May 2020 Issue

An Ode to the Noble (But Not Too Bright) Chicken

“All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all.” Cecil F. Alexander, Hymns for Little Children, 1848 “The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is a type of domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus). They are one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, with a total population of 23.7 billion as of 2018. There are more chickens in the world than any other bird or domesticated fowl.” Wikipedia.com So here you are, dreaming again. Maybe that small farm you were thinking about is a bit too much work. How about raising chickens? How hard

Kindred Friendships

Women of Hope It’s no secret that friendships between women have complex and intriguing dynamics. It’s also crucial to many women that they have good friends in their daily lives for inner peace and emotional support. Why are these relationships so important to women? Women have always sought each other out to recharge emotionally, to dispel loneliness, and to reaffirm personal identities.. Women who have been through life crises say that their women friends communicated concern and bolstered their self concept and also helped them clarify and understand their problems. Lillian Rubin, a researcher who specializes in women’s relationships, quotes one woman as saying, “I love my husband and my

The Virus that Made a Doctor: Certainty from Uncertainty

Dr. Pierre Gaultier Jenkins’ letters home during the first wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic Saturday A.M. “Still in bed.” Dearest Father: I guess mother has rec’d my Special Delivery by now telling you all of my having the Spanish Influenza. Well I still have it and don’t feel much better to-day but don’t think it is of a very serious nature, at any rate it surely has knocked me out completely and am sore all over. There are about nine down with it now. Excerpt from Pierre Jenkins’ letter to his father, September 28, 1918. In 1918 my great grandfather, Pierre G. Jenkins, sixth of seven children, was not

In Search Of Happily Ever After

Once upon a time … before all the world stopped and held its breath … before we became achingly aware of and careful with one another … before, when life was just as it had always been, and would never be again … I wrote a story in remembrance of three weddings. In the story, I spoke about how I thought we should all make a point of attending a wedding every now and then. I proposed that it often provided an opportunity to renew our own belief in the sweetness of love, the spirituality of it, that it was sometimes the most lovely witness for hope — shining new

The Hopeful Nature of Seeds

Growing Hope I love spring. But moreso, I love what spring means to me. Spring is a time for shedding the bulky winter sweaters. It means longer days, warming temperatures, and seeds! Oh, the joy that seeds bring to my life. I did not specifically plan to be a lady farmer who owns a dump truck. But seeds caught my attention one day years ago on my first invitation to participate in a community garden. They let me plant seeds. And seeds I did plant. I had a ledger in my journal, and containers, and I planted way too many seeds for the size of that community garden. I had

Motherhood

A mother gazes at the face of her newborn There is so much love in that look, And so much love bundled up in so small a being. This gift of God sent from above Nothing more precious than a mother’s love! The mother ponders and wonders, What will this child be? Perhaps he or she will be a whiz at chemistry and solve some long lost mystery. Or an expert at math and solve some puzzling equation, Or a scientist who will find the answer and thereby discover a cure for cancer. Or he may become a professional ball player as he has the perfect frame for leadership in

A Mother’s Day Prayer

On this fine spring morning, Lord, an extra special prayer; It should be said on every morning for mothers everywhere, A prayer that You’ll keep filling them with blessings from above, The blessings being the blessings three of faith and hope and love. The faith in You she passed along to me through every year, The faith I cling to every day through laughter and through tears. The faith she lives in how she lives in every little way, The faith she passes on to everyone she sees each day. In hope she brought me to this world, in hope we live evermore, The hope we hold which places us

A Mother’s Day Letter to Peg

Hi Peg, Happy Mother’s Day! I think you’re a pretty exceptional mother, you know. You did all the normal, expected, motherly things, like making sure I wore boots and mittens, and not wanting me to go ice fishing when the ice is thin or trout fishing when it’s rainy and cold. It must seem amazing to you that your youngest child is in her late 40s, and I know you worry about me still, even though I’ve been a responsible (!) adult for many years. Women sometimes sit around and talk about being women and finding our way (cow sessions, we call them), and we talk about women who influenced

Getting a Good’s Night Rest during a Pandemic

Sleep Despite Uncertainty There are few things as necessary to feeling good, but that can be so negatively impacted by daily stressors, as getting a good night of sleep. Sleep problems were already elevated prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, with at least 38% of South Carolinians reporting short sleep duration (<7 hours/night) per the Centers for Disease Control. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with social isolation and the resulting economic downturn, has resulted in increased anxiety, stress, depression, and sleep problems. It is well known that changes in routines, job uncertainty, financial pressures, and increased interpersonal demands (beginning homeschooling, for example) are important factors in the growing mental health concerns around