I saw geese mamas ushering their new broods to the water on a walk break this week—which led me to remember how many good and wondrous things happen just out of sight a lot of days…
like the driveway feather waiting for me to find…
Nature’s Gift
…the way our world smells after a clearing rain and the child who reminded me of that…
…how rain led to some happy mud puddles but also some necessary clean outs
and progress in increments or big versions still counts as win here.
Take out pizza because 🍕is gift, actually,
in so many ways, and eating it for breakfast is evidence of plenty/leftovers/choice…
…and we are already at the end of April and this list, so I choose this poem to share as we go on about our busy days:
Blood donors top my gratitude list today. On this day over three decades ago, a doctor saved me with her own blood as well as that of so many others…🌟
Honeysuckle along the walking path…🌟
A dear friend texted me this gift for National Poetry Month: it’s the number for Oregon’s Poetry Hotline—call and listen to a new poem each day through the month of April: 503-928-7008 🌟
Children and swing sets 🌟
Busy cardinals in to-fro flight 🌟
Viewing the solar eclipse from my own front yard-memorable and amazing sight 🌟
Coffee in the just right cup 🌟
Bonus:
A short poem from Naomi Nye to send us into the new week: 👠
Easter greetings to the Christian readers here… I hope you’ve had a lovely day and made good memories. The bloom in the picture was only a bud the afternoon of Easter Saturday…what a difference a day makes, right? 😉
That full bloom iris greeted me this morning and reminded me how much good can come in a truly short time. Always be on watch for it.
It’s been a busy few days here with grandchildren dyeing eggs (and that brought back memories of my children doing the same— as well as my mom doing the same with me so many decades ago. Memories hang with us.) Traditions. ❤️
Little Easter baskets and fillable eggs and cascarones and children’s happy voices …
…and those children coming in with pre-birthday gifts as we were able to celebrate together this weekend…
The mailbox has been a treasure trove of happy mail recently, and I will always marvel at the magic that seems to bring a card or parcel from place to place. Today, it held homemade baked goods, too…all the ways friends show up with love and light.
I sent some good mail of my own during the past few days: a stitched contour portrait is on its way to Australia thanks to India Flint and her ever busy way of connecting creatives through stitch or words or art.
Friendships…and the ways we witness one another through good times and bad 🌟
Full moon glow a few days ago that led me to stand in wonder…the beauty of this world…
Books and journals and coffee cups and flowers…all the usual suspects that bring joy 🦋
Recipes…and time to make them…
And as I enter a new year, I honor the tradition of staying up to meet the day—happy to see another year and hopeful for the good it will bring…
So many times I wanted to post because I knew I missed last week, but I decided a catch up today would do. The message really doesn’t change:
Find beautiful moments. Surround yourself with good people. Learn from a child. Laughter is life. Carry on.
Solo goose the last few days…so Mama is likely on her nest just out of sight…
Wisteria appeared in its purple glory, cascading like clusters of grapes among telephone poles and adding a shot of color to still winter shrubs…
Dandelions have come, too, and while some of you likely hate them, Sofia christened them wish sticks and we are happy happy to see we have plenty of chances…
I was able to participate in two granddaughters’ school event this week, and I’m always glad to see happy children, beautiful classrooms, and a whole host of people…ones who come to witness and celebrate handprints and seedlings and book fairs…
Speaking of celebrations, a dear writing friend received good news and will have one of her poems published this summer. When that happens and with her permission, I will post it here. How truly good to see someone following the call to write and earning deserved recognition. Good news lifts us all. May we have more of it…
Blackwing pencils…one came to me from the friend mentioned above and reminded me how the little things really are not little at all…
Well, let’s see. One more thing—-how about some lines from the nature loving poet Mary Oliver to send us paying attention into the new week:
This, from her book Upstream:
“Teach the children…stand them in the stream…rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
How autocorrect attempts to correct the word snaggle
It is not snuggle, although I’m thankful for that as well
How one grandchild solemnly said Thank you, Mother Earth after collecting empty bean pods from the ground to use in her play…and how her sisters chimed in, Mother Earth echoing in the world they create here, away from the “other world” so close by
and this leads me to remember the young ones who used God as She and Her and how sooner or later we are all corrected—all along the way—when maybe in fact we really do know and like auto-correct, we sigh and roll our eyes and continue…
How everything does not have to be corrected
And this reminds me of my current textile exploration/practices where mistakes are welcome and the only rule is leave them in
and it makes sense to me
and I celebrate the knowing of all that does not have to be perfect or understood
…
and the moon is full and the jonquils are giving us new iterations daily
And somewhere someone thinks of us as we think of them
and
some among us are suffering and struggling and trying to continue and in that place, those days, we have an opportunity to provide welcome and blessed peace.
I hope you are able to recognize the need before you this week, and offer a simple smile. May you be well. May all be well.
Hello readers, and welcome to February. We get a bonus day this month. I haven’t decided what I’ll do with it yet, have you?
The week was fast and eventful. Grandkids swinging, testing out puddles, throwing rocks and noticing all the minute details of the natural world.
The eldest pumped her arm at the end of our country road as a truck driver passed by, and he rewarded her with air horn honks…and in that moment, I was transported to the same driveway many decades ago, being rewarded the same way. Little lights. Little efforts…
We have rock candy experiments “growing” in jars on my kitchen countertop. Little ones have to wait for a week to see the results. The smallest efforts, once again…
Garden center jonquils made their way to my arms this week…and
my daughter texted me a pic of one of my fave places : the Charles Bridge in Prague. Night scene. Lights on water. In that moment, transported to a past as well as future (hopefully) time. All the ways we get to be connected through space and time and memory and effort and kindnesses…
beauty…
Plastic baby Jesus has come out of storage, and has been coddled, sung to, and wrapped up these past few days. He’s really an outdoor manger piece, but these kids treat him like the real deal…
The geese are back. The birds are feeding this morning and filled with song…
Talismans. Those memory laden items or even attitudes we carry to sustain us during trying times. The week gave me a few trying moments, but was punctuated with high notes—much more good than trying. The sense of self we carry really does matter.
I noticed a lot this week. At a community meeting, a woman leader was summarizing content and asking questions, but at one point referred to herself as “stupid”…and my antenna went on high alert. People of the world, women of the world: we do not refer to ourselves as stupid. We may be learning, we may be relearning, we may be unsure; we are not, however, stupid.
I digress, I see. 😄
A former GED student came by “just to drop in” on his way to a college comp class. Those moments of realization: knowing you helped make a difference for someone…but also knowing no one succeeds alone. ✅
The week also gave me a watercolor workshop and time with old and new friends. And later today, some special young adults have arranged their schedules to keep up a tradition we established years ago. 🔔
Some good words to end (or start, I guess 😉) the week:
“The last of human freedoms – the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances.”~~Viktor E. Frankl 🌟🌟🌟
I heard from a student this week. She was a second grader in my first classroom 39 years ago. She’s gone on to make a career for herself as a nurse, and she’s living a good life. She decided to track me down (one of the few good reasons I can list for social media) and sent me a message to see if I was the Miss Sorsby she knew in 1984. I was. Still am to a degree. ❤️
We had a lengthy conversation through the app, and she recalled sweet and funny memories. Just know there’s a student you have impacted. I’ve been looking for you for YEARS. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
And, that, ladies and gentlemen, is an example of why some teachers continue for as long as they can. Thank you, Ebonie. Of all the things she mentioned, none of them were about curriculum. Teaching, I think, is really about the ongoing conversation we have with another…one that extends far beyond a single school year.
Anyway, it was definitely an uplift after a fairly long week…one that brought prank calls and a brief lockdown to our town’s schools. A week where I looked around once again and realized a lot of people really are unaware about all the roles a teacher plays.
But, as they say, time moves on and sometimes we are lucky that pranks are only pranks and nothing more. I’m not sure I can list that as one of my seven, but I’ll leave it here.
Onward to other days where grands were happy to see me in the school pickup line. Stories and comments shared that make me wonder if one day they will be tracking down their own former teachers.
Hugs, of course, make the list. And air kisses from Clara to her faraway aunt Rara…the mention of her name always brings that sweet response. And, how beautiful is that…to know a small child is sending powerful energy to another—-so often—-how rich to be a recipient of that kind of love.
The week brought special mail from afar and surprise flowers from a sweet loved one…people remembering a day 35 years ago when I said I do to a dear man who left us too soon. He left behind good people, and I celebrate the many days we shared…and am glad that others still realize that love transcends time. There’s a whole absence and presence philosophy that really does make itself known through time. ❤️
I’m not at a paralyzing grieving stage these days, and so that also makes this week’s seven good things. Life has been good to me for many seasons, and I fully recognize what a gift that is.
It doesn’t feel like 110 these first September days, so I’m also glad to say farewell to August, which seemed to hang around for far too long.
I feel like I’ve abandoned the passage of time theme haha…but that’s ok. I’m here. Grateful for this Sunday evening and a brisket to cook in the morning after a no alarm wake up. I’m grateful for the upcoming day off and paint to swipe onto a canvas, books to read, projects to work on, and the luxury of deciding who-what-when-where.
I started the day strong, then I gave in to one book after another. Books about art, book making, creativity, textiles. Not a bad place to be on a Sunday afternoon, actually. 📚
I have quite a few handmade books in various states of progress, too. Also a good thing. This is likely due to a really good art workshop I attended recently, hosted by Marlene Gremillion. She’s a wonderful teacher, and I think new and experienced artists alike left feeling motivated. Even though this was not a book making workshop, ideas started flowing.✅👩🏻🎨
It’s encouraging to see people giving themselves time to explore new techniques, hone old ones, be part of a community. Art does that for us.
Other good things from the week:
Seeing a granddaughter perform in a school play, and watching her search the crowd beforehand. Seeing those eyes light up and that face break into a joyful smile when she spotted her family in the audience. ❤️
Walking in the company of a beautiful sunset this week and receiving a text from a friend—pretty sky alert!—and realizing how much the sky and friend have added to my life. 🌟
Some of you know I love to cook—-well, this week my college campus had a soup cook off, and yours truly walked away with a second place medal. 👩🏻🍳 The recipe?
This is so good—-college kid approved—-and I added doubles of tomato sauce and heavy cream. Didn’t add the ginger; did include a block of cream cheese. I regret nothing. ☺️
What else? Well, poetry, of course. Here’s a beautiful one by Naomi Shihab Nye. I offer it here in honor of Women’s History Month, AND because she once answered a letter from a good friend…and was generous to her:
Onward, friends! It’s spring break for some, and a lost hour due to Daylight Savings Time for a lot of us in the USA. I feel an extra cup of coffee coming on, and maybe I’ll move from this stack of books to go greet what daylight remains.
A stack of books to read in the new year…I’ll try to post some titles/pics soon. What are you reading this year?
Those airport hugs. They are markers of so much between visits. While I’m at it, pilots and air traffic controllers and attendants and security and good weather and on and on…all the folks and events that allow us to get from one place to another.
Children. If you are lucky enough to witness a child at any stage, cherish that. It is fleeting, but to witness them before the world pushes in…gift. And those smiles…
My mama’s Bundt pan and the pottery bowl she bought me decades ago. It is beige with blue hearts on it. It was too expensive really, but she saw that I admired it, and she gave it to me on some occasion. Every time I use those items, it’s as if she is in the kitchen with me. This morning, there she was as I mixed up a pound cake hours before my daughter was set to head to the airport for her return flight home. Presence. Good vibes.
Names on class rosters/courses to teach. Excited about a new group of students on campus.
Messes. Evidence of life. Things might get a bit out of hand, but generally speaking, messes mean something took place. Most likely, some part of it was good. And, if it is hard to see the good, maybe we walk away learning something. Still a win.
I know a lot of us get caught up in the gift-buying at Christmas. Guilty here, too. The real gift is us; trite as that is, it is us. And we can give of ourselves and let others give of themselves to us all year. Let us continue. ❤️
A blog reaching out to victims of abuse and others in need, providing insight about abuse, hope for the future, and guidance to see THE LIGHT that lead Secret Angel out of the darkness of her own abusive situation and helped her to not only survive but to overcome.
agnestirrito 