“Mommy, look!” cried my daughter, Darla, pointing to a chicken hawk soaring through the air. “Uh huh,” I murmured, driving, lost in thought about the tight schedule of my day.
Disappointment filled her face.
“What’s the matter, Sweetheart?” I asked, entirely dense.
“Nothing,” my seven-year-old said. The moment was gone. Near home, we slowed to search for the [...]

The hospital was unusually quiet that bleak January evening, quiet and still like the air before a storm. I stood in the nurses’ station on the seventh floor and glanced at the clock.
It was 9 P.M. I threw a stethoscope around my neck and headed for room 712, last room on the hall. Room 712 [...]

The baggy yellow shirt had long sleeves, four extra-large pockets trimmed in black thread and snaps up the front. It was faded from years of wear, but still in decent shape. I found it in 1963 when I was home from college on Christmas break, rummaging through bags of clothes Mom intended to give away.
You’re [...]

Her hair up in a pony tail,
her favorite dress tied with a bow
Today was Daddy’s Day at school,
and she couldn’t wait to go
But her Mommy tried to tell her,
that she probably should stay home
Why the kids might not understand,
if she went to school alone
By Cheryl Costello-Forshey
Email: costello-forshey@1st.net
Cheryl’s Website
Reprinted with permission

We all know what it’s like to get that phone call in the middle of the night. This night was no different. Jerking up to the ringing summons, I focused on the red, illuminated numbers of my clock. Midnight. Panicky thoughts filled my sleep-dazed mind as I grabbed the receiver.
“Hello?” My heart pounded, I gripped [...]