I Came by to buy a smile-today-

But just a single smile-

The smallest one upon your face

Will suit me just as well-

The one that no one else would miss

It shone so very small-

I'm pleading at the "counter"-sir-

Could you afford to sell-

e.d. # 223

Please someone let me out of here....

Oh wait...freedom is right behind me...

Smiles!!

Just finished reading Willow's post on Lynn Redgrave's death. She could not have been more poignant when she wrote that we " need to seize the day and stop to buy a big juicy chunk of life". And in my Southern Bible Belt tradition, my only comment  was "Amen sister". I hope Willow knows that receiving that comment from an American Southerner is one of the highest compliments that can be rendered in word form.

Prior to sitting down to savor my favorite blog sites, I spent at least an hour looking over photos taken on the momentous day.

Turning fifty has been such a joy. Contrary to the way I thought I was going to feel, my life seems to have settled. All the dust is gone and my heart is much clearer.

My two wonderful children took me for a walk down memory lane. The walk was peaceful regardless of the many, major struggles we were reminded of while on our stroll. I believe the wonderful personalities that have blossomed in my children were cultivated by working through the difficulties in life with perseverance and humor.

For the first time in my life I am able to:

accept differences without feeling I need to defend my position
be more confident than conforming
realize that a bad day or anger is only a faint whisper of difficulty
that life REALLY IS too short to waste
the future promises nothing but good things for those who seek it

I'm relaxed....I enjoy....I'm looking forward to good things.

So- on that note I want to share some of God's promises for the future:

My only regret is that I didn't turn fifty sooner.........

Just kidding!

The close of a great
day

The beginning of a new
decade


Children
Grandchildren
Friends
Family


Time spent with the past
and the future


You and me
Mine and yours


Youth and Age
Time and turmoil


You lay in bed watching the tube
I sit and read poems on the net


I love chimes and solitude
You love The Stones and me


You want time to stay and 
the years to be savored


I love change and
confronting the unknown


I believe you are mine...
I know you well


But then...
I know you will
never divulge
the
core
of
you


You believe I am yours...
you know me well


But then
I know that I can't
allow myself
to
become
vulnerable
once
again


You give yourself to me
I give myself to you


Just not totally
Just not today


Even on a perfect day
Like Today

Pink

Lyda Rose

shy

sweet 

simple

single

faint smell of musk

varied hues
of feminine

accessorized with gold

classic

but not

traditional-
in the orthodox
sense

many wonder

if this beauty

is even a rose

to some it

isn't--

to me it

is--

the perfect

 shade
of pink

my
favorite rose

Today is the big Five O birthday party.
Funny but I don't feel like I thought I would-old I mean...
Or at least older.

I actually feel rather young and excited.
This whole diagnosis thing may have been just the ticket :)

Locked into the sphere
Held captive by
Omnipotence

Loved by the Creator
who separated the dark
from the light
and water from
Earth

From dawn to dusk
they repeat
Sun to Moon
and back again

Toothless grin to
toothless grimace

Swimming round
and round again

Perspective changes with
the prisms of life
like a rainbow after the rain

None-the-less
Swimming round
the
Cycle of life

Created for Magpie Tales. To see more visit http://magpietales.blogspot.com

i sit behind the blind
and watch as you try to
pick up your toy while
you lean over the hammock

braids askew
sun dress pulled down to your waist
in an attempt to make
"a long skirt"

you left your Chai Linn hat
in your cubby
so i made you "a princess hat"
by pinning costume jewelry
to an old hiking hat

you are a princess

you lean and fall

it just takes once

that was all it took for
you to know
how to balance yourself

5 years old and so wise

mama made bad choices
daddy made bad choices

i hope i made a good one


you've been with me since age 2

i bought your first big girl bed
potty trained you

bought your first pair of panties
took pictures of the first day at "school"

held you when you had bad dreams
lugged you back and forth to therapy

rode with you in the ambulance
when croup was taking your breath

watched you go from "Blues Clues"
to "Barbie"

listened as you disclosed your first kiss
and chose your first boyfriend

sat by as you swallowed
the first piece of gum

it only took once

the first vacation--
Perdido Beach Alabama

you followed Gipa
across the sand

picking up every remnant of
sea shell you could find

Christmas programs
santa on the roof
club houses and secrets
planting the first seed
and watching the sunflower grow

cousins and giggles
inflatable beds and movies

bubbles to braids
the proper lip shade for your age
Clear!

