of the morning. ...

We saw him twice that weekend. Once, when we were going to Poplar Bluff, and the other time, when we were returning from Pocahontas. I said to my husband, “He looks like Jesus.” At least what I think Jesus would look like. He wore light brown material wrapped in the manner of a robe, and his head was covered...

As I walked down the hall, I was intent on my destination … the free coffee available at the other end of the hall. As I poured my coffee, a resident wheeled up to the counter and placed her order. “Can I have a cup of coffee please?” she said. I felt like my friend Misty, taking an order at McDonalds...

 “That won’t do!” my husband almost shouted. Abruptly, we made a sharp,  right turn, and then stopped in the parking lot. I had no idea what precipitated this … Was there something wrong with our car? He was out the door and walking before I could ask what was wrong. Then I saw him and knew immediately. An American flag was lying on the ground...

As the heat settles in with the promise of warmer nights and scorching day temperatures, I dream of snow capped mountains. The mountains of Colorado are in our plans this summer, along with, hopefully, cooler temperatures. It dawned on us last year, that maybe going to Florida to see son and family was BEST in the WINTER, not summer. ...

My end of the year blurb WAS titled “Another Year Bites the Dust”. Our school year, with kids, ended as we  honked our horns leaving the parking lot and told them them all to “Have a  good summer!” as we took them home. Wednesday and Thursday were designated work days to get our buses spic and span. Today, Thursday, we had a bus safety inservice on a topic that none of us ever thought we’d have to deal with driving a school bus, certainly not an issue when many of us began driving years ago...

Oh, Lord. Where are all the mommies and daddies? Where have they gone? They are missing. And yet they are living and breathing, somewhere. I read Mother’s Day cards “I miss you!” and “I love you!”. Decorated with stick people with tears running down their faces...

This time of year, as we approach Mother’s Day, is bittersweet, to all of us whose mothers no longer walk with us here on earth.  If I take a moment and pause to look at the Mother’s Day cards, I still mentally pick out the one I know my mom would love. ...

It all started when one of my bus kiddos started singing my “favorite” song, (did you notice I used my sarcastic font?) a little gem called “Baby Shark”, infamous for sticking in your mind and not letting go. Don’t get me wrong. I love to hear kids sing. I’ve missed singing on the bus, in unison, since everybody is plugged in and tuned out nowadays. In my early years of bus driving, it was a common occurrence for the kids and I to sing...

I can’t recall who I wrote this about, but I’d bet it was a resident of the nursing home I worked at as an LPN. I was as attached to the old folks there as I am to the children here. AGE I see you now as none before The one that was and is no more The mother, wife, grandma too...

Easter It’s the eve before Easter Come break of day All will rejoice ”He is Risen!” they’ll say. How well we’re reminded With each coming spring By the songs of the robins And the geese on the wing. By the first blooming crocus The first blossomed tree...

Several ways to “lighten up” the things we do every day! Always do housework with whatever genre of music you adore. Use your dust mop/broom to belt out those tunes. Imagine yourself on stage. Always make a point of placing your favorite books and/or magazines in two of the best places to read and concentrate…your car and your bathroom...

(with apologies to Richard Le Gallienne) I meant to do my work today But I noticed some daffodils abloom in the yard Then saw brilliant flashes of color as birds flitted by And to tend dishes and laundry seemed extra hard.   I meant to do my work today...

So… today there’s a lot of “talk” out there about “being fully present”. For me, that means building flexibility into my life. I no longer make “to do” lists. I’ve arrived at this conclusion after many years of trying to maintain a sense of control over the time allotted me daily. An attempt has been made to be “fully present” and try to enjoy whatever I’m doing at the time. Especially what comes up that is unplanned. “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”~ Allen Saunders...

My heart was heavy as I approached the high school office. I don’t go here often; in fact, I don’t recall ever coming down this year. But this matter couldn’t be ignored. I knew the circumstances surrounding this instance and it made my heart all the heavier for knowing. Thankfully, the sun peeks through the dark clouds of our lives, unexpectedly. It can happen in a moment and make an impact we don’t soon forget...