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Survivors

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How wonderful these days to see people’s smiling faces, to not have to rush indoors to the isolation of the house, to see neighbors out walking and stopping to chat, and to be out and about more in the world.

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Thoughts While on a Walk

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What a Blessing it is to see the flowers blooming in the yards,
To hear songbirds singing in the now leafed trees,

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Back in the Day and the Family Doctor

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As a child, my family only went to the doctor when we were really ill. For financial reasons, most common problems were treated at home — for a sore throat, gargling with salt and water; for sprains, soaking in warm water and Epsom salt; for colds and coughs, Vicks VapoRub, honey, and cough syrup from the drug store (sometimes prescribed by the doctor); for cuts and scrapes, peroxide.

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Childhood Memories of Spring

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When I was a little girl, I knew it was spring when I no longer had to wear my snow pants and red rubber boots or brown rubbers. It felt glorious! Soon, I knew, I would see the robins returning.

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My Birds

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Although it’s snowed heavily in the night and still is snowing this morning, my brave and faithful birds arrive looking for their seeds.

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The Little Christmas Tree

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I think back in my memories to my first Christmas as a wife and young mother. Our income was just above the poverty level (by ten dollars), but we were blessed by the church with a big turkey with all the trimmings, and a basket full of canned goods and basic staples to last quite a while.

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Thanksgiving Thoughts

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The fields were harvested. The pumpkin pies have been baked, and in the oven, the turkey roasts to a crisp, golden brown.

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Fall Thoughts

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Too soon the summer has left us —
In the gardens, the flowers have produced their seeds.

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Changes

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We went to work, made appointments, planned activities, even scheduled in free time—our calendars were full. Then something happened—loss of a job, illness, the pandemic.