Even at the start, I loved a good story.
(I still do.)
This blog exists to tell some of the ones I have seen and heard and lived.
Let me start with how it got its name.
Some years back, I read one woman’s story online in which she recalled the tangible relief it was to be visited during a sleepless hospital vigil. In addition to hugs and conversation, a friend brought her a single orange, peeled. All the depleted woman needed to do was reach out, take it, and eat it. She said she was immediately refreshed.
That image stayed with me. I, too, have sat in unyielding waiting room chairs, with other stunned and dismayed companions, as my husband of 33 years went from healthy one week to brain-dead the next. I, too, have been cheered by the appearance of friends showing up round the clock, friends who came with bear hugs, prayers and, sometimes, food. (Prompting my friend Barby to observe, “Friends who visit are good. Friends who visit with food are real good.”)
And so I want this little blog of mine to be a place where you can find a slice or two of refreshment along your way in this life. I want to hold out to you one peeled orange, so that you may suck in the juice and press on.