learning the names of my roses
watering the plants
picking the first carrot and
making cookies

now, mama is making good choices

my heart strangles me and

i hope i made a good one

just like everything else in my life
i was a late bloomer
when it came to riding a bike

i preferred the safety
of my little sister's tricycle
and the steadiness of three wheels

the twins, ricky and ronnie,
(the bully monsters that everyone had
in their neighborhood) made fun

i had a crush on ricky, he
was the CUTE one

and he rode a bike past my
house every day

so i mounted my steed
and pedaled my way across
the lawn

initially, my motions were jerky
but soon i was maneuvering
and turning with ease

my confidence grew

the next morning i
couldn't wait to ride past
the twins house

my heart almost choked me
when i noticed ricky in the front yard

he laughed

i held my head high
as my heart hit the banana seat

but i rode on up the hill
and enjoyed the breeze in my hair
and the sun on my face

and i still ride a bike

drops of rain tickle the soft wind admonishing my roses to unveil fresh petals of memories that bring treasures into my life

Saturday Coffee

I sit here in my robe-
late-- on a Saturday morning
raindrops are hurling themselves at my window
and thunder is filling the air

I love it!
Bring on the storms--
the nitrogen that fills the air
will coax my roses to open
and sing for me

Coffee in hand
and the kitchen a wreck
I am so content sitting here
reading my fellow bloggers:

perspectives on life
a great story
a poem that humbles my soul
the sadness of a broken heart
the struggle to raise children
...and the joy of looking into their eyes...
...the awakening of their minds
the success of a good run
beautiful pictures

All in All

Life is so good!

May God bless this
wonderful nation of ours
and may He always grant us the
freedom to have a
day of peace and
blogging!

Blood drawn
from the surface
of truth

once known

now gone

Staff of life...
light-

strikes
the shell of
what WAS.

tomorrows
and todays
----gone...

yesterday
was
LIFE----

now gone

Staff of Life

Revive!!

Cycles of Life -
spring,
summer,
Fallen into
winter--- that begins the

Sequence of Change-
sighs,
sleepless nights,
cries of
Acceptance of...

The Seasons of Age-
crawl,
walk,
run
Kneel to the...

Succession of Days-
dawn,
day,
dusk and
then Night becomes...

Birth of Knowledge
innocence,
afraid,
wisdom,
Appreciation of...

Cycles of Life

However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in Paradise. Love your life. Thoreau

Thanks

Thank you God for today!!!!!!

where does trust go
when it runs away?

will it come back to see me?
will it still want to play?

and
tickle
my heart
like it did yesterday...

where does trust go
when it runs away?

where does my heart
lay it's head
when it sleeps?

when
the
work is
too hard
and my needs it can't meet...

where does my heart
lay it's head
when it sleeps?

where does love drink
when the thirst is all gone?

when it's dry
and confused
and the will
won't return...

where does love drink
when the thirst is all gone?

where does the sun go
when it's shine goes away?

i know it's not sleeping-
the stars will all say...

it's warming
another
whose life needs
the day.

but it will
return when
it's ready
to play.

that's where the sun goes
when it's shine goes away!

Today I had a glimpse into the future.

Three sons...

Last night they brought their mother to the emergency room with difficulty breathing...she had a pulmonary embolism ( a potentially lethal clot in her lung). She was admitted.

Today...

