Month: April 1997

“Mom, why didn’t we have TV when we were growing up?” I asked her once. My husband and I were debating getting a set. “We thought you five had other things to do: Homework, practicing the piano, trumpet, clarinet or trombone; helping with the housework and farm chores and basketball practice. Beside you had to…

The cat scrambled over our colorful, hooked throw rug. It pounced to the side, eyes focused on the gray, wiggling ball of fur burrowing under the rug. I reached down and pulled back the rug, “Look cat, catch your mouse and take it out of the house.” The cat just sat there watching, as a…

Tuesday morning I was still puzzling over a topic for my weekly column during my drive to work. A ringing phone distracted my speculations as I walked into the office. I transferred the call to my desk. No, hello, just, “She didn’t deliver, again, today.” “I’ll transfer you to circulation.” I punched the transfer code…

A barely stay inside the lines of paint by the number pictures, but I still can’t resist buying craft projects at garage sales. My 50-cent splurge on a child’s how-to-knit and crochet kit I rationalized as something handy to have if my daughter got the urge to learn. She never got the urge, but with…

My hands reached up and steadied the oak beam my husband was jacking into place in the basement under our house. As he measured the distance to the floor beams above, I glanced over at our then 1-year-old. He stood in the bottom step, in front of the old table we had crammed there. A…