A New Year’s Sunday in Hollyhill
Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill. Well, Holly County, actually. I’m not in town. I’m at our house. Alone. On a Sunday morning. It feels really strange to be in the house alone, especially on a Sunday. I have a cold. A sneezing, eye-watering cold. Even Aunt Love said I shouldn’t go to church. She said she’d stay home with me, but she hates missing church. Tabitha offered to stay with me too. She said it was easier to take care of little Stephen at home instead of trying to keep him happy at one of the Mount Pleasant member’s houses. But Aunt Love wasn’t going for that. She said if anybody stayed with me, it had to be her. You can’t argue with Aunt Love about going to church. If she thinks you need to be there, you might as well give in and put on your Sunday meeting clothes. Unless you’re sneezing and blowing your nose every five minutes. I look a little like Rudolph. You know that red nosed reindeer we sang about at Christmas.
Dad settled it by reminding Aunt Love that I am fourteen now. I can stay by myself. All day. It’s not like I can get into any trouble here at the house and even if I didn’t have a cold, it’s freezing outside. Way too cold to ride my bike anywhere. So they all put on their coats, said goodbye and took off for church. Everything got really quiet after the car backed out of the driveway and headed toward Mt. Pleasant. Zeb, that’s my dog, must have thought I was in the car headed to church too because he isn’t anywhere in sight. Probably curled up in a corner of the garage, hoping I’ll bring him a treat from wherever we are supposed to have dinner today. I might go out and wake him up later. But now, I like listening to the house. It ‘s very quiet. About all I can hear is the refrigerator humming and the clock on the mantle ticking. The gas stove has a cozy line of flames showing.
I go out on the windowed in back porch and get my notebook out from under the cot out there. I slept there this summer after Tabitha came home. We are short on bedrooms, but Tabitha needs one worse than I do, especially after Stephen was born. When winter chased me in off the porch, Aunt Love said I could share her room. That would have been a disaster for both of us. The couch here in the living room works fine until spring when I can head out to the porch again so that Zeb can come in to keep me company at night. Aunt Love would never go for him being in the living room. But Zeb’s a smart dog. He knows how to stay warm. Sometimes he crawls under the house where he seems to be extra cozy.
I have all day to write in my notebook. All day until after church tonight unless Tabitha talks Dad into driving her home this afternoon. In case that happens, I better do my journal writing this morning. Journal writing is always better when nobody is around. I don’t know how I’d know that since somebody always seems to be around here. That’s why it feels so funny to be here on the couch, pen in hand while the silence is so loud it almost hurts my ears. Before I start writing, I think about the people out at church. I wonder if Wes will ride his motorcycle out there today. Dad said he was preaching on how the church needs a vision for the coming year. He had me look up Proverbs 29:18 last night when we were talking about his sermon. Where there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Dad says it’s good for everybody to take time to consider what they can do better in the year to come, or really, each and every day.
He’s right, but I like writing about things in my journal that have already happened sometimes. I suppose lessons can be learned from that too, but sometimes it’s just fun to write and not think about the lessons I should learn. Just let the words flow out of my pen as I think about the year we just finished. There were good things and bad things. But as Dad says, pray more good things than bad. The good things were I got older and our family grew. I made some new friends, helped Wes get better, and taught Zeb not to bother Aunt Love’s mean old cat to keep the peace. Some bad things happened too. Lost somebody I didn’t want to lose. Witnessed a church getting blown away by a tornado. Felt the Lord’s blessing when I didn’t get blown away with it.
I miss being at church, but at the same time, there’s something kind of neat about sitting here by a warm fire, writing whatever comes to mind with a blanket of silence wrapped around me. The hours of the day stretch out before me in luxurious plenty. No chores to do. Nobody to tell me what I should be doing. Just me and my pen and books and the ticking clock. Sometimes having a cold can give you a different kind of gift.
Comments 16
I always enjoy listening to Jocie. Thanks for a bit of an update.
Author
Jocie here. Wow, somebody actually liking to listen to me. That’s neat, Nancy, because a lot of the time people tell me I talk too much and that I should be the one doing more listening. Did you ever have people tell you things like that? But I like talking to people and finding out things. I do listen too. Honest, I do.
Jocie, I’ve been told more than a few times that I talk too much, but as I got older I’ve learned to listen more than I talk. You can sometimes find out a lot more things by listening. ;p
Author
Jocie here. I do listen sometimes, Nancy, because I like finding out other people’s stories. You can’t hear those if you don’t let them talk. But listening is how I found out Aunt Love’s story.
Quite a story, wasn’t it?
Author
Jocie here. Oh my, yes. I still cry when I think about it and I can’t keep from being amazed, though, when I think about Aunt Love riding on Wes’s motorcycle. I didn’t think she could do that. But that’s how people are, isn’t it? They can surprise you sometimes. Aunt Love really surprised me that day.
I love listening to audio in the car. Keep one going all the time. Jocie’s series would be a great one to listen to.
Author
Jocie appreciates your kind remark, but she’s letting me answer you this time since all this new electronic stuff was virtually unknown in Jocie’s day as a kid.
I do have some free downloads of Jocie’s first Hollyhill story, Scent of Lilacs, on audio with Audible, Ola. If you would like to give the free download a try, let me know.
Wow, that sounds great. I’ve actually been thinking about trying audio books. What better way than returning to Holly Hill. Can you email me details? Thanks!
Author
Sure. Tomorrow.
I love Josie so it was so sweet to hear from her today! :o)
Thank you!
Author
Jocie here. Oh, thank you so much, Connie. You made my day better. I’m lucky to have friends like you. Well, Dad would say I should say blessed instead of lucky. Friends are a blessing.
Happy Sunday Jocie! It’s always good to return to HollyHill for a good story. I might need to read your stories again. Sometimes I like to re-read books…just to visit old friends. And it’s also nice when old stories are continued and added on to. 😉
Author
Jocie here. That sounds great, Lavon. Love it when I hear from you. About those stories somebody wrote about one of my years here in Hollyhill. I guess I better turn my pen over to the Ann. She’s got news about that first story.
Ann here. Scent of Lilacs is now on audio and I’m looking for some people who would like to listen to it and maybe leave a review about the audio book on Amazon. I’ve got some free downloads, so if you’re interested, let me know.
Josie so good to catch up with you again. I do love reading about your life and the things happening to you and those you know and love. Keep up the stories. Sharma Darby
Author
Jocie here. So good to hear from you, Sharma. I was afraid you’d forgotten about me. Winter has settled in here in Hollyhill. So maybe I’ll have a snow day soon and can think of something else to write in a report from Hollyhill.