There comes a time
when bravery and courage
are the supports for that
magical spark of self advocacy.
And then we ask:
Can I be brave enough?,
Can I ask the right questions?
without knees softening to jelly,
without hearts beating in triple time.
Maybe ~ there will be a time
when we know that our hearts
are strong enough for all
the questions and answers.
“When you give doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.
~ Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright
((May 1799 ~ August 1850)
“Finally! The humans didn’t know that I understood every word said this morning. It was one more trip to the place that smelled of dogs and cats. In a private room - and I do prefer private - the humans talked. “He picks at his splint all the time even with the collar on.” “He can have his collar off and if he pulls the splint off leave it off.” That’s all I wanted to hear. They talked more but I didn’t need to hear any more.” I started working at it as soon as I could and in a few hours I shook that annoying thing off on the floor. My leg looks rather odd, but will be better as soon as I can give it some proper exercise.”
*dictation accepted by one of ‘the humans’
“As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows
cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.”
~ Cleveland Amory
One thing
that’s all I want
one thing
one word
one idea
to get me started
so the flow slips through
the nerves and sinews of my arms
from the few of pounds of my brain.
The organ that is not a muscle
but an idea, emotion, movement central.
Programmed from birth with
DNA and RNA and sparks of life
so that we can move through our lives
~ in a very literal sense.
“The best tip for writing is just to write; to sit down and write,
to begin doing it and not to be scared by the blank page.”
~ David Almond, author
Poring through the words floating through my mind of
the past 24 hours I have only hooked nouns and adjectives:
pleasant,
laughter,
old classmates recounting past, present and future,
air-conditioning,
family around a dinner table in a Japanese restaurant ~ the chef flashing his utensils and flaming the food, the click and slide of his utensils on the slick cooking surface,
hot muggy air.
All in all a very successful and happy day.
“Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today.
Inhabit your moments. Don’t rent them out to tomorrow.”
~ Jerry Spinelli, Love, Stargirl
“Catch me, Grandma!”
With my arms open,
ready to catch a
flying, screaming
and laughing child,
I was drenched, afloat and happy.
There is nothing so joyous as grandchildren!
“Grandchildren are the best reminders
of the beauty and innocence of childhood.”
~ Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician
Hope comes on a cool breeze
that awakens my skin,
lifting my heart to
possibilities that surround
to gently remind of our worth
in this life that threatens
to banish our being
so we can design our plans,
step onward and be at peace.
“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul….”
~ Emily Dickinson, “Hope is the thing with feathers”
In my family we had dessert after every meal. Nothing fancy just a ‘fruit nappy’ often with apple sauce or stewed rhubarb, both home made and delicious. Memories of our family mealsaround the big oak table at the farm in summer or the beautiful veneered table in town in the winter bring a smile especially with that simple dessert of apple sauce, always with cinnamon, or stewed rhubarb with just a hint of sweet. Today, I have two jars of stewed rhubarb ~ with strawberries ~ in my fridge, made in my kitchen just because it is the delicious taste of home.
“Food is memories.”
~ José Andrés
