#sol18 Thinking and Thankful

Thanksgiving, 

Has given way to 

Black Friday, 

Small Business Saturday,

Cyber Monday,
Grateful Tuesday

Frenzied Hanuka prep, 

Abundant Christmas lights,

Jam-packed shopping malls,

Gigantic decorated trees, wreaths

.

Leaving grateful hearts,
Thinking about many blessings,

Slightly strained belts,
Thinking about abundant tables,

Grateful grandparents,
Thinking about grandchildren,

Hopeful parents,
Thinking about children,
And yet-to-be-born children,
Somewhat stressed students,
Thinking about end of semester papers,

All thankful for today,
All optimistic about the future,
All looking ahead.

On the afterglow of Thanksgiving,
On the eve of December
On the edge of the semester,
Facing a busy month,
Facing many challenges,
Facing piles of papers,
I'm thoughtful, thinking, and thankful.
Pretty sure Thanksgiving
Is more than a day.

#sol18 Slice of Life: Choices

The reminders 

Litter lawns, crowd corners,

Fill mailboxes,

Overwhelm ad space,

Red signs, blue ones,

Negative ads, 

Better be wary ads,

Reminders of political affiliation

Rather than who they are,

Rather than what they want to do.

Asking us to vote against.

I struggled to find

How candidates stand on issues.

Amidst the plethora 

Of warnings and ultimatums,

Amidst the exaggerations,

Amidst twisting of the truth,

Amidst red seas and blue waves,

Yet, I finally made informed choices,

Based on issues
Not just on color of the sign.

Image from the New Yorker, Brendan Loper

Cold and Dark With a Touch of Stars and Rainbows

Overnight, the leaves changed color, the days grew shorter, and jackets needed to be found. These clear reminders of the colder, darker, and often bleaker season upon us made me a bit melancholy. So this Twitter message was probably meant for people like me who want to see their "cup" as half full! 
Message received!