The First Year

Our wedding came just two days after spring began, when the trees were still a tangle of bones against the butter-gold forsythia down by Papa's pond. So Jared and I came into the gardening season as stragglers. By the time we returned from our honeymoon, the daffodils were already blooming along our fence, and the … Continue reading The First Year

Pickling Day

We saved pickling for the hottest afternoons in July, letting the big round thermometer beneath Papa Jayโ€™s sunroom swing well over 90, the humidity souping up like the moss on his pond. It was a big job, with loads of cucumbers to harvest between our garden and Papaโ€™s. Over a few weeks, Mom would save … Continue reading Pickling Day

Where the North Wind Blows

Sitting across the coffee shop table from her, I cannot see the Spirit of God in her---just as I cannot see the wind thatโ€™s whipping up off the cold Missouri river this morning. I do not know where these January gales come from, or where theyโ€™ll lie down tonight. Theyโ€™re sharp, cutting right through my … Continue reading Where the North Wind Blows