Rose Jackson stared out the window at the cold, cold wet day. Rain pounded on the roof and water gushed out of the downspout at the corner of the sunroom, creating a river that ran steadily along the edge of the flower bed and down to the ditch that bordered the backyard. She slouched down
From blue skies to rainy days
The Jacksons from the April 28 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Here’s to Veterinarian Jennifer Jackson
The Jacksons from the April 14 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Jennifer Jackson pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair. “That was so good,” she said. “Thank you. I’m stuffed.” Her boyfriend Alan did the same. “Those are the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had,” he said. “I’d pay for the recipe.” Jennifer’s father, Andrew, laughed. “I should have written it down,” he
Child complexes and parental preparation
The Jacksons from the March 31 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
The throaty purr of eight well-tuned cylinders pulling into the yard woke Amanda Jackson from the nap she had been enjoying on the living room couch. Brady was home. She heard the crunch of gravel under the wheels as his vintage Trans Am pulled up to the house, or more accurately, house trailer, in which
Family. Into each life a little rain must fall
The Jacksons from the March 17 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Grant Toews set his coffee cup down on the table with a sigh, and shook his head. “Family,” he said. “Can’t live with ’em, can’t disown ’em.” Andrew Jackson took a thoughtful sip of his own coffee. “Truer words were never spoken,” he said. “Which family were you thinking of in particular?” “My own, obviously,”
The end of the world as we know it
The Jacksons from the March 3 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Andrew Jackson rolled up his newspaper and flung it across the room, narrowly missing Charles Adler, who paid no mind. There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke. “I can’t think of a better use for the Winnipeg Sun,” said Brady, sitting next to his wife Amanda who was quietly sipping her tea, “than
Babysitting and pancakes for breakfast
The Jacksons from the Feb. 18 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Auntie Jenn!” Four-year-old Allison Jackson dashed down the hallway of the Jackson home and into the family room where Jennifer sat reading, her legs curled up underneath her on the old sectional couch and a cup of tea half finished on the end table beside her. Jennifer barely had time to move her book out
You see the weirdest things in Las Vegas
The Jacksons from the Feb. 4 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
So, how was Vegas?” Randy Jackson posed the question to Andrew and Rose as the three of them waited for Jackie to return from the kitchen with a fresh pot of coffee. “Hot enough for ya?” “It was plenty warm,” said Rose. “All we did all week was sit around the pool drinking mojitos and
A Las Vegas trip planned before breakfast
The Jacksons from the Jan. 21 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Andrew Jackson pulled his half-ton up to the curb in front of the café, between the Ford F150 and the Dodge RAM 2500 and turned off the engine. “Once more into the breach,” he said to Rose who was pulling her hat down over her ears and preparing to step out into the frigid January
New Year’s toasts and planning for future generations
The Jacksons from the Jan. 7 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
Andrew Jackson raised his glass and waited a moment for quiet to descend on the family seated around the table. “I would like to propose a toast,” he said when he had gained everybody’s attention. “First of all to the wonderful woman I married 30…” he paused to do a quick calculation in his head…
Trimming the tree on a white Christmas
The Jacksons from the Dec. 17 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know…” Bing Crosby’s wistful yearning drifted across the room from the iPod dock on the fireplace mantel. A fire crackled merrily below, the smell of pine and birch filling the room with the rustic smell of imagined cottages and campfires, mixing deliciously
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
