This is not intended as a Sad Post

One day, when my son was a month shy of 17, I answered a knock on my front door and was greeted with a Sheriff’s Deputy and a good friend of mine. Both looked very alarmed. I was informed my son had been in a head-on collision, was unconscious and had sustained undetermined injuries. He was being life-flighted to the Norfolk General Hospital Trauma Unit.

He had been driving

We Played Together -- jcarolek

When I was in eighth grade I auditioned for and landed the role of Mother Abyss in our school's production of the “Sound of Music.” My solo was, “Climb Every Mountain.” I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the experience. I learned to build sets, and learned my lines. I learned the lines of the actors with whom I was performing as

So, you have a Linus, do you? -- jcarolek

I did. My little guy Stephen was a thumb sucking, blanket carrying little guy. I received lots of advice.

    * Don’t let him suck his thumb, his teeth will be crooked
    * He shouldn’t still be dragging that blanket around at his age

Anyone who has a Linus, knows the drill.

But, everything happens in due time. I am a firm believer

Dull, Trees, Bikes and Boys -- jcarolek

Some days I just seem to feel dull. I don’t really feel like talking to others and I can’t really seem to get the things done that I want to get done. Today was one of these days. Nothing really lousy happened, but I found myself impatient and somewhat at loose ends. Don’t get me wrong,

An Eight Day Clock -- jcarolek

On the mantel over the fireplace in my in-laws’ living room sits an eight day clock. This clock belonged to my husband’s grandmother and she had had it for many years before she died at the age of 97. For the past twenty or so years since her passing, it has kept time on the mantel in her son’s house.

An eight day clock is just that. It is engineered to keep accurate time for eight days and then it stops. Unlike the clocks of today, the older clocks required regular winding, and so it was that every Sunday, before going to church, my father-in-law wound the clock. He took great care to wind it just tight enough,

Trust and Balls --- jcarolek

When I was a schoolgirl in my first school in England, I desperately wanted to have friends. I was American in a school full of British schoolgirls. At age 10, I had studied French for only one year to their four years of French and two years of Latin. I didn’t know the British monetary system, so I was “behind” in math. All in all, I felt like a big dummy.

As kids will do, I “proved myself” in other talents.

We didn't have time to practice -- jcarolek

The audience filed into the auditorium at the nearby community college. Most were adults, but there were a few children. Three young sisters sat in front of me, but two rows closer to the stage To my right were a couple and their two year old. Again, not directly next to me, but within earshot.

I worried that this was

Do you Ride Horses Much? -- jcarolek

When I was twelve, I lived in Cheltenham England. I attended Charlton Park Convent school. My schoolmates were all girls. One day, as I was walking across the gym, another girl, Theresa Davis, to be specific, said to me,

“Do you ride horses much?” in her very British accent.

Good Girl -- jcarolek

Today I needed a break. I took a walk with my outdoor critters and marveled, as I always do, at their singleness of purpose and complete and total enthusiasm in our walks. I say "they" because, as you know if you have read previous entries, my adopted cat Dracula accompanies us on our walk.

There is something so natural about the way the two of them communicate. Killian, jumps about wildly,

Photo and Drawing - What do you Think? -- jcarolek

A few days ago I posted a drawing my daughter had done of her brother. She was about 15 when she did the drawing, and she drew it from a photo of her older brother, taken when he was eight. I found the photo from which she did her drawing and thought I’d repost the drawing, with the photo.