Posts by Rosalie Toler

September 6, 1995   Dear Mark and Katie:   We’ve not seen you much at church lately, Katie, and Mark, we’ve not had the chance to talk to you. We didn’t get the opportunity to say ‘goodbye’; we’re not sure that you knew we were leaving. And because you’re special to us, we don’t want…

September 9, 1995   Dear Mom,   The apple pie was delicious. Couldn’t have been better. You’ve still got the magic touch with crust. We shared one slice for dinner when we got home– For lunch yesterday, we split the other piece with cheddar cheese melted on it. No gourmet had a better dessert.  …

She Could Have Been Me with Feathers In Olympic Park, Washington, gray jays perched in the trees, swooped near, tickling our ears with the sound of their wings. One mother bird didn’t join the flight but watched two of her brood act out their adolescent attitudes. Out on a limb they fought, nipped, snipped, shoved…

September 1995   Dear Circle Members:   Thanks so much for the going  away gift. We will make good use of the book about state parks and display the bag and the card in the trailer. The pictures on both perfectly express what we’re doing  ªpacking everything possible in our little wagon and holding hands…

September 6, 1995   Dear Lauren,   Since Grandpa and Lathan have been exchanging email, I decided to write you some she mail. (It takes a cockney accent and dropping your h’s to get that explanation.)   Happy birthday. By the time you get this the celebration will be over and we’ll have sung to…

September 6, 1995   Dear Mildred,   We’re hosting at Ozark Campground; the trailer and this place feel like home.   So far I’ve walked up the hill to the highway twice and once a black butterfly hitched a ride on my shoulder. I’ve tossed a green lady bug out the door and watched her…

I believe in sleeping late. Why? Because an early awakening is always a long, hard trip. I struggle throughseveral layers of sleep inching toward the realization that my face feels flattened, my nose has shifted sideways, one eye dangles against my cheek, all my teeth have moved, andmy lips are gone. In time, I sit…