Grandma's Gleanings
Words and Thoughts from Grandma
We have endured an incredibly wet spell here in the hills of Pennsylvania, one might say that we have experienced our own personal monsoon season. Our neighborhood is laced with streams and creeks, winding their way peacefully through the rural landscape like ribbons curled around a gift. But recently, those peaceful streams have morphed …
Regardless of my best efforts to improve, I have never been gifted with athletic abilities, and as a result, high school gym class was generally a disaster, a forty-five minute exercise in futility. Whether it was swimming, gymnastics, track, or square dancing, my talents and skills were sadly lacking. But then we were offered …
Three times he implored, waiting for the desired answer. Please make this go away, I can’t handle it anymore, my life would be so much more effective and easier if You would just say yes! These are not the rantings of an impatient child trying to sway a reluctant parent, but the sincere prayer of …
Purchasing a new car can be exciting, yet scary. Learning all the latest automotive technology can be daunting, especially for us older folks. Because we grew up with standard shift transmissions and eight track tapes, we are easily overwhelmed by all the gadgets and extras that today’s cars boast. Our newest purchase came equipped with a lane departure …
Anticipation filled the air, almost rivaling Christmas morning! My three young boys had positioned themselves in the back yard, so excited they could barely contain themselves. Our sweet, elderly neighbor had been working on a secret venture for weeks, a new, hand-crafted playhouse for our boys, and today was the day that he was pulling his …
When facing a battle, I think we would all agree that if given the choice, we would choose to be on the team that had the best chance of winning. Whether an army marching to face an enemy on a battlefield, or a high school football team facing a crosstown rival, or a last-minute …
Many adjustments are made when two individuals pledge their lives to each other, when they resolve to love and to cherish for a lifetime. But all the counseling in the world could not prepare me for this marital battle, the notorious Winkle Handkerchief Wars. While adapting to my new life as a wife, I …
When we meet Naboth in the pages of Scriptures, he is just an ordinary man, the owner of a vineyard. But this vineyard was valuable to him, passed down to him from his daddy and granddaddy; it was a precious family inheritance. He could never part with it, for God’s law clearly instructed that …
It had been a neighborhood mainstay, an unpretentious little car garage handling vehicle inspections, oil changes, and other minor repairs. My youngsters knew that a flat bicycle tire could be there fixed free of charge, often referring to the owner as their uncle, even though he was not their kin. Neighbors would meet in that garage to sit …
My, how I hated and dreaded that class! It was to be an innovative, ground-breaking experiment in our small, rural school district; they would offer a limited-enrollment, college-prep English course, taught by the tough, no-nonsense chair of the department. Yikes, the dreaded no-nonsense Mrs. Waz and fifteen soon-to-be-stressed-out high school seniors, all in for the ride …
I can see it clearly in my mind’s eye, a childhood memory insignificant at the time, but beyond precious to me now. On the front porch of my childhood home was a green, metal chair. In my memory, the chair was HUGE, but I’m sure that it was just a normal-sized old chair, but …
As with anyone suffering from an addiction, healing begins with an acceptance of reality. So here it is for all to hear, I am addicted to cats; I AM that old cat lady of story and song. My kitty-compulsion began years ago, when a thin, injured tuxedo kitten was abandoned in my front yard. …
The battle was raging within me; the dreaded deadline was fast approaching. After investing forty-two years of labor behind the wheel of a brown truck, my husband’s pension, our livelihood, was in peril. We had been warned for months of upcoming severe cuts to our income. That hard-earned money was eroding away like sand on a beach succumbing to …
I have had the distinct honor of teaching what may very well be the worst-sounding musical instrument (and I use the term instrument loosely) ever created by human hands. Ah, the flutophone! Who in the world came up with that? The combination of that piece of plastic and a nine-year-old child can create quite a cacophony. Throw those …
By God’s grace (and my daughter’s technical skills/patience), I have passed the one-month mark of posting blogs. I have learned so much, and am so thrilled and humbled to be able to share those stories with you. As a thank you, I am planning a small give-a-way. If you are interested in participating, please go to …