The Word Worker

Tag: Modern

  • Work and Purpose

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    When people talk about parenting challenges, they usually talk about toddlers or teenagers. No one really addresses the middle years, the years of learning, discovery, and character shaping. My ten year old son is right smack in the middle of those years. For several months now his behavior has been, well, challenging. We’ve been unable…

  • The Bells

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    They rang out across the water, a symphony of sound in chiming echoes down the brick-lined canal. The bells of Bruges, incongruously peeling out disco music to peal against medieval facades, held me captive. Even the cafe goers across the canal left their sedate mugs and tables to dance with abandon. Invisible behind those ancient…

  • The Creek

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    It wasn’t there before. I was sure of it. The tumbledown cottage was just barely visible over the creekbank, granted, and the trees were only recently bare. I might have missed it if I wasn’t paying attention. Still, that roof had to have been falling in for years to reach its current state, and I…

  • The Girl

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    She was there every day the sun shone, sitting against the big oak in the park with her guitar. No one ever saw her come or go, but when she played anyone nearby stopped what they were doing. They gravitated to her, faces suddenly pensive, often tearful as if their deepest longings surfaced. She always…

  • The Gods of Earth

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    “Do not have other gods besides me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord you God, am…

  • The Lens

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Savannah groaned. Here she was, supposed to be photographing this society fundraiser, and the camera lens was dirty. Again. She reached in her bag for the lens cloth. After a meticulous wipe that covered every square millimeter of glass, she nodded with satisfaction and lifted the camera again. She snapped a candid of a bored…

  • Green

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    It was June’s favorite spot at Maggie’s. The little antique shop on the square held everything from forgotten toys to glassware odds and ends, and the collection changed almost daily. Surrounded as it was by designer stores and expensive restaurants, Maggie’s was an unlikely success, but the window display stopped traffic every time. She asked…

  • It Takes a Village

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    A baby is born. Immediately he is whisked away to be poked, prodded, chilled, blinded, and confused by strangers. He is wrapped in a thin blanket and placed alone in a plastic bed. When he squalls he has a strange plastic thing shoved into his mouth out of which comes far too much food for…

  • Polaroid Moments

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Last week was long. My husband and I had so many responsibilities and obligations that our days began to blur together. There wasn’t enough time for daily chores or time with kids, and certainly not enough time for fun. We ended the week with a wedding. My husband officiated, my five year old participated, I…

  • Mama’s Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Day

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    We all have them. The days that you know you should have just stayed in bed. Instead you dragged yourself out of the comfy covers and made your sleepy, grumpy kids follow suit. The day that your morning prayer with the kids is an exercise in desperation because in the ten minutes you’ve been awake…