Fred's Blog
  • Fred's Blog
  • Writers Open House
    • Shane Joseph 2025-1
    • Ronald Mackay 2025-1
    • Jeremiah Gilbert 2025-1
    • Jeremiah Gilbert 2025-2
    • Malcolm Welshman 2025-1
    • Roger Knight 2025-1
    • Sue Wald 2025-1
    • Ronald Mackay 2025-2
    • Cherie Magnus 2025-1
    • Cherie Magnus 2025-2
    • Cherie Magnus 2025-3
  • Writers Open House Guidelines
  • Amazon Author Page
  • Info
  • 2024 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2024 Memoir Showcase
    • Elora Canne 2024-1 (M)
    • Sue Wald 2024-1 (M)
    • Patricia M Osborne 2024-1 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2024-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-1 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2024-2 (M)
    • Malcolm D Welshman - 2024-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-2 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2024-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-3 (M)
    • Sue Wald 2024-2 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2024-2 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-4 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp 2024-3 (M)
    • Don Hughes 2024-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2024-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2024-2 (M)
    • Sue Wald 2024 -3 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2024-1 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2024-3 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2024-1 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2024-2 (M)
    • Jeremiah Gilbert 2024-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-5 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2024-1 (M)
  • 2024 Fiction Showcase
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2024-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2024-2 (F)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2024-1 (F)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2024-2 (F)
    • Sue Wald 2024-1 (F)
    • Shane Joseph 2024-1 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-1 (F)
    • Carly Standley 2024-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2024-3 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-2 (F)
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2024-1 (F)
  • 2023 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2023 Memoir Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2023-1 (M)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2023-1 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2023- 1 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2023-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-1 (M)
    • Kelly Reising 2023-1 (M)
    • Robyn Boswell 2023-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2023-1 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2023-2 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-2 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2023-1 (M)
    • Robyn Boswell 2023-2 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-3 (M)
    • Judy Middleton 2023-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2023-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-4 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2023-2 (M)
    • Valerie Poore 2023-1 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2023-1 (M)
    • Carrie Riseley 2023-1 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2023-3 (M)
    • Jacqui Martin 2023-1 (M)
    • Dvora Treisman 2023-1 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2023-2 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2023-2 (M)
    • Mitos Suson 2023-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-5 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-6 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2023-3 (M)
    • Jacqui Martin 2023-2 (M)
    • Martha Graham-Waldon 2023-1 (M)
  • 2023 Fiction Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2023-1 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-1 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-2 (F)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2023-1 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-3 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2023-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2023-2 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-4 (F)
  • 2023 Highlights
    • Syd Blackwell 2023-1 (H)
    • Tammy Horvath 2023-1 (H)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2023-1 (H)
    • Syd Blackwell 2023-2 (H)
  • 2022 Memoir Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2022-1 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2022-1 (M)
    • Leslie Groves Ogden 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-1 (M)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2022-1 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-1 (M)
    • Sharon Hayhurst 2022-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-2 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-2 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2022-2 (M)
    • John C. Rogers 2022-1 (M)
    • Thomas Laver 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-2 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-2 (M)
