Haiku Happenings...

Well, Summer came and went, and so did Autumn, and now we are in the middle of Winter, and still no Haiku. I kind of failed that, didn't I??? Maybe I should just write about gratitude, no matter how it comes out.

This morning, I am grateful for snuggling with MacKenzie each morning in bed. I am also grateful for old friends that are easy to be with, even after not seeing each other for a long time. No catching up is necessary. I am grateful for online friends that are becoming "real-time" friends as well. I am grateful for experiences where MacKenzie has the opportunity to play with other children that she doesn't know. I am grateful to have my laptop back. I am grateful to have abundance...and I am grateful for another day to keep trying to live my best life.

Haiku Summer

I think I will change the format for this blog for the summer. Summer Solstice is next week, and I am going to celebrate this season with Haiku. I taught a class on Garden & Nature Journaling last week. While I was doing research for the lesson, I remembered how many haiku poems I wrote while I was pregnant. I can bring up the whole memory of the instant I described in each poem so easily. Writing haiku is a good way to be present, and a great way to scrapbook your memories!

sunshine and cool breeze
blond curls with pigtail topper
giggles on the swings

Back in the Saddle

I am grateful for a kind, compassionate husband who runs to the grocery store at 5am for remedies to aid my stomach problems (stemming from drinking spoiled lemonade). I am grateful for breezy, cool, sunny days after a steamy heat wave. I am grateful for lazy, silly days with my 19 month old daughter. I am grateful that my daughter has a bit of the fae in her...she looks like a sprite or Pan, playing her recorder, dancing on tiptoe naked in her nursery! I am grateful that I have a chance to work doing something I love and am good at, bringing more financial stability into our home. I am grateful that I am supported in new endeavors by family and friends. I am grateful for Memorial Day dips in the Yellow Breeches at the boat dock. I am grateful for memories that I have of long ago friends who have suddenly been lost to us...too young to leave this world. Bright Blessings to you, Tami Lytle, as you pass from this world to the next. May the place you are going be beautiful and more peaceful than this one for you.

Spring Peepers

I am grateful for my daughter. I am grateful that I am seeing her grow and become stronger every day. I am grateful for a cacophony of spring peepers that sang her gently to sleep yesterday. I am grateful for cousins and aunt-cousins, and grandma-aunts. I am grateful that my Mom's surgery was successful and easy. I am grateful that her trip to the hospital was short. I am grateful for snack picnics in the sun. I am grateful for still moments forehead to forehead and cheek to cheek with the sun shining on us and eyes-closed mandalas.

Sleepy Babies

Today, I have many things to be grateful for. I am grateful for sleepy babies in polka dotted teddy bear pajamas! I am grateful for having had a good pregnancy. I am grateful that the summer was not too hot for my pregnancy! I am grateful for the satisfying feeling that comes with completing two projects. I am grateful for little smiles on MacKenzie's face when she is in that twilight space of sleepy. I am grateful to have a loving and supportive family. I am grateful that MacKenzie has a loving and supportive family. I am grateful that my husband apologizes when it is necessary, without expecting one in return. I am grateful that he is so kind and generous and caring. I am glad that MacKenzie and her Daddy have a loving relationship already. I am grateful that my mother is taking steps to organize her affairs. I am grateful that my mother and Chris' brother have quit smoking. I am grateful that MacKenzie is feeling better after her first virus. I am grateful for a roof over my head, heat through the winter, and food on our table. And I am grateful for my beautiful baby girl, MacKenzie!

Sounds of Sisterhood

Today, I am grateful for many things that I have chosen to fill my life artfully with. I am grateful to know many talented, creative, loving women. I am grateful that my art is appreciated in many forms, including exchanging the energy of money and artwork. I am grateful for moonlit dances on a country lane, torches flickering, horses nickering, and the moon shining down over a barn blessed with the sounds of a blue-grassy band and low lights coming through the boards. I am grateful for Snow Cones and kisses by the concrete balcony in the parking garage. I am grateful for 1950's tablecloths, black raspberry pie and Dairy Queen by the pond with my mother. I am grateful that my troupe still wants me to dance with them, even though I have missed MANY practices.