Raindrops beat a restless tattoo on the leaves of a flowering crabapple tree outside my bedroom window. Not wanting to get up yet, I kept my eyes pinched tightly shut. As the rain increased, I became aware of its insistent, rhythmic drumming on the rooftop. Continue reading
Garden Fantasies
Nearly exhausted, I gave one last mighty pull. A loud mechanical growl assaulted my eardrums. Fumes from the freshly started engine spiraled skyward like smoke up a chimney. The stench burned my nose, making tears well up in my eyes. Smiling with satisfaction, I pushed a lever forward, and the tiller’s sharp metal blades eagerly leapt ahead.
Middle-aged Mutant Mother
A shaft of bright orange morning sun spilled from a patient room out into the hallway. I glanced at the assignment sheet in my hand and yawned. How much sleep had I gotten last night? five hours! A deep weariness that I felt to the very marrow of my bones weighed me down. In the hall, two phlebotomists rushed past the nursing station toward the elevator with fresh blood samples to be tested.
My Little Pet
A warm breeze slipped in through the open window and made a circuit of the living room. It felt nice. My mother, brother, and I paused in our conversation. Leaning back in her recliner Mom said, “Niki and Anne visited us yesterday afternoon.”
Hootenanny Hero
The window over my kitchen sink opened to a beautiful, crisp, sparkling autumn day. I stared out it in a pleasant, day-dreamy state of mind. The day had been a busy one, spent both indoors and out. Reaching down into the sink, I picked up a big brown potato and began to peal it.
Weed Whipped!
With great expertise, I swirled my wet mop in big loopy figure eight’s across the kitchen floor. The sticky Kool Aid spot next to the refrigerator and the red spaghetti sauce speckles in front of the sink faded and disappeared. Leaning on my mop handle I inspected my work feeling like the star of a Lysol commercial.
Rock Pile Archeologists
I studied the straight lines of the newly sprouted oat plants beside the cow lane as I walked. Barb, my neighborhood cousin jolted me out of my reverie by exclaiming, “Kathy! Watch out!”
Five in a Hole
Three-year-old Tammie, and seven-year-old Niki sat in the center of the living room floor playing with their dolls. Dropping down onto the sofa next to Arnie I said, “Girls…bedtime is in five minutes. Start putting things way for the night.”
The Vinyl Robin
Tammie held our old, battered, but still serviceable badminton birdie in one hand and her racquet in the other. There was a look of concentration on her face. Taking a swing, the taunt strings of the racquet made contact with the little orange rubber belly of the birdie. The contact produced a very satisfying, resonant, ‘Thunk!’
10th Anniversary Reflections
While Arnie and I waited, we talked and looked out of the restaurant window. Hot and sweaty people were walking across the sweltering black parking lot toward the entrance. Our waitress soon came and took the order and brought us coffee.
Life Lines 