July 24: Celebrate

Birthdays, are a time to celebrate and also to reflect on memories and to anticipate the future, 

One of my grands, with sparkle galore,

Is no longer so little, in fact she's four!

Not long ago, she was a tiny bundle of love

Now she's a strong, determined gift from above.

She's already making her mark in the world

With glitter, ruffles and energy unfurled.

Her future is as bright as the sun is on this day,

She's forging ahead on her birthday.

She's already come a long way from preemie size,

I treasure each day 'cause time flies. 

It's also the birthday of a special cousin to me,

Kind, supportive, he's a main branch on my tree! 

It's no surprise they share this special date 

Their leaves are bright, they are reasons to celebrate.

SOL26 July 21: Bye Lettuce

I'm sharing a little bit of my life with the Slice of Life Community today, Like everyone, I have been avoiding some foods lately!

Looked longingly at heads piled high,

Wanted to grab them, but let out a sigh,

88 cents called me, I grabbed pricier food,

Thoughts of chef salad and BLTs collude,

$4 zucchini, $7 chard,

Can be cooked, raw is barred.

Not a chance for a salad bowl,

Bye bargain lettuce and bankroll.

Ethical ELA: July 20: Excessive GIfts

On this last day of Ethical ELA Open Write, Glenda asks us to write a clerihew form poem which is four lines long with rhymes at the end of lines one and two as well as three and four. Typically these poetic forms are about a person. I am taking a bit of poetic liberty and writing about a "gifted thing." 

When the gift is grandiose, excessive, or appears extreme,

It likely is illegal, has problems, or perhaps is part of a scheme!

You can't buy love or respect with money, planes, or diamond rings,

Sooner or later your may discover someone is trying to pull your strings! 

Ethical ELA: July 19: Waves

In  today's Ethical ELA prompt, Glenda Funk asks us to  consider looking at various definitions of wave. She suggests we could explore the human wave gesture or a beach memory. My wave poem is different, but based on my experiences driving through a day of intense rain yesterday!

Local forecast was dire, red flag waving ominously,

Yet, I waved, to my neighbor, bravely securing an umbrella,

I patted the coffee, water bottle as the wipers waved

Slowly, in anticipation for the first wave ahead where a 

Deluge would deter them from trying to wave away gallons

Flowing from waves of furious clouds before the

Thruway would disappear in waves of tears beating on cars 

As if they were kettle drums, as waves of terror gripped my

Soul knowing the destination was worth wavering through 

Waves of rain attempting to power wash everything in its path

SOL26: Still Learning

Today, I'm sharing a small, wonderful slice of life even though my heart is heavy with concerns for the precarious state of our world.  

Over the years, I have attended many universities and earned multiple degrees. I've learned to play checkers, Canasta, croquet and even pickle-ball. Yet, I somehow missed learning to play chess. I am pretty sure the husband taught the kids to play while I was either doing dishes or laundry and was too exhausted to add anything to my short-term memory storage facility. There was an after school club that met right next to my classroom for years and I thought about going, but there was always paperwork or lesson plans calling.

So when a grandchild did not accept my I do not play statement and exclaimed, "I'll teach you right now," I swallowed my fear that this was going to be hard and allowed an eight year old to teach me the basics. It was pretty hard, at first, and those horses who hop and jump as if they were real stallions cost me my first game pretty fast. The second game lasted a bit longer until I got shredded by that queen whose wrath I underestimated! 

I found myself later that night checking out chess basics and creating my own study guide before wasting an evening on the porch playing an online version ONLY so I can be a better competitor for someone who was in pull ups not that long ago. I'm still listening, growing, and still learning!  

July 13 In My Opinion

This is a post that shares my opinion about current events in our country. I acknowledge there are differing opinions. This is mine. 

I haven't shared my writing for a while as I have grappled with (in my opinion) one concerning news report after another resulting in a cascade of paralyzing fear for our future. Brutal bombs, baseless arrests, belligerent statements, and bloodcurdling accusations bombarding the consciousness at a pace that precludes response (in my opinion). 

Yet, the arrests, deportations, and murders of people, like Lorenzo Salqado Arauio in Texas last week and someone in Maine today,, who have not done anything wrong other than working and living in this country at this time is quietly escalating across the country (in my opinion). The targeted people are predominately darker skinned and Spanish speaking (in my opinion). Frankly, it was hard to celebrate the milestone birthday as this tragedy (in my opinion) unfolds upending lives and destroying the American Dream that has shaped my heritage. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

July 4: American Experiment

Birthdays, are a time to celebrate and also to reflect on memories and to anticipate the future. As we sweltered on the eve of our nation's birthday, I thought about a Godson who arrived just before the fireworks and is now celebrating adulthood.  I thought about his great-grandmother, a real firecracker, whose watermelon and blueberry infused day was often spent swimming and picnicking. I thought about the Bi-Centennial when I spent the day on The Mall before and an evening watching fireworks at Lincoln's feet. I also reflected on fireworks from a window at Hershey Medical Center where my uncle fought for life and hauling all kinds of treasures from the Stormville Flea Market. 

Locally, the heat dome has impacted many picnics and outdoor activities this year. Political strife also clouds many celebrations and provides an ongoing worries. There is also a clear reminder, this year, of the caution of George Washington, Ben Franklin, and even Abe Lincoln who were concerned about, and warned us to protect, the American Experiment. Our future as a country has been and will be determined by its people. Something about his time of year and birthdays seems to be a reminder we are stronger as a complex and diverse nation, infused from the beginning by brave outsiders arriving whether or not they were /are welcomed! 

Indigenous, immigrant, eager,

On boats, planes, foot, excited, 

Some penniless, escaping,

Seeking freedom, new lives

Some against their will,

We all pursue

American

Dreams

Not one

Rather, many,

Same, different,

Wanting a chance to

Earn, learn, live without fear

To participate, celebrate,

The American Experiment 

SOL26: June 30: What Were They Thinking?

I am sharing as part of the TWT Slice of Life community today.  

It's summer and it's NJ warm, not Arizona hot. I thought I had dressed appropriately for the doctor appointment in a skort and white tee. I wore my sandals because shoes would be extra weight on the scale. The waiting room was packed with the humans who either had the same Monday morning time slot, were shipped in from the Jersey Shore, or were serious about trying to fool the scale! They wore bikini tops and shorts that just grazed the parts you should keep covered. I tried not to stare. I tried to be jealous of their weight loss strategies. I tried to rationalize they were going to have to get undressed anyway!  I really do not know what they were thinking? 

As I went through a old photos (my June project), I found photo evidence of Queenie, my Grandfather's pet fox from the era when my Mother was a young girl!  I had heard reference to the "pet" and now I have photo-evidence of such a critter. I did check with AI, and it would appear it is now illegal to own one in most states. They are wild animals with high energy and will (according to Google) mark their territory and attack for protection if you know what I mean. Yet, here are photos of my mother (the little one) and her sister, and my grandfather, Gerow, with Queenie!  Seriously, what were they thinking?

I thought about all the other what were they thinking moments just today, like what were they thinking with that Reflecting Pool mess and what were they thinking when they rented MSG for a wedding decoy (wedding)? Then, I thought about how my Grandmother and my Mother would have been appalled that I wore a skort and plastic sandals (even if they were Oofoss) to a doctor appointment! Perhaps, many of us could use a reminder to think about the impact of our decisions. 

June 29: Questions

This month, I have been plowing through family photographs and memorabilia. I am left with questions about people who are no longer earth-side. 

Like this clearly formal wedding portrait from my Aunt Helen's wedding in about 1947. The men, including my dad, are wearing topcoats! Did she somehow "hit the lottery" because the farm had recently been sold even though others had no money for college? Did she have a much better secretarial job than I thought? Did Uncle David, the groom, fund the fancy wedding? 

Like this signed 9 X 12 picture from the 1984 Mondale-Ferraro presidential ticket! I did remember The Aunts were big time Kennedy supporters with memorial ash trays and other trinkets around the apartment. I realized the Irish-Catholic-young-good-looking-Camelot pull there. However, I missed the financial and clear support of this political ticket with a female in the VP seat! Clearly and happily ahead of their times! Was it the common Orange County country roots or the shared Brooklyn-Queens life? I am proud of my Aunt Lora for pushing respect for women in all the Houses of Washington even 40 years ago!                                                                                                                      

Now, so many more questions

Now, I can only wonder and imagine,

Now, there are no answers.

June 28: Hikes, Bikes, and Swims, too

My memory was that my own children spent a good chunk of their free time care-giving for grandparents and helping with chores around the house in the days before they explored working on their own. As I have been going through the photo memories that I have, I have decided they really had pretty good, if not wild and crazy or extravagant childhoods!  

Evidence to support my claim begins with planned or even unplanned hikes often spurred by Uncle Vince with cousins where paths were explored and laughter filled the woods. More than once, to be honest, we were unsure of our way out of the maze of black diamond and triangle labeled trails, if not totally lost! This image (Uncle Vince, Tony, me, Aunt Barbara, Della) was likely taken from a person who was far ahead of the rest on the hike with a camera! 

Sometimes, we hiked on magical trails where the wonders of nature were abundant and the majesty of the earth was everywhere. More than once we swam in Bash Bish Falls even if you were not supposed to do so!  More than once, I held my breath as we hiked or even mountain biked on steep and windy trails where the views were almost worth the work and worry.

My photos would suggest there were lots more afternoons spent with nature than at amusement parks and in restaurants!  I wish we had taken you on trips to explore at bit of the world while we could have done so. I also wish I had known then, how fleeting and wonderful those days would be in the chapters of our story. Yet, there was more time spent together doing-outdoors-activities than my now fleeting and tear-stained memories might suggest. There were smiles and there was laughter in our family as well as love. 

If I am honest, it may have been those early hikes and camping trips with Vince, Barbara and their growing family, before we had children, which shaped our parenting in a quiet manner. In those days, before my job was Mom, I might even have, one time, had a trunk full of Twinkies and been remembered, forever, as The Goody Queen.  (Sometimes, the memories are so powerful you really do not need pictures)

Keep them busy and outdoors may have been the plan, even if we never articulated it! Perhaps, I may even be remembered as an OK parent! 

Hikes, bikes, swims, laughs, smiles,

There really were more than I remembered!

Seeds planted at Cranberry Lake