Serve by Design

My dad was known for his sayings, and the older I get I can see how I am following in his steps. One of my favorite exclamations came about when the twins started dating and bringing their boyfriends over at the house during the evening. I loved having them safely under our roof, but around nine o’clock, we were ready to turn in for the night! I would step into the family room with this warning to the girls and my future sons-in-laws: “We’re heading to the back. Don’t make me a part of your evening!” It was my way of saying, “Keep it down to a low roar! I’m going to sleep! Don’t make me get up and come in here!” Fav Cup from Mom and Dad's! Reminders of home, conversation, and love! That was then. This is now. These girls are in their early forties. One lives here in town with us and the other lives in New Mexico. They still love being together! The combined number is no longer four including spouses! There are eleven of them not counting the NextGen boyfriend! They love coming ho...

We are blessed to have good neighbors! It is extra special to have professional firefighters on both sides of us and a retired fire chief across the street! A few years ago, one of them had to “rescue” me from the roof where I had been blowing leaves out of the gutters. It was a blustery day and I had not tied off the ladder on the back side of the house. As I finished, I was surprised to find that my aluminum ladder had been blown down to the ground by a strong gust of wind. This left me hopelessly stranded on the rooftop without a cell phone or a way down! "Mom, does anybody see me?"😇 In my despair, I happened to look across the street and saw one of my neighboring firefighters who had briefly stepped outside. I immediately shouted, “Hey, neighbor! I could use some help!” He waved and was on the way. I will not forget his counsel as he put the ladder up against the house that day, “Neighbor, you might want to take some rope and tie it off on the gutter next time!” He winke...

What? Baseball bans spitting! What is the world of sports coming to?! In the last few days, Major League Baseball has finalized their decision on health and safety protocols that will enable players to take the field by August 1st for baseball's shortened, 60-game, 2020 season. In light of the Coronavirus Pandemic, MLB announced that smokeless tobacco products and sunflower seeds would be prohibited along with spitting! Yes! MLB has instituted "a ban on spitting!" The Seeds of Summer! Of course, this was a wise and necessary decision in light of what we understand about how the virus spreads in community settings. However, think about how radical and revolutionary the ruling! (Sarcasm alert! "I now have my tongue firmly in my cheek!") Our 9 year-old grandson, Danny, has been practicing and perfecting his spitting since he began junior league ball over two years ago! What is he to think now that "America's Pastime" has banned spitting of any ...