Karen H. Richardson, PMP

Jimmy was the youngest of six kids. When the county fair came each kid was given money for rides and games. When it was gone, it was gone. Jimmy was too short for most of the rides other than the merry-go-round, which he was quickly board with. He wanted to ride with his brothers and sisters, but he was too tall. While mom watched us kids, dad would always scoop Jimmy up and take him to play the games. He always seem to come home with a prize. None of us could ever figure out how. Our money didn’t last long enough to knock the right pins down or land the ring on the peg.

Alice finished the Y on the birthday cake. It was perfect. Placing it gently on the table she quietly called the rest of the family around the table. Emily, the mopey teen-ager was convinced that middle child syndrome had set in again and they had forgotten her birthday. No amount of encouragement from her mother changed that. With a final adjustment to the gifts and cake, with her brother and sister standing by with balloons Emily was called downstairs. “What!” As she stomped down the steps to be stopped in her tracks by the site.

The doctor said the aquarium would help Fred relax. Having it set up in his office with fish he enjoyed. Some he had seen on diving trips. Yea, diving trips. Maybe watching the fish swim just reminded him of too many things.

The day Spike came home was the first time in a month Joey had smiled.

Their day had been seventy-five degrees and sunny. Beautiful. Christine spent the day feeling like a princess. She and Paul had prayed together the night before for peace and joy on their wedding day. The sadness from the funeral earlier in the week had taken a backseat to their day. Before they disappeared to the honeymoon suite they took a walk on the beach. Their conversation was quiet, they had to remember him on this day.

Tina loves autumn. The trees and their color change always stirred her heart to want to slow down. The smell of damp leaves and the crisp crunch under her feet as she swept the sidewalk reminded her that change was in the air.

Aaheli and Ajit were destined to be together. They just didn’t know it. They had met but didn’t remember. Eighteen years ago, when they were two years old, their parents had met. From that day forward each was raised with the other in mind. Aaheli would be raised to be the perfect wife, quiet, submissive. Ajit would be trained to work and be the head of his family. Neither took the news well when their parents explained the time had come for the marriage celebration.

Margaret had been waiting tables at Freddie’s diner for two years. With each day that passed, each table that got waited on, each tip collected, she slowly lost her confidence. Leaving Ricktorsville, as small town in the south to move to Chicago, Margaret was sure her cum laude status would follow. The real world wasn’t very friendly. Her dream of becoming an editor and someday a book publisher rippled each day. Today is Margaret’s twenty-third birthday. She gave herself a deadline of twenty-five to have a “real” job working toward her dream job. The next table she waits on may be one of the last.