Julianna Leber Wilmoth

Legacy of Centuries

The icicles, elegant and glistening, cast prisms around the neighbor’s windows on that cold midwestern morning. Barbara Hartley stood at the kitchen sink, holding a steaming teacupful of black gourmet coffee, which she carefully budgeted to last through the dreary Wisconsin winter. The coffee was a Christmas gift from her daughter and husband and Barbara savored the rich, earthy drink as one would any sacred indulgence. Barbara stared out the window at the frozen stalactites, slowly dripping in the morning sun. She smiled, thinking of her daughter, Stacy, and her husband Todd, living in Chicago. Barbara felt relief that her daughter got out of this small town, and moved where life is vibrant, happy, and exciting.