A Thorn in His Brow

“Ouch, wait!  There is something hurting my foot.”

I brought the hiking crew to a sudden halt as I examined my river shoes.  Thinking it was a sharp rock, I shook my foot to force the pebble out one of the openings.  With a few more steps and a few more shakes it was obvious that the stone would not be deterred.  It was eager to take a bite out of my big toe. 

The Corrosion Effect

“I’ll be happy to stay with the class until the she arrives,” I offered.  My child’s elementary teacher was running late from an early morning meeting and hadn’t made it back to the classroom in time to greet the students.  No biggee.  As a parent, I am certainly capable of monitoring 20 young students while they unpack backpacks and prepare for the morning’s lessons.  It would only be a matter of minutes before the teacher arrived. This would be  easy – or so I thought.

Life’s Ripples

Wouldn’t you agree that sometimes our kids have the most perceptive ways of looking at things?

My tween and I were having one of those late night discussions.  You know, the kind where, all the while you’re tucking them in  you are really fantasizing about a quiet house, a good book, and a hot cup of tea. And just as you kiss them goodnight, they bring up a topic of conversation you know you can’t afford to pass up.  It was one of THOSE conversations.  So, as my “time to myself” fantasy fizzled, I resigned myself to sitting down on the edge of her bed.