kids

Dirty Deed

imageMy grandson called his mom at work one day.  “Mom, do boogers have germs?”

“”Yes.”

“You better clean the IPad screen when you get home.”

Flowers!

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I am one happy mama.  My kids both gave me gift cards for flowers for Mother’s Day.  I loaded up today. All the crazy old ladies pushing carts around in the garden department were jealous of me.  I will be knee deep in dirt tomorrow and happy as a dead pig in the sunshine.  Now I wish I’d had a few more kids.   I might hock something and go back to get some more stuff. Thanks, kids.

It’s My Head

imageMy mother could be so unreasonable about what I did with my own head when I was a kid.  I was sitting on the floor at the end of the kitchen table playing one evening after dinner, when Phyllis tipped over a bowl of canned peaches.  The syrup ran off the end of the table, onto my head.  It felt cool and good.  I didn’t complain.  The next morning Continue reading →

Pushing Too Hard?

KidsAll the pressure for kids to succeed now must be really rough.  I suspect parents don’t know the toll their children pay for the pressure to “do their best” and “achieve.”  Remembering the relief of playing after school, homework and chores, I would have hated knowing I had to face more pressure in dance class, athletics, and tutoring.  As clumsy as I was, it would have been more stressful than school. Continue reading →

The Snake in the Fan

imageBack in the days before we had an air conditioner, Daddy brought home a huge second hand water-cooled fan, thinking it might be an improvement over our attic fan. He hooked it up in the dining room window, where it blew directly over the Continue reading →

Flatter Than Flat

imageI trailed my dad when I was a little kid.  A man came to visit one day.  He and Daddy dawdled by his truck talking before the man left.  Bored, I dropped down to inspect his tires.  It was the first time I’ ever noticed valve stems.  I took off the top of the valve stem and pressed the probe in the center with a nail, releasing all the air.   I enjoyed it so much, I started on the back tire.  I had it nearly deflated as well before they noticed what I was up to.  He had one spare, but the two of them had to take turns pumping the other tire with a hand pump before he could leave.

i’ve seen happier men.

Over the Rails

th9DTOAK27 (2)My little one was monkeying over the rails of her crib long before she was a year old. Given the freedom to roam, there were so many better things to do than stay in that little toddler bed and sleep. I’d lie down with her, wrap her in “Pinky” read books and tell story after story till her bright little eyes stayed Continue reading →

Epiphany on Butt-Kicking!

Many years ago my precious little three-year-old came bursting in from pre-school with big news.  “Can you believe a three-year-old girl can beat up a four-year-old boy!”

“Oh, no!  What happened?”

“Angie beat up Jeremy, and when I found out she could, I did!”

“Don’t She Look Natural!”

Aunt Ellie's FuneralThis is an excerpt from Kathleen’s Memoirs of the 1930’s, my book in  progress.  Kathleen grew up in rural East Texas in the 1930’s  during the height of The Great Depression.

The events surrounding Aunt Ellie’s death were a thrilling event for me since we hadn’t invested too much affection in each other.  The wake was unforgettable with all its glorious food:  fried chicken, peach cobbler, deviled eggs, bread ‘n butter pickles, dainties not seen outside “dinner on the grounds.”   Sprinkled with carbolic acid, Aunt Ellie lay in a pine box Continue reading →