Armistice! Peace, At Last!

My parents always called November 11, 1918, “Armistice Day.” Later, it was changed to Veterans’ Day” but to Mom and Dad, it was “Armistice Day.” My mother told me how excited they all were at Etta Bend when they found out the Great War was over. They shouted. They cried. They laughed. Finally, the soldiers […]

Imagination

Imagination

The Old Tire Horse The old tire swing that resembles a horse Hangs under the back maple tree.  The children no longer climb onto his back And he looks a bit lonely to me. At one time my girl rode into the wind On make-believe trips through the town. She needed a boost to get […]

A Cozy Conversation

Yesterday was one of those “Put it in your pocket to be enjoyed all year” kind of days. Matt, Dawn, Sara, and Nathan and I had lunch seated around my mother’s hundred-year-old table. Then the children went off to play. We adults had a good conversation about things that are important to us, sort of […]

Walnut Gathering at Etta, 100 Year Ago

Walnut Gathering at Etta, 100 Year Ago

Sometimes I realize with a jolt that those stories Mom told me about her childhood happened a century ago. That seems incredible because they are so real in my mind. I have never fully realized that Mom and Dad grew old and I cannot dwell too long on the fact that they are no longer […]

The Latty Farm at Etta

This morning I’m thinking of houses and how homes are much more than houses. I’m thinking of how most people once lived on farms and now most people don’t. A lot of us have postage-stamp size yards, nestled right up against our neighbors’ yards. And some of us even live in layers, stacked on top […]

Because of Them

Before beginning this post on the fun and importance of keeping written records of your children or grandchildren, I want to say a prayer of gratitude to God for the freedom we have in the United States of America and a prayer of thanks for those brave men who died during all our wars to […]