Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Not Today
It's an early summer morning in the Great Smokie Mountains
The air smells sweet and the morning glories are opening happily on the bank when a young girl starts her day
Her clothes are plain, her feet are bare and someday she will have all the prettiest clothes and shoes she'll ever want
But not Today
Today she will work with her grandad to dig up wild onions and thistle from the pasture so the cows don't eat them and ruin the milk
She will love thistles for the rest of her life
She walks to her grandad's house on the road named for him and her family
Her grandmom is in the kitchen and she says good morning grandmom
Her grandmom is a sweet, kind lady that she loves very much
One day she'll take money from her grandmom's coin jar without asking so she can buy penny candy down at the local store
The store owner will tell her daddy that she had extra money for candy and she'll be caught
Her grandmom will make her clean every tile in the kitchen with a small brush as punishment
But not Today
Today when her chores are done, she'll make boats out of a Rose-of-Sharon flowers and sail them across the fishing pond
These are her toys. Someday her children will have every toy ever made and there will be
Laughter, Music and Love
Written for:
Jo Ann Arrowood Metcalf
By Patricia Diane Metcalf
7/2/24
