Month: August 1995

“Can I give a surprise birthday party Friday?” my daughter asked recently. I thought about it, a surprise party, the week after returning from her brother’s out of town wedding when I would be back to work and two other sons were recuperating from having their wisdom teeth pulled. I took a deep breath and…

With my husband and two college sons working this summer at deep down, dirty jobs, I wash clothes every day. The 6 a.m. starter mowed lawns, collecting a green tinge and the smile of ripe silage as the sun warmed him. The 7 a.m. clock puncher had a blue jump suit with splashes and globs…

All I said was, “I need to fill in the date and write down the family appointments and plans for the month of August.” The next time I walked by the calendar, all the dates had been filled in, but only one event had been written down: “August 12, wedding” with HONEYMOON written across the…

No matter where I was that summer (we traveled a lot that year) ordering a meal was sheer frustration. I could not get what I ordered. Didn’t matter if we went to a fast food place, a restaurant or drive through, whatever I wanted, I didn’t get it. In Indiana, we decided to get a…