Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
The Little Black Book
The little black book sat in the chest that belonged to her great grandmother under old quilts, stained letters, and black and white photographs. The black book sat untouched for many, many years. Gloria sat curled up on her couch, it was a gray January morning perfect for sipping coffee in her pajamas. She sat appreciating the quiet and admiring the chest she inherited from her great grandmother when she was a little girl. Gloria closed her eyes and sipped the hot coffee from her warm mug as she thought about the time she was given the chest unbeknownst to her the secrets and fortune that lay hiding inside, untouched, and unknown, waiting for her to find; a little black book. She remembered helping her Grandmother and Mother clean out her Great Grandma Nadine’s retirement home after she had passed, she was ten at the time. They packed everything in boxes. Some items such as pillows and blankets were donated while other things such as her kitchen mixer, glassware, and a few antiques from Europe were passed down to certain family members. Gloria took another sip of coffee and thought about the last time she saw her Great Grandmother Nadine. Nadine was born in England and had lived a long adventurous life. She remembered how her hands felt when she held them while her great grandma lay resting on her death bed. She thought about the last thing her Great Grandmother Nadine ever said to her. It was so hard to make out the muffled words that shakily came out of her tired body, but finally Gloria faintly heard “the book belongs to you”. Gloria remembered her grandmother and mother going over the will and heard her Mother tell her that the chest her Great Grandmother had in her family for generations was going to be given to her. Gloria opened her eyes and looked again over at the chest; it was a Victorian antique made in England. Gloria kept in the corner of her living room. One of the old quilts her Great Grandmother had made was folded and draped over it giving it a cozy feel to the living room. Gloria stood up and walked over and picked up the old quilt and held it up to her face feeling the textured of fabrics sown together by hand and then slowly placed it next to her on the couch. Gloria sat on the floor and gently opened the Victorian chest, she loved the smell of old oak and loved tracing her fingers over the cold brass metal that framed the outer walls of the humped back lid. She thought of it as a treasure chest, she chuckled to herself and thought that in a way it was. She moved the old quilts and keepsakes aside and felt around at the false bottom of the chest for the little leather piece of fabric that when pulled revealed a hidden compartment. The items revealed were a stack of letters bound together with a soft blue ribbon addressed from a name that read Getty. Right next to the letters there was in the hidden compartment was the little black book. Gloria picked it up knowing it could fall apart any moment if she was too forceful with it. She sat back on the couch and opened the cover of the book while holding the bind together with her other hand. Under the cover was a folded-up letter written in her Great Grandmother Nadine’s handwriting. As Gloria unfolded the letter she recalled the moments of her finding the secret compartment that guarded the book years ago. She had memorized the letter from her Great Grandmother but still loved opening its secrets. Gloria read the letter again silently mouthing the words tracing the letters with her fingers, “My Dear Gloria, you have found my fortune. It belongs to you and only you. I’ve always admired your heart. Your soul and spark remind me of your Great Grandfathers. Do what you will with this fortune, I know you will not use it in vain. Yours truly, Nadine.” The little black book was Great Grandmother Nadine’s Diary from the year 1910. Gloria knew things about her Great Grandmother that she would take with her to her grave. Nadine had a secret life no one, not even her husband knew about involving a love affair and oil during the great depression. She had met a man by the name of Jean Paul Getty at the University of Oxford in England. They had travelled around Europe together before departing their separate ways forever in 1912. Gloria didn’t like getting too deep into the details of the diary when it came to Getty, but she liked knowing that her Great Grandmother was in love. There were letters hidden in the compartment of the chest between her Grandmother and Getty. The letters were mostly about oil and how he and his family were investing in an oil Field Holding in Oklahoma. Getty had been sending Nadine money, and lots of it. The money grew and grew and eventually stopped coming once the letters stopped arriving in 1915 when they both had met their life partners and had started having children. Nadine kept the money in the bottom compartment of the safe, afraid to even take it out knowing that no one would believe her if she told them where she had got it from, she also didn’t want to break her husband’s heart, she never told him she had been in love before him. So, she just hid it waiting for the right opportunity to reveal it to the right person, Gloria.
