The soft ding from my phone across the room interrupted my train of thought. Turning from my computer, I picked up the phone and saw the notification. A friend had emailed me a Starbucks gift card. Not because it was my birthday. Not because I had done something for her. But just because she knew…
“Well, hello there!” Turning from the counter, I located the speaker. A solitary elderly man sat finishing his dinner. “It’s getting cold, isn’t it?” he beamed. Returning his smile, my husband and I began chatting with the friendly gentleman as we waited for our food order. In just a few minutes, we learned so much…
Out of habit I glanced at the church’s placard as I drove home: You don’t need to judge. I’ve got it covered. God Hmmm… nice reminder, I thought. But later that week, I realized how difficult it can be to leave judgment to God. A dear friend, one I admire and respect, decided to do…
“Hey! Number Thirty-two, over here! Over here! OVER HERE!” The young teenager sitting behind me in the stands desperately tried to get the attention of the baseball player with the number thirty-two jersey. Whenever a player hit a foul ball, this player picked it up, pointed to someone in the crowd, and tossed the ball…
Making my way to the cashier after a tiring day at an overcrowded amusement park, I noticed two queues and joined the shorter one. I began catching conversation snippets from the group in front of me. Huddled together, they debated the wisdom of their potential purchase. As they weighed the pros and cons, they didn’t…
After spending a week cleaning and sprucing our house in preparation of its sale, we put it on the market. Within three days we had three strong offers. One potential buyer offered to pay an amount well above our asking price ~ in cash. An offer too good to refuse. But even as we signed…
With aching muscles, I sat back to critically assess my work. I’d spent the better part of the day scrubbing out dirt which had caked into the crevices of the tile squares of my floor. Then I attacked the grout using special chemicals and a tiny brush. Finally, I rinsed the whole floor with clear…
No matter how many times I’ve seen it, I still laugh. In The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis episode of the Big Bang Theory, the character Sheldon Cooper explains his theory on gifting. Sheldon describes gifts as obligations. Whenever he receives a gift, he feels obligated to reciprocate by giving a gift of equal value, representing…
With a sinking heart I watched as the amount owed multiplied before my eyes. How could this have happened? I should have known better! As we prepared for our move to Virginia, I called the same governmental agency, not once, but three times. Each time a different representative repeated the same advice. Now on the…
