Wisp of Smoke

life chugs along at breakneck speed…

do you ever find yourself

wanting to grab a moment

hug it to yourself

with all the fierceness you can muster

and not let go??

i know, i know

i’m getting older…

seeing it slip away,

evaporate into a swirling wisp of smoke

never to return

to quote a line from one of my own poems:

“life moves in only one direction

there’s no turning back for further inspection”

sometimes i wish that that wasn’t the case….

i know acceptance is the key

(and gratitude)

it’s all good

and knowing that we are not alone

as we negotiate

 both the sunshine and the shadows

the sweet and the bitter….

that pretty much everyone on the planet

(lucky enough to make it this far)

has the same thoughts from time to time

and that’s just the way it is….

well, it’s comforting

Precious Gift

birthdays seem to nudge me into a reflective mood and this year is no different.  looking back over the last 12 months, i can’t help but be incredibly grateful.  i have been seriously blessed this year in so many ways.  far too many to even list, but most of them have been documented right HERE (love that!)

what really jumps out at me as i ponder the highs and lows of the year is that i have truly had the precious gift of TIME.  for so many years of my life, no matter what i did, i never felt i had nearly enough.  i still don’t most of the time (lesson plans, iep’s and meetings now replaced with SO many projects) ….. but compared to life while working full-time, i feel amazingly blessed!

i have had  time to travel

time to play in my studio

time to play with my camera

time to hang out with friends

and family

time to hang out by myself

time to read

time to write

time to THINK

time to create

time to learn

time to teach

time to volunteer

time to share

time to JUSTBE

and, yes, there have been some twists and turns, some disappointments, frustrations and fears and even a pretty major traumatic event during this year, but having the TIME to deal with all of that was also a gift.

 so…. as i dive into the next year, paving the way to the end of another decade of life (YIKES!!) i have no idea what it will bring…. but even is there is difficulty headed my way, i will always cherish this healthy and  wonderful year.  so grateful to every one of you for sharing it with me!!!!

Fall Color and Birthdays

growing up in Michigan, my mid-october birthday was pretty synonymous with fall color.  i never thought about it much, but somewhere deep in the recesses of my gray matter, a connection was made.

 then i moved to southern ca.  i forgot about it.  