New Clothes

I recently was shopping for a belated birthday present for my five-year-old niece. I picked up a hooded sweatshirt and jeans and thought to myself, “Oh, no. I’m turning into one of those boring aunts who buys clothes and not something fun.” I comforted my ego with the fact that at least the clothes had sparkles and embroidery. I had no idea if they were the right size or if she would even like them. I kept the receipt just in case the gift totally bombed.

A few days later,

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Caught

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The rain streamed in cold, miserable lines down my windshield as I drove home from Bible study a couple weeks ago. The sun hid behind clouds that threatened to stay all winter. I fussed with the windshield wipers – too slow, too fast – unable to find the happy medium that kept the windshield clear at an appropriate pace.

I watched as a leaf’s life ended and it lazily floated to its final resting place, which turned out to be my driver’s side windshield wiper. The leaf couldn’t

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Steam Burn

A few weeks ago, while I was canning applesauce, I lifted the lid of the stockpot to scoop out a batch of apples, and steam rolled out of the pot and burned my fore arm. I yelped, dropped the lid and watched a large red spot grow on my arm. It stung for the rest of the day, leaving a nice purple stripe.

Steam burns seem so unfair. I was extra careful not to touch the stove or the boiling water

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