By Ashley Haltom6 years ago in Families
Nina's Goodbye. Top Story - January 2021.
“Mommy!” The scream wakes me with a start. The room pitch black, silent. For a moment I think the scream was just my own bad dream, it wouldn’t be the first one. Since Lizzie passed away, I’ve had them on and off, so has Nina, my little niece asleep in the room across the hall. I’ll never get rid of the image of her clinging to her mom in the ER. Demanding her to wake up. Begging the doctors to bring her back. Cooper, stroking her back and pulling her to him. Trying to explain to a four-year-old why that wasn’t possible. I didn’t think I could fall apart any more than I had when we’d been told my baby sister had died from the accident, but every bone in my body gave out watching Ninas world fall away from her so fast. That was a year ago, Cooper and I were all she had now.
By Francesca Riggs 6 years ago in Families
Am I A Bad Person?
Ok darlings, here’s the what’s going down and I need some outside input. Recently, as in the last year and a half, my mom just got out of an abusive relationship (i’m talking physically, mentally, emotionally abusive). Now she’s been with this guy (let’s call him Bo), for 11 years and he’s actually my brothers dad.
By Madison Smith6 years ago in Families
When Me and My Family Went Missing in the 1970s
A true story. My entire family, my mom, dad, me and my brother all went missing in 1979. I was 14, a freshman in high school. I considered this quaint little town my home. It’s wonderful people, my friends. I was on the drill team; which I loved! I played softball in the summers. I was on a bowling team in the winter. It’s where I became a Girl Scout, rode my bicycle down the Jumbo. Sang songs with my best friend out on the lawn (it was the 70s!). Where I would sing way too loud to the radio and records in my room to the dismay of the boy next door. (I owe him an apology!) Rode my bike everywhere! It is where my grandmother died. Where I got my first job. It is where I grew up. It was home.
By Paula C. Henderson6 years ago in Families
Science Fun With Your Child
Children love science because there is so much opportunity to use everyday objects and perform experiments to ease learning. It is a fact that we learn when we do, and rather than reading about it, it is best to have a child experience the learning by doing it themselves. Then, of course, the best part is the “ah-ha” moment you get from them which is undeniably the best feeling for a teacher or a parent.
By Elaine M. Gallagher6 years ago in Families
Why Your Child Care has Snow Days
I often hear complaints from parents about their child care closing on snow days. If it is a center the parent tends to take it pretty well because they understand the center has to be able to get enough staff through the door to keep ratios. When it is an in-home child care however, the attitude is very different. I hear comments like "I don't know why she needs to close, she's at home and doesn't have to drive anywhere. I'm the one who has to do the driving" and "If I'm willing to go to work she should be open to watch my child." The most insulting are the parents who remark that their provider is just using the school closing as an excuse to "Take a paid day off."
By Terri Mulhern6 years ago in Families
10 gift ideas for wife that your wife does not expect from you
Who doesn't like to receive an unexpected gift? It is true that on many occasions it is said that the material does not matter and it is true, a detail is valued more for the fact of being an unexpected surprise than for the economic value it has. So, take note! because we tell you the 10 gift ideas for wife that every woman dreams of receiving at least once in her life.
By Triavory Miller6 years ago in Families
An Open Letter to Moms of Angels
Dear Mothers, You are a Mom. Even if your baby never got to take its first breath, you are a Mom. I am so, so sorry that you have lost your baby. No words or false 'it will get better's' will ever fill that hole from your child. It doesn't matter if it was miscarriage, stillborn, SIDS, or some other unfortunate event that ended in you losing your child.
By Shiloh Madison6 years ago in Families
Building Trust with your Child Care Provider
When your new caregiver begins watching your children, you probably won’t know much about them. You won’t know their favorite color, their hopes and dreams or their bad habits. More importantly, you won’t know their parenting style. It is crucial that you choose a provider that is like you in parenting style. If you are a sixty’s style crunchy parent who uses cloth diapers and wants organic food for your child and your provider is a militant structure buff/ germ freak, the two of you will get along about as well as two male beta fish (you know, the pretty ones that live in little cups and look friendly but kill each other when put together?) in one tank. In other words, bad choice!
By Terri Mulhern6 years ago in Families
