Returning

 

There’s a young buck peering out of his hiding place. I feel like that as I slowly and cautiously return to what used to be normal. The pandemic is not over, but for those of us who have received the vaccine, we are venturing out more. I continue to wear a mask in stores and at church. Some people don’t, but since I haven’t had a cold since I started wearing a mask, I think there’s considerable value in the practice. However, outside I feel safe—though still shy. I’m not hugging many folks anymore. 

Over the past month, I have come across people I used to see on a regular basis. Just last week, when I went to the local park and took this photo of the young buck, I stopped by the lake as well. Sitting on a folding chair and holding onto a fishing rod was a man I used to see just about every week. He served subs to hubby and I. He was always cheerful and chatty. But there he was by the lake waiting for a fish to bite his hook. I was so delighted to see him and so happy to know he lived through the past fifteen months. He’s not working at the sub shop anymore. He’s working at a bagel shop. I’ll have to go there and see him again.

Hubby and I went to buy a pair of slippers for his mother in Boscov’s. As we passed through the men’s department, we got a wave from the salesman who has helped hubby in the past to choose new suits. Just seeing a familiar face is a joy. Not only because it’s been fifteen months, but because there are those who caught the virus and now have permanent health problems. And there are those who died.

So now I cherish seeing old acquaintances with joy in my heart and pray that this terrible scourge will be defeated. Journey carefully, my friends.

Summer in the Past

Summer is here and I have been thinking about summers in the past. When I was young, my family drove (in our non-air conditioned car) out to southwestern Pennsylvania to visit my mother's family. That was our vacation. Every year. We never went to Aruba, Paris, or even Miami. Nope. We visited my grandparents, my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Since my mother had five brothers and one sister, we had a lot of relatives to visit. For the most part, we stayed in my grandparents' home because the majority of the relatives lived nearby--except for my aunt in Ohio. We had to drive even further to visit her.

My siblings and I slept in the attic at my grandparents' house. It was stuffy and hot. No air conditioning there either. It did not exist.

We had fun as I recall. We jumped into the hay in the barn. We picked wildflowers and berries. (Even if we handed Grandma a dandelion, she put it in a vase.) My mother made pies and jam from the berries.

The photo above was taken in 1966. It shows my mother's father and my father discussing world events--a coal miner and a journalist. My grandpa came to this country when he was sixteen and became a coal miner. He always spoke English with a heavy accent. While he had little formal schooling, he was smart, talented, and artistic. He maintained a small farm and built three houses on his property over the years.

Nothing was ever wasted in his household. He built a loom and in the wintertime he made rag rugs from scraps of fabric because nothing was ever wasted. I studied the rag rugs when we visited in the summer and could recognize former clothing woven into the rugs.

The pace of life slowed as we listened to everyone talk. In the evenings, we all moved to the front of the house because it was shady there. The house sat on a hill. A two-lane highway stretched below it and we simply listened to the conversation and watched the cars go by. No television, no radio. Sometimes heat lightning on the other hills gave us a little show.

Nobody complained or said they were bored.

Simple was nice.

Celebrate Fathers With A Bookish Event and WIN!

 

SEA OF HOPE is one of several books featured at N.N. Light's Book Heaven in a special Father's Day Event! https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/post/sea-of-hope-cfbe

You can see the full list of books listed here: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/celebrate-fathers-bookish-event and enter for a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card. 
 

Win Books!

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