They brought their father in---confused and combative---totally out of the ordinary. We in the emergency department could not figure out what was causing the confusion--in spite of hours of attempts. In the mean time, his blood pressure dropped, his confusion got worse and the end result was--he was admitted to the ICU.

Three sons...
smiled and were complete gentlemen...while we poked, prodded and violated their father.

Three sons...
confusion on their face because we could not provide the answers they needed to hear.

Three sons...
masking their distrust...

Three sons....
obviously raised by two people with character, integrity and dignity.

Three sons...
on the verge of loosing both at the same time.

How would I have responded?

How will I respond?

How should one respond?

God, please have mercy on this most precious family? Amen

I'm hugging the prayers of those I would never have known except for this medium. Thank You Lord for the many blessings You send my way each and every day! You are great beyond comparison and i am so blessed to have you as my Father, Saviour and King!

I'm never really sure how to include the Holy Spirit in my prayers. i suppose it is that Spirit that allows me to have a voice of praise....so thank You most Holy of Spirits for giving voice to my praise!

Thank you for Devoted and her gift of prayer, granolachic for her devotion to relationships, and Bugs for just being Bugs to her family and mine..... Please bless Waystation and may he feel the healing within his body and soul. And Lord...for Escapist....please meet the needs of her most precious and individual soul. Solar P is one of a kind and I ask for many blessings on that family.

Betsy and her 5 men are so special and I ask a kind Look and Nod from You.

May I use this time to glorify Your name. i ask Your intervention in my spiritual, physical and work families. Please forgive my short comings, esp. at work.

Please bless my marriage and all marriages in these most difficult of times?!?

Oh God, YOU ARE SOOO GOOD!!!

and Thank You for the pictures of m. geistweite and his prowess behind a camera.

Found a new photographer today. His name is Mark Geistweite. His nature photos are phenomonal. The one posted is called "Gold on Them Thar Hills". I absolutely love it.

I felt so inspired to just get out and be among nature and it's beauty.

Today has been a great day. I can't wait to see what my newfound energy will create in my yard this year. So often I have wished for the ability to paint or to be able to sing. Maybe, just maybe, I can create something with my hands and some dirt that will do both. The sounds and colors of nature are my favorites anyway.

Beautiful day
---may I breathe you in deeply
---to the roots of my soul.

Spirit of breeze
---inhale the peace and sunshine
---that wrap around my life

---like a soft blanket of joy.

Spring!

STARTING OVER (REVISED)

ALONE AMONG OTHERS---
WORDS.... SPOKEN....
----NOT MY OWN

LIFE PASSES BY.....
--UNSEEN
--UNHEARD
--UNKNOWN

MY HEART BROKE ONCE
AND AGAIN----AND AGAIN

---THEN LIGHT ENTERED
--- AND NURTURED THE SOIL OF MY SOUL

HOPE STOLE MY HEART ONCE
---AND AGAIN AND AGAIN

BUT THEN
---PROVIDENCE REIGNED!

---ON THAT SOIL OF MY SOUL

WAIT.......

A VOICE WHISPERS......

WHOSE VOICE?

HOW COULD I KNOW?

--NEVER BEEN............... SPOKEN
--NEVER BEEN...................... HEARD
--NEVER BEEN............................TRUE

WHOSE VOICE?

MY OWN

thank you Lord for my diagnosis.

thank you for Light and Love and Forgiveness.

may i use the newfound treasures to glorify Your name somehow, someway...even if i am unaware of my actions.

thank you for bugs, knights and turkeys!

thank you for E.Dickinson:

---"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
----I shall not live in vain;
----If I can ease one life the aching,
----Or cool one pain,
----Or help one fainting robin
----Unto his nest again,
----I shall not live in vain." #VI

okay one more and then i'll stop

--"I had no time to hate, because
--The grave would hinder me,
--And life was not so ample I
--Could finish enmity.

--Nor had I time to love; but since
--Some industry must be,
--The little toil of love, I thought,
--Was large enough for me." #XVII