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The Bouncin’ Snowman Gift
We received our silly “Bouncin’ Snowman” in the mail circa 2004; a Christmas gift from my mom’s second cousin, Gwen. He stood about 15 inches tall, dressed in a red fur Santa-like jacket and green mittens and green hat. He wore a red and green and white scarf, which fell just below a big smile…
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Fairy Tale Love – Then & Now
My heart beats just a little faster when I look back at reading fairy tales as a young girl. There was so much magic; the preternatural in every story. Anything was possible. I entered the dark forest with the characters, watchful, but excited. Or, I hid nearby while watching the elves secretly making shoes in…
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Early Turkeys & Music & Memories
In an unexpected turn, we decided to host a small “early” Thanksgiving this year. Our friends, who typically join us, would be away on the traditional date. So, while pumpkins were sitting on porches closer to Halloween, we scared ourselves by how much we consumed, but in the best way. I’ll admit that there was…
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The Summer of 1973
It was the summer of 1973. “Brother Louie”, “Touch Me in the Morning” and “Drift Away” were rotating every hour on my little brown plastic Panasonic Clock AM/FM radio. It felt like every song being released was a massive hit; a special summer of music. Or maybe it was because I became a teenager that…
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Opening Up Caskets and Conversations
My thoughts for this post started last week as I read the latest post from Marian Beaman titled “Little Girl and a Coffin in the House.” She recounts the experience she had in the 1940s when her grandfather died and the showing was inside his home. She saw him in his coffin. In fact, she…
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What “Mother” Looks Like
I have spent so much time analyzing and chiseling away at the core of the relationship between my mother and myself that I realized I have overlooked the other, quite important, mother figure in my adult life; Patricia McGauran. Yes, Pat is the same woman I wrote about in my last post, my future-mother-in-law, but…
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A Bridge & a Love Story (the family version)
I really enjoyed spending time with my mother-in-law, Patricia (Pat). She was incredibly sweet and a wonderful mother and grandmother. We shared both laughs and quiet conversations during their summer visits from Florida, and we particularly liked to go to the movies. I remember one in particular. The Bridges of Madison County starring Meryl Streep…
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A Very Humble Moment
My grandfather, William C. Grauer, was both a recognized artist and a pun aficionado. He created art which appeared in public and private collections; even in museums. He painted many murals, including The Virginia Room at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. His puns, however, were always crafted around the kitchen table. That was the…
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Three Days
I almost always let a story simmer a few days after writing. I then tweak or even rewrite. But not this time. Aside from a couple of necessary exceptions, the following is what streamed out three days ago: My father was not a religious man. The few times he met with our minister was outside…
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The Walk & the Surprise
It was August, 1999. It was a beautiful day, and I thought I would take a walk over to my son Will’s future school, which was directly down our street, less than a mile away. We lived in a tiny school district with one elementary school serving K-3, and one middle school which taught grades…
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