    • Lally Brown 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-3 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-3 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-4 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-4 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-2 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Poore 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-5 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-3 (M)
    • Mike Cavanagh 2022-1 (M)
    • Mike Cavanagh 2022-2 (M)
    • Malcolm Welshman 2022-1 (M)
    • Nick Albert 2022-1 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2022-1 (M)
    • David McCabe 2022-1 (M)
    • Lizbeth Meredith 2022-1 (M)
    • Jill Dobbe 2022-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-2 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-5 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-1 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-2 (M)
    • Mitos Suson 2022-1 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-3 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-3 (M)
    • Therese Marie Duncan 2022-1 (M)
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2022-1 (M)
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2022-2 (M)
    • Kelly Reising 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-6 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-3 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-4 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2022-2 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-4 (M)
  • 2022 Fiction Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-1 (F)
    • Keith Moreland 2022-1 (F)
    • Lindy Viandier 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-2 (F)
    • Robert Fear 2022-1 (F)
    • Lindy Viandier 2022-2 (F)
    • Janet Stobie 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-3 (F)
    • Philippa Hawley 2022-1 (F)
    • Daisy Wood 2022-1 (F)
    • Valerie Poore 2022-1 (F)
    • Lynn C. Bilton 2022-1 (F)
    • Sue Bavey 2022-1 (F)
  • 2022 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2022 Guest Blogs
  • 2021 Authors Showcase
    • John L. Fear 2021 - 1
    • Sue Bavey 2021 - 2
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 3
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2021 - 2
    • Mitos Suson 2021 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2021 - 1
    • Donna O'Donnell Figurski 2021 - 1
    • Dolores Banerd 2021 - 1
    • Lynn C. Bilton 2021 - 1
    • Sverrir Sigurdsson 2021 - 1
    • Sharon Hayhurst 2021 - 1
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2021 - 1
    • Sue Bavey 2021 - 1
    • Karen Telling 2021 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2021 - 1
    • Liesbet Collaert 2021 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 6
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2021 - 1
    • Jackie Lambert 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 2
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 3
    • Jennifer Rae 2021 - 1
    • Chris Calder 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 5
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 3
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 2
    • Joanne Guidoccio 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 4
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 1
    • Shane Joseph 2021 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2021 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2021 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 3
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 2
    • Margaret South 2021 - 1
    • Denis Dextraze 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 1
    • Shane Joseph 2021 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 1
    • Adrian Sturrock 2021 - 1
    • Cherie Magnus 2021 - 1
  • 2021 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2021 Guest Blogs
  • 40 years ago today
  • 2020 Authors Showcase
    • Vernon Lacey 2020 - 1
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2020 - 1
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2020 - 1
    • Alison Alderton 2020 - 1
    • Lizzie Jewels 2020 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 4
    • Lally Brown 2020 - 1
    • James Robertson 2020 - 2
    • Ronni Robinson 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 6
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 5
    • Syd Blackwell 2020 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2020 - 2
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 3
    • Val Poore 2020 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 3
    • Neal Atherton 2020 - 1
    • Susan Joyce 2020 - 1
    • Leslie Groves Ogden 2020 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 4
    • Elizabeth Moore 2020 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 4
    • Patty Sisco 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 5
    • Syd Blackwell 2020 - 1
    • Frank Kusy 2020 - 1
    • Malcolm Welshman 2020 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2020 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 4
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 3
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 3
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 3
    • Amy Bovaird 2020 - 1
    • Patricia Steele 2020- 1
    • Elizabeth Moore 2020 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 2
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 1
    • Irene Pylypec 2020 - 1
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 1
    • James Robertson 2020 - 1
    • Andrew Klein 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 1
  • 2020 Guest Blogs
  • 2020 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2019 Authors Showcase
    • James Robertson 2019 - 6
    • Val Vassay 2019 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 6
    • Dawne Archer 2019 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 6
    • James Robertson 2019 - 5
    • Sarah Owens 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 5
    • Dolores Banerd 2019 - 1
    • Val Vassay 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 4
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 5
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 4
    • James Robertson 2019 - 4
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 3
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 4
    • Adrian Sturrock 2019 - 2
    • Jill Stoking 2019 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 4
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 3
    • Cherie Magnus 2019 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 2
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 3
    • Catherine Berry 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 3
    • Nancy McBride 2019 - 2
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 2
    • Nancy McBride 2019 - 1
    • Malcolm Welshman 2019 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2019 - 1
    • Patty Sisco 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 2
    • Adrian Sturrock 2019 - 1
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 2
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2019 - 1
    • Celia Dillow 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 1
    • Kelly Reising 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 1
  • 2019 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2019 Guest Blogs
  • Competitions
  • 2018 Travel Highlights
  • 2018 Travel Stories
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 5
    • Apple Gidley 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 5
    • Helen Bing 2018 - 3
    • Julie Watson 2018
    • Anisha Johnson 2018
    • Philip East 2018
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2018 - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 5
    • Malcom Welshman 2018 - 2
    • Celia Dillow 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 5
    • Lee P. Ruddin 2018
    • Cat Jenkins 2018
    • Anierobi Maureen Ogechukwu 2018
    • Dede Montgomery 2018
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2018 - 2
    • Parishka Gupta 2018 - 2
    • Angie Clifford 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 4
    • Roger Knight 2018 - 2
    • Mark Boyter 2018 - 2
    • Laurel Casida 2018
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018 - 2
    • Alison Galilian 2018
    • Colleen MacMahon 2018
    • Zahra Makda 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 4
    • Susmitha Subramanya 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 4
    • Aleksandra Krysik 2018
    • Swarnabha Dutta 2018
    • Delores Topliff 2018 - 2
    • Sourabha Rao 2018
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2018
    • Swatilekha Roy 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 4
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 4
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2018
    • Parishka Gupta 2018
    • Helen Bing 2018 - 2
    • Madeline Sharples 2018
    • Joe Dodkins 2018
    • Andrew Klein 2018 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2018
    • Rob Johnson 2018
    • Anu Devi 2018
    • Lu Barnham 2018
    • Amy Bovaird 2018 - 2
    • Helen Bing 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 3
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 3
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 3
    • Alan Passey 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2018 - 2
    • Alyson Hilbourne 2018
    • Sunny Lockwood 2018 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 3
    • Brigid Gallagher 2018 - 2
    • Martha Graham-Waldon 2018
    • Mark Boyter 2018
    • Kristen Caven 2018
    • Neyda Bettencourt 2018
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 2
    • Logan Wood 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018 - 2
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 2
    • Wenlin Tan 2018
    • Tom Czaban 2018
    • Claudia Crook 2018 - 2
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 2
    • Dolores Banerd 2018
    • Piyumi Kapugeekiyana 2018
    • Stephanie Dagg 2018
    • Gabrielle Chastenet 2018
    • Bonnie Jean Warren 2018
    • Rasa Puzinaite 2018
    • Patricia Steele 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 2
    • Louise Groom 2018
    • Malcom Welshman 2018
    • Delores Topliff 2018
    • Claudia Crook 2018
    • Robyn Boswell 2018
    • Amy Bovaird 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018
    • Jesus Deytiquez 2018
    • Ria Chakraborty 2018
    • Brigid Gallagher 2018
    • Jules Clark 2018
    • Nancy McBride 2018
    • Susan Mellsopp 2018
    • David Greer 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018
    • Aditi Nair 2018
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018
    • Frank Kusy 2018
    • Andrew Klein 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018
    • Sunny Lockwood 2018
    • Robert Fear 2018
  • 2018 Guest Blogs
  • 2017 Travel Highlights
  • 2017 Travel Stories
    • Matthew Dexter - 2
    • Sandra Walker
    • Rishita Dey
    • Lisa Baker
    • Patricia Steele - 2
    • Sue Clamp
    • Debbie Patterson
    • Jill Stoking - 2
    • Robyn Boswell - 2
    • Cherie Magnus
    • Mark Boyter - 2
    • Rita M. Gardner
    • Alex Curylo
    • Graham Higson
    • Jill Dobbe - 2
    • Amy Bovaird - 3
    • Elizabeth Moore - 3
    • KC Peek
    • Lucinda E Clarke
    • Nancy McBride - 2
    • Frank Kusy - 2
    • Yvonne Kilat - 3
    • Mike Cavanagh - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 5
    • Mather Schneider
    • Syd Blackwell - 5
    • Gundy Baty - 3
    • Elizabeth Moore - 2
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Heather Hackett
    • Bob Manning - 2
    • Mark Boyter
    • Jackie Parry
    • Matthew Dexter
    • Amy Bovaird - 2
    • Gundy Baty - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 4
    • Susan Joyce - 2
    • Syd Blackwell - 4
    • Yvonne Kilat - 2
    • Bob Manning
    • Elizabeth Moore
    • Yvonne Kilat
    • Olivia-Petra Coman
    • Susan Mellsopp - 3
    • Gundy Baty
    • Syd Blackwell - 3
    • Paul Spadoni
    • Phil Canning
    • Jill Stoking
    • Robert Fear
    • Anna Coates
    • Kelly Reising
    • Syd Blackwell - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2
    • Sine Thieme - 2
    • Alison Ripley Cubitt
    • Angie Clifford
    • Philippa Hawley
    • Nancy McBride
    • Robyn Boswell
    • Mike Cavanagh
    • Amy Bovaird
    • Susan Mellsopp
    • Patricia Steele
    • Susan Joyce
    • Peggy Wolf
    • Sine Thieme
    • Syd Blackwell
    • Frank Kusy
  • 2016 Travel Highlights
  • 2016 Travel Stories
    • Robyn Boswell
    • Elizabeth Moore - 5
    • Susan Joyce - 3
    • Bob Manning
    • Jackie Parry - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh - 2
    • Lisa Fleetwood
    • Mark Boyter - 2
    • John Rayburn - 5
    • Mark Boyter
    • John Rayburn - 4
    • Elizabeth Moore - 4
    • Mike Cavanagh
    • Graham Higson
    • Philippa Hawley
    • Jill Stoking
    • Nancy McBride - 2
    • Susan Joyce - 2
    • Lucinda E Clarke
    • Elizabeth Moore - 3
    • John Rayburn - 3
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Richard Klein
    • John Rayburn - 2
    • Jackie Parry - 2
    • Elizabeth Moore - 2
    • John Rayburn
    • Jackie Parry
    • Elizabeth Moore
    • Kelly Reising
    • Susan Joyce
    • Nancy McBride
    • Stewart Brennan
    • Frank Kusy
  • Behind the Scenes
  • 2015 Travel Highlights
  • 2015 Travel Stories
    • Val Vassay
    • Doug E. Jones
    • Matthew Dexter (2)
    • Beth Haslam
    • John Rayburn (4)
    • Susan Joyce (2)
    • Jackie Parry (2)
    • Lucinda E. Clarke (2)
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Francene Stanley
    • Richard Klein (2)
    • John Rayburn (3)
    • Julie Haigh
    • Frank Kusy (2)
    • Nancy McBride (2)
    • Anne Durrant
    • Lucinda E. Clarke
    • John Rayburn (2)
    • Nancy McBride
    • Sarah Jane Butfield
    • Jackie Parry
    • Kelly Reising
    • Gareth Nixon
    • John Rayburn
    • Jeremy Parris
    • Matthew Dexter
    • Susan Joyce
    • Richard Klein
    • Frank Kusy
    • Robert Fear
  • Daily Diary
    • February Archive
    • March Archive
    • April Archive
    • May Archive
    • June Archive
    • July Archive
  • Reviews

 SUMMER FAITH by Tina Wagner Mattern

   
It was one of those miserable cold and rainy days in February that Portland, Oregon is famous for, and I was in a mood.  Some people like rain.  I am not one of those people.  I had already gotten drenched once that day; taking my three year old daughter, Summer to her Christian preschool, so the last thing I wanted to do was to go out in it again.  But it was 2 o’clock and she needed to be picked up by two-thirty.
          The traffic was terrible—when I finally arrived at the school, it was quarter-to-three and since the staff couldn’t go home until all the children were safely in their parent’s care—I knew Summer’s teacher was not going to be happy.
          Parking, I pulled my coat collar tight and buttoned it, reaching for my umbrella, which wasn’t under the front seat where it should have been.
          Someone (it couldn’t have been me, of course) had left it in the garage that morning. I muttered a couple of words that likely made my Guardian Angel cringe, and hurried through the lake forming in the parking lot. 
          Inside, Teacher Jennifer lifted an eyebrow at me in what I considered to be a very un-Christian like manner, and pointed down the hallway.  Summer was bent over a table, working to finish a painting.
          “Hi Mommy,” she chirped.
          “Come on, honey,” I called. “We’re late.  Teacher Jennifer wants to go home!
`         She held up her artwork. “Look! I drawed it for you!”
          I took the paper and squinted impatiently at it. “Uh-huh. Good.” I nodded, and handed her coat to her. She put the picture down and folded her arms.  
           Arggghhh! I knew that stance.
           “You hurt my feewins,” she told me.
           She wasn’t going anywhere until I apologized—and it better be believable.
          “It’s wonderful!” I gushed. “Best one you ever did!”
          She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
          “Really!  Now please, can we go?”
          She finally nodded and obediently held out her arms for her jacket.  Outside, the rain was now a freezing, nearly sideways sheet. Both of us were soaked by the time we got to the car.
          “It’s wainin,” Summer observed from her car seat behind me.
          “No kidding,” I said, drying my dripping hair with a handful of Kleenex before starting the car.  I was just pulling out when Summer yelled, “WAIT! We gotta go back!”
          Slamming on the brakes, I turned around. “What are you talking about? Go back outside? Are you crazy?”
          “My Care Bears mitten,” she cried, waving a lonely right-hand Care Bear at me. “My mitten’s gone. I musta leaved it in school.”
          “Oh for heavens. . .”Wait a minute, I muttered, backing the car back to the curb. Parking, I turned around to lean over the seat and undo her seat belt.  “Okay, look in your pockets,” I told her.
          “I did!” she wailed. “It’s not there!” She turned both pockets inside out to demonstrate their mittenless-ness to me.
          “Get up,” I sighed. “Maybe you’re sitting on it.”  She climbed out. No mitten. We checked around and under the seat and on the floorboards. No mitten.
          “See!” Summer cried. “We hata go back!”
          “No! Maybe it’s outside, next to the curb.” I opened the door and stuck my head out—Niagara Falls poured over what was left of my hairstyle. No mitten. 
          That’s it!” I pronounced with finality. “You have three pairs of mittens at home, for crying out loud. Now, get back in your seat so I can buckle you in.”
          “I want my bestest Care Bear mitten!”
          “Well, I want a week in Jamaica,” I said.
          Thinking on that kept her quiet for a moment or two, allowing me to get the car headed for home. But five minutes later:
          “I want my MITTEN!”
          Looking at her fuming countenance in the rearview mirror, I said, “You’ve made that perfectly clear. Now give it a rest. Please!”
          Eyes narrowed, frown lines deep as canyons, she muttered something under her breath.
          “What did you say?”
          “I say,” she said, “I ask Jesus!  Jesus will get me my mitten!”
          Rolling my eyes, I said, “Jesus is NOT going to get you your mitten. He’s BUSY!”
          “He will too,” she stated firmly.
          I groaned. “Whatever. Now, not another word until we get home.”
          A rather loud raspberry sounded from the back seat.
          Once we finally got home and into the house, I told Summer, “I’ve got a lot to do before I get dinner ready. Go play in your room.”
          “I don’t wanna.”
          Shaking my head, I muttered, “Fine. Don’t play, but no more about that mitten.”
          No comment.
          I hung up our coats in the laundry room and headed to the kitchen to deal with the dishes in the sink when I remembered: the mail had to be brought in—from outside—in the rain. Groaning, I put my coat back on and stomped down the hallway to the front door. Summer followed on my heels.
          Opening the door, I looked hopefully up through the rain for any sign of blue sky.  A clap of thunder echoed somewhere in the distance.  “Oh shut up!” I muttered, and prepared to sprint to the mailbox.
          Before I could take a step though, Summer squealed.
          “What now?” I cried, spinning around.
          “I tode you!”
          “Tode me what?”
          She pointed out the door, grinning. I turned, and following her finger with my eyes, looked down at the doorstep.
          There, on the welcome mat, was a Care Bear mitten. A left-hand, Care Bear mitten.
          I blinked in disbelief, my mind scrambling to make sense of what I was seeing.
          What? How?  My common sense tried to say, well. . .she must have dropped it on her way out this morning. But no—we hadn’t been anywhere near the front porch—we’d gone out through the garage.  We had, in fact, not been out the front door in more than a week.
          Stunned, I turned to look into Summer’s shining face.
          “I TODE you Jesus would get it for me!” she said, beaming.
          Gathering her into my arms, I whispered, “Yes, you did, little girl. You really did.”
          Holding her tightly, I was overwhelmed with awe at our God who would perform such a miracle for a little child, simply because she stood steadfast in her faith.
          After a minute, Summer pulled away to say, “Thank you, Jesus!” picked up her mitten and skipped off to her room.
          I looked up to heaven and whispered, “Amen to that, Lord. Amen to that!”



Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

​Copyright © 2025
Proudly powered by Weebly