immediate family
Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family.
The Hat
“Get this, Janice: according to the book Amos gave me for Mother’s Day, a five-gallon bucket with a bunch of holes drilled in it can be used to keep crabs alive during the time from catching them to getting them into your cook pot. I mean, didn’t you always wonder how to keep crabs alive between the boat and the stovetop? A book about catching crabs! For Mother’s Day! I haven’t actually read the book, mind you, I just noticed that little fun fact about the bucket when I was leafing through it. You know, to be polite. And, Janice, he was so excited for me to open it…I mean, when he handed me the package, I knew there was a book inside, you know how you can always tell when it’s a book. But he was all nervous and squirmy, like he was proposing to me or something. Honestly! What on earth would possess him to give me a book like that, I ask you? We live in Denver, for heaven’s sake, not a fresh crab in sight for at least two thousand miles, probably more. I mean, what was he thinking? I guess it’s just one of those throwback moments to his childhood in Mississippi. Crabs! Mother Mary, I’ve never been so surprised in my life, not even when he did propose to me! But going crabbing with his granddad was one of his favorite things to do as a kid, to get him out of the house for a couple of days here and there, and away from that awful daddy of his.”
By JANINA M FULLER5 years ago in Families
One Way Communicators
We all have someone, or several someones, in our lives that are one way communicators. They readily reach out to you when they need something. The rest of the time they disappear into the abyss of their own lives. "I've been busy they say." But you know what that really means is "I haven't needed you for anything."
By Pam Reeder5 years ago in Families
Following Matt's Recipe
I had to be home on Saturday evenings. No matter what I planned for myself, no matter where I was invited. On Saturday evenings, I had to be in the house. I never understood why, though. Neither one of my adoptive parents paid me any mind. I was an afterthought at best, and it had been that way since they realized I was a girl. The adoption papers were mixed up, and the Millers believed they were getting a boy. Darien and Joshua Miller lost their son two years ago in a "wire accident," they always said. I never pushed for the full story because I knew I'd never get it.
By Kawan Glover5 years ago in Families
If this barn could talk...
RECOLLECTIONS Fall in Vermont never ceases to amaze the tourists who are swept away by the colorful foliage, with breathtaking vistas of orange, yellow and red blazing across the landscape. Locals are expectant as well, knowing that the glorious autumn season is brief, and winter will soon descend, painting the land white, mixed with hues of black and grey.
By Pam Sievert-Russomanno5 years ago in Families
The Anniversary Waltz. Top Story - July 2021.
The morning haze of June 10, 1994, was particularly tiring for Shelley. Two months of pregnancy have started taking its toll, from the dreaded morning sickness to the backache that no Advil could kill. Bumming around the house, a restless Shelley figured today was just going to be another typical hot summer day. Mark, who started work earlier in the day, came home early, catching her off guard.
By Barb Dukeman5 years ago in Families
Learning Curve
Coralee went about her day, starting with the usual cleaning of her house. She rubbed warm water on a dish towel in her sink, on the appliances, and then the tile floor, scouring as she griped. Her sister from up north was visiting and suggested she use common cleaning solutions. Anyone would do, even natural ones. “Coralee, you know you can make your life easier with spray cleaner. Not to mention this house would smell a lot better.” The house had become dingy, and a musty smell permeated the walls and curtains.
By Barb Dukeman5 years ago in Families
