Warrior Fish
A young boy catches the northern pike of his dreams during a family fishing vacation, but ultimately chooses to release the magnificent 'warrior fish' back to its freedom rather than mount it as a trophy.
Of Such Are Memories Made
This story beautifully captures the nostalgia of home food preservation and family traditions from the 1960s perspective, contrasting the communal experience of canning peaches and making apple butter with the convenience of modern grocery shopping.
Memories of Americana
The story is a charming memoir by Donna about coal buckets and their role in her childhood and adolescence, from eating tangerines over them during Christmas to using one for physical therapy after breaking her elbow.
Our Green Tablecloth
by Donna Hruska Tablecloths have always been a problem in our house. Because we must eat in the dining room, we like to have an attractive cloth on the table; yet with six children and many spills, fabric cloths are impractical. Plastic, on the other hand, seemed to go to pieces in no time, and …
Things I Learned the Second Time Around
In this delightfully funny essay, Donna Hruska catalogs the hard-won wisdom gained from helping her children with school projects, from science fairs to Cub Scouts, revealing the universal truths of parental homework assistance like "Mothers' Law" and the eternal scarcity of band-aids when you need them most.
Warning! Epidemic On its Way (Kites)
A tongue-in-cheek 'medical warning' about the highly contagious 'Windhooker Fever' (kite-flying mania) that strikes children each spring, complete with mock symptoms, treatment recommendations, and parental survival tips.
And Daddy Would Probably Cry (Susan)
When five-year-old Susan threatens to run away after a fight with her sister, her mother realizes that sometimes a packed suitcase is really just a plea for reassurance and special attention.
What Makes a Summer Vacation
Donna paints a vivid, poetic picture of the perfect summer vacation through a series of sensory snapshots—from children fishing and swimming at a lake to the simple pleasure of quiet moments by the fire after sandy, sun-filled days.
It’s Much Better Now
A poignant reflection on giving away baby items as children grow up, capturing the bittersweet reality that while life becomes easier without the demands of caring for infants, a mother's heart still aches for those tender early days.
Be Fruitful and Multiply
In this witty essay, Donna explores the amusing misconceptions and social challenges faced by mothers of large families, from being treated as conversation pieces at parties to having repairmen use their homes as tourist attractions.