There’s a butterfly
In the garden.
I saw it lite on
My lilac bush
Hush!
Don’t move quickly
I want to watch it
Sip the dew.
It’s wing tips are the color of my marigolds
Growing in the borders of the Italian garden under the pines.
A breeze ripples through the Basil.
A chunk of ice clinks against my glass
The dog barks
And he’s gone.
G IVE THANKS
Do you smile
When you cut the grass?
Do you smell the green scent?
Of summer?
Does your spirit lift in the evening?
As clouds of red and purple
Silently gather across the sky?
Do you sparkle with love
When he plays his guitar
And asks you to sit by his side.
Then you are blessed
My friend.
Snap
Crunch
Stomp
What’s going on there, guys?
Who let the ruffians in?
Whisper
Tinkle
Tap
Uh Oh
Something’s wrong if they
Start whispering
Crack!
Rattle!
Slide,
Chirp!
Oh
Good
The boys got the bird
Out of the chimney again
My Friend Ellen Posted this on Face Book this week. She got it from her friend Sydell and thought that some of her friends would enjoy it. And, I did. It is a reminder to be grateful.
“There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "Hm...mm..," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YAY!" she exclaimed. "I don't have to fix my hair today!"
Attitude is everything. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly. Be Grateful!”
I hope I can always remember this. As I get older, my hair gets finer, and I find more of it every day in my hair brush!
A past Bishop asked every one he had on Face Book one day, “When you pray, what do you pray for? My answer was first, A Prayer of Gratitude. And it still is, but of late I’m adding,
Bless our country’s leaders that they will care about we the people.
Bless our world that we can overcome anger, fear, and this virus.
Please send us rain.
God loves us where ever we are at in life whether we believe in Him or not.
I remember a poem I read many years ago by Poet, Carole Lynn Pearson. I can’t find her book right now so I can only paraphrase it. “Even if you don’t believe in God, He believes in you.”
10 Philippians 4:12-13
I know how to be brought low, and I know how
To abound. In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
Abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
I am grateful for all God has given me, the experiences I have had to learn from. And for you because you take the time to listen to me.
May—one of the most loved months of the year; When nature bursts out, fresh, beautiful, and colorful, after the cold dry winter. And yet, as much as I itch to get out into my garden, I can’t. I just don’t have the energy after this crazy last year. I’m ready for earth’s rebirth to beauty if I can talk someone else into doing the work! We hired a landscaper to extend a couple of our terraces and make a couple of raised beds. I can’t get flowers till they are finished though. It is making me crazy with impatience instead of enjoying my impatiens. What do you like to plant?
There is a long list of things celebrated in May. I was surprised. Here, are just a few of them.
Which of the following might you be most easily motivated to observe?
I think I must have chosen Get caught reading month. I have read so many books in the last year of semi -idleness during the pandemic. I have discovered a lot of new authors to enjoy. I even became one, collecting my poetry and publishing it on Amazon.
Personal history awareness would be a good one too. Have you done anything notable, curious, or memorable in the last year? I’m not sure my descendants would care about the six quilts, or four afghans I made, but they might enjoy reading my words.
And I guess I’d better hurry and Revise My Work Schedule Month before the summer hits. Let’s see…..DO SOMETHING! Today I will start painting the cover for my next book of poetry, The Pregnant Elephant.
It is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.-Virginia Woolf
Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything.-Floyd Dell
What do you want to accomplish this year? I would like to hear.
Hallelujah!
After thirteen months, I finally got to go back to church. This doesn’t matter very much to a lot of people, but as I sat waiting for the Sacrament to be passed, I literally wept. The words that filled my mind were, “Free at last! I am free! I am free! I am free! I have been attending church most of this time by Zoom, but, though a miracle, it just isn’t the same. I have been going to church every week, except after various surgeries, babies, funerals, and vacations since I was two years old. My dad had a picture of me trotting down the block behind my older brothers in my nightie determined not to be left out of Sunday School. I suspect that after taking my picture, he scooped me up and took me home again to get me dressed and fed before we joined my brothers for Sacrament meeting.
One of our hymns from my early childhood was--
Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning Robert B Baird
Welcome, welcome, Sabbath morning;
Now we rest from every care.
Welcome, welcome is thy dawning,
Holy Sabbath, day of prayer.
Loving teachers kindly greet us
As we meet in Sunday School,
Where they labor hard to teach us
By the Savior’s golden rule.
I don’t agree with the churches who didn’t shut down during the last year as we fought the pandemic, because I think we need to care about those around us and protect them, but I understand them. Life and its hardships are easier to accept and survive with friends, family, and God by our side to comfort and help.
I had a friend many years ago, who lost a child to an illness. He started growing illegal Marijuana to pay for health care. When the child died, the marriage broke up and church going stopped. We all choose different methods to react and heal from tragedy, but I treasure the love and comfort I received from Heavenly Father and my friends, family and church to help me heal after the death of my own son. I hope that during this next year we will all grow closer and kinder as our world hopefully goes back to a closer rendition of the life we use to know.
