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The Real Santa Claus
At the height of a Colorado mountain snowstorm, the real Santa Claus blew in through the rustic front door of the main lodge at the YMCA camp in Estes Park on Christmas Eve 1969. It took two bulky men leaning against the door to get it closed from the inside as they fought the wind…
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Quietness AND Confidence
Days ago I wrote words to you that were cute and clever in an attempt to bring you around to a sense of calm in the storm. Somehow it did not set well with the stream of sadness flowing through my spirit. So I trashed it. And then trashed the trash so it was truly…
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Five Pairs of Pants and One Shirt
“Life is complicated and not for the timid. It’s an experience that when it’s done, it will take us a while to get over it.” Garrison Keillor from Leaving Home When circumstances are happening fast, situations unfolding in real time, and decisions are being made without the full engagement of sufficient brain power, sometimes you…
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Veer
It’s a little foggy as to when I determined to start practicing laughing like my Aunt Vera, though I was certain at the time I must attempt to give it substantial effort. It was just the best. I coveted her ways. So practice I did. But you don’t need to tell anyone . . .…
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Both Hands
The clock does not stop during these days leading up to Easter. We still must answer to responsibilities every day . . . go to work, feed the children, take out the trash, show up at appointments, interact with peers, bosses, spouses, neighbors, grocery cashiers, students, teachers, and attend to a lot of generalized whatnot…
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Break the Tape
When motherhood required me to sign up various and sundry children for athletic activities I had two choices: 1) appear confident and knowledgeable with a firm grasp of the rules/culture/uniform requirements/bleachers vs. lawn chairs/snack routine/and social hierarchy of said sport, OR 2) admit I knew less than squat about that world and cling to the…
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Putting a Pin in Hope
Over your lifetime, whether long or less long, how many staff meetings have you sat through? This is not an attack on staff meetings . . . they are (usually) a necessity. I’m just curious as to the nomenclature of the room according to the decade in which you sat/are sitting. It’s been a while…
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The Towel and Basin
Several nights ago a darkness stole over my spirit. Admittedly, being all too familiar with this heavy feeling, I nonetheless allowed its seemingly inescapable, nearly imperceptible narrowing of my eyes, as I began seeing through a filmy and scurrilously critical lens. A wrong needed righting. A culprit needed correcting. A stance needed taking. A hill…
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Enough is Enough is Enough
My beloved and I have two mom and pop recliners in our house as empty nesters often do. Red ones because I’m the one who picked them out. Mine’s on the left. Just to keep things spicy we switched up sides when we changed houses. I used to be on the right. Risky business. If…
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Dera Lee and the Fish Knife
Of all the stories I could tell you about a mother on this 25th anniversary of her sudden death, I will choose it to be about the fish fillet knife she carried for protection. You’ll have to wait though, because there’s a prologue. You’ve heard folks talk about “karma” and the concept of “what goes…
Beyond Lashley Lane
Plain talk about life from a Christian perspective woven together with humor, practicality, and God willing, a bit of encouragement
Beyond Lashley Lane 