The road from point A to point B is 30
semi-straight, lackluster interstate miles.
I drive it most days on my way to work,
But I always look for shortcuts.
There is a road just west of Point A
That leads to a road intersecting Point B
And when I have a bit of extra time
I scoot on over and follow its curves.
Never mind that this route
While two miles shorter
Adds 20 minutes to my drive.
A shortcut in name only,
But well worth the time.
Our lives have not always been easy. We struggled financially for many years. We failed each other many times, but we always got up and made things right. There were many times when it would have been easy to give up, to quit, but we refused. We were never satisfied with failure or with doing things half-assed.
So today I’m thankful for a certain willful stubbornness. A refusal to accept the status quo. Studly and I are living proof that if you work hard and treat others as you wish to be treated that there’s a good chance you’ll do okay in this world. No, we aren’t wealthy. But we are comfortable. We won’t have a fortune to leave our kids. But we have a whole lot of love to leave them. And stubbornness.
Here’s hoping that this Thanksgiving Day allows each of my readers to take a moment to think on all the really good things in their lives. I’m thankful for each of you.
Thanks, people!
The market on love
Has been cornered
By those of us
Who know that
Sometimes the clouds threaten
And the sky goes sunless
Day upon day
And all that holds the storm at bay
Are the winds swept aloft
By shared laughter.
So what if we can’t live
On love alone?
Honestly we never even tried.
Some days we might have
Forgotten to remember, though
The importance of just looking
Into a smile and seeing
The world we’ve created
From no more than a pair
Of long ago I do’s.
Happy birthday Studly!
Married folks tend to learn each other’s tics and tendencies over time. I’ve made note of some of the things that we just do because we’ve been yoked together for so long. Some of it isn’t all that pretty, but some of it is just right. I guess you’ll have to decide which is which.
Crack each other up with just the right facial expression.
Fart and/or belch freely, then apologize sincerely before farting and/or belching again.
Steal each other’s portion of the blanket.
Hold hands unselfconsciously.
Snore unabashedly.
Find each other’s lips on the first try in the darkest of rooms.
Know exactly where to scratch when their partner has an itch.
Finish each other’s sentences. Sometimes correctly.
Elaborate on one another’s stories.
Watch a program they don’t want to watch because their partner wants to watch it.
Understand the “look” and adjust as needed.
Commiserate with one another’s angst, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal to you.
Be the bright spot when the other’s is dim.
Anticipate the other’s needs, such as bringing home a new bottle of wine without being asked.
Refrain from making a joke at the other’s expense.
Gladly be the butt of a joke when necessary.
I like best the things that are
Left for others to find by chance
Like half a walnut shell
Discarded by a scavenging squirrel
Or a crimson leaf
Dropped by the maple out back
A shell abandoned by the sea
Or a splash of snow sparkling on
New blades of grass
Days after a spring melt.
These left things
Make me wonder
Who? When? Why?
And keep me searching
For more.
I don’t do yoga, but I’ve got the pants
I have no rhythm, but I love to dance
Don’t play guitar, but I collect picks
Can’t play drums, but I’ve got the sticks.
I don’t fish at all, but I have a pole
I have the right shoes, but I never bowl.
You just never know what life might demand
So it’s prudent to keep this stuff close at hand.
I’m sitting at Whole Foods enjoying a non-fat chai latte, medium, almost too hot to drink, and checking my email on my phone. There’s a funny message from Studly Doright. It was sent to three recipients: our son, our daughter, and me. It struck me how much I love that–that our family group is united in that email. Even though we’re hundreds of miles apart, Studly knew we’d all find the message amusing. At some point today each person will read, giggle, and perhaps shake his/her head at what our well-loved patriarch has wrought.
Yes. This is something I love.
I am
words
Inside and out
Corridors papered
With shoulds
And should nots
Conduits some,
Obstacles others.
If I dance it’s only
Because the words
In my soul
Instruct me to twirl.
And if I cry it’s
Not for a lack
Of words
But almost
Certainly due
To an
Abundance of
Rules.
Have your ever shopped tirelessly for just the right piece of furniture or art for a specific spot in your home only to discover that upon finding the object of your search and placing it in that perfect spot that either the object is all wrong or the spot is all wrong? Yea, me neither. Ha. Ha Ha. Sob.
Actually, that’s my normal modus operandi. I wasn’t blessed with the decorating gene, so a lot of my style is by trial and error. After error. After error. Eventually I’ll wind up with something I like, and then, by golly, nobody better move it around.
Take this fun piece:
I bought it to hang in my dining room for three reasons:
1) To tone down the formality of the room. The drapes are formal and the chandelier is so not us.
2) To economically decorate a large white wall.
It almost meets that goal; although, it needs a little something to make it pop.
And,
3) The woman in the picture reminds me of my mom shown here with my dad circa 1957-ish.
So, do I find another place for the picture and keep on searching for something that works, or do I leave it and rid myself of the drapes and chandelier?
I really like my table and server. I just need (free) help pulling it all together.
Peace, People!
Studly and I live in north Florida. Two of our grandchildren live in Texas and three live in Illinois. Needless to say I don’t get to see them often. But thanks to this new-fangled invention called the Internet 😉 we manage to stay close.
This past weekend technology almost made it feel as though I was right in my daughter’s home in Illinois. She and the youngest grandchild, 2 1/2 year-old Harper, called me on FaceTime as they often do just to show off some new song or skill Harper has learned.
During this call I asked Harper about her new “big girl bed.” She got so excited and asked her mom if she could hold the phone. That’s when the adventure began. Harper carried the phone down the hall and into her room. She placed the phone on her pillow exclaiming proudly that Nana was in the big girl bed.
I pretended to be a baby and cried quite convincingly. So Harper told me not to cry and showed me her dolls and stuffed animals: Apple Dumpling, Hello Kitty, and a baby named, appropriately, “Baby.”
Harper read me a story about a puppy named Biscuit. When I asked to see the pictures she’d lay the book on top of the phone. We played and talked in this manner for at least half an hour, then Harper covered me up with her blanket and left the room.
A few minutes later her mom came in and found the phone. Apparently I was supposed to be sleeping.
Now to those of you who are fortunate enough to be able to hug and kiss your grandchildren every day this might seem kind of silly. I’d give anything for even 10 minutes of in-person time with my grands, but this interaction was incredibly sweet. Harper didn’t seem at all bothered that Nana was in the phone.
Peace, People!
Praying for Eyebrowz 