Oars UP!

A daughter wrapped in her parents’ love A husband with his wife- A friend of many years and dreamsThe precious gift of life. These are things that we hold dearOur paths are intertwinedAnd form a safety net for us – That we have carefully designed. The gift we never wanted came our wayIt caught us by surpriseIt halted our activities To which we bid our good-byes. In the darkest hour of the…

It dawns with such hope and breathes life back into me. I wait in anticipation of what noises I will hear, what smells I will smell, and what awaits me. I feel compelled to review the dream from which I just awoke. I hadn’t had a teaching dream in such a long time. Why now? It seems so strange – after having not taught for nearly seven years… why now? I try to hold the feeling, the empowering…

The Person You’ve Become…

Dedicated to David, on the occasion of his 18th birthday! I knew where you went and I know who you wereI knew how you felt – before you grew bigger. My baby, my boy, my sweet bundle of joy – You were so easy to please when you played with your toy. I held onto your hand and you walked by my sideYou jumped in my arms with a smile oh so, so wide. I carried you, sang to you, watched on as you…

Walking in Her Shadow

There are days I feel I am a shadow of my former self. What I used to do and what I used to be have been slowly shedding away. I don’t know when it started. I don’t think I knew it was happening. My world got smaller and smaller and so did I. Like a bright colour, over time, I’ve faded.

When did it happen? How did I let it? How do I get myself back? I remember reading “The Stone Angel”…

May your love grow strong as the mighty oak – It roots run deep and firm into the ground upon which it stands. Its trunk supports the challenges the changing seasons and weather may present. Its branches, though solid, bend so they don’t break.

Its leaves present the beauty of its soul in the spring to bring joy to all who come seeking shelter and protection. And in the fall, they return to the…

A Tribute to Henny

(This poem is dedicated to Jan)

May your grief be more like the snow that falls at night – When the wind is calm and the candle light is bright.

May the weight of your tears not pull at your heart – But cleans of your pain so anew you may start

To laugh, to love, to live, to sing To find your meaning as the new day will bring –

A calm you will find as you reconcile your past – So the…

I’ve been absent because I’ve been present I’ve been busy to help her be calm. I’ve been doing so that she is ready Ready to move her life on…

I’ve been absent because I’ve been present And helping her plan her day Her day is so quickly arriving In a destination so far away…

I’ve been absent because I’ve been present Oh, such a gift I can barely take hold Each breath that I take – I thank God I’m…

The night came riding in.  It was stealth.  I knew it would arrive again as it had in the past.  I expected it.  I waited for it.  I held my breath for it.

And then, one night, there it was.

The darkness first filled the room and then it filled my mind, then my heart.  Black.  Indelible.  It was too thick to see through.  It lay down in bed beside me to become my lover for the night.  We embraced…

It was an absolutely spectacular morning when Jazz, our golden retriever, and I left for our walk.  Of course, it was difficult to know what to wear after listening to the weather forecast;  Would it rain, snow, or would the sun shine?  Weird, weird weather.  Nonetheless, our path takes us close to home and through the woods so there would be some shelter and a quick escape to shelter if the need…

The Grace of Another Year

I once believed I had no time I was busy every day The kids, the job, the house, my dog Life got in the way

From early morn to late at night I worked, I worked, I worked No time to eat, no time to sleep In the wings, my cancer lurked

I hunkered down and moved along There was no way I could delay A deadline here, a meeting there And birthdays merely days away

There was no time for me to breathe I…

I know the undeniable strength of community.  I know it in terms of what it takes to be a successful teacher, student, cancer patient; It takes the courage of others when my own courage falters. When I can,  I offer my support back.  I have cried on the shoulders of giants and I have dried many tears rained upon my own shoulders.  My family and friends were, and continue to be, my life-lines when…

A New Day Had Dawned

The day was about to begin.  There was a sense of mystique about that notion.  Beginnings were always exciting to her – more than “being in the middle of’s”  or “ending up as”.  Dawn, no matter whether rainy dawns or sunny dawns, no matter snowy or foggy, dawn was always special.  It had been her mother’s favorite time of day.  It was during that time when she connected with her mother. …

My Own Hundred Acre Woods

Watching Christopher Robin with my youngest child, David, rendered me rather nostalgic and I took a rather blissful walk down my own memory lane to enter a 100 Acre Wood of my Own.

I grew up in the middle of pretty much  no where.  There were 80 acres of no where.  At least – it was no where when I was growing up.  Now, of course, towns have expanded their girth and inflated to include grocery…

There’s your sign

Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to get my brain spinning on an idea or a concept.  Other times – it’s like there is no room at the neuronal inn; Guest concepts may walk through the corridor of thought and find the place jam packed full of baggage and so, they have no other option than to turn around and walk out.

I am getting much better at predicting when I will be receptive to thinking and when…

One at a time With a breather between I take my pills And inside I scream

One by one I swallow with care I take my pills And I still have hair

Third one down With a gag or two I’m not a pill taker But without I’m screw (ed)

One more is gone With three to go I Crush some Candy With really nothing to show

Five gets stuck And waits around Until the sixth Comes stumbling down

This is the last Until…

I want to write my story With pages full of words That tell the tales of all my dreams Such were stories never heard

A mystery and a drama A thriller read by all A tale to find in the fiction aisle A good drama to enthrall

My pen is poised and ready The paper crisp and bare I look up to see her watching – She is watching from her chair

She wants to see me writing She wants the words to flow And…

Out of the Darkness

“Only after you are broken, can you know what you are made of”

How did the Thailand Wild Boars soccer team survive for 17 long days in a damp, dark cave.  They had no idea whether they would be saved.  They had no idea how long it would be until someone noticed they were even missing.  How is it that they did not just throw in the towel?

Grit?

Resilience?

Faith?

Team spirit?

It would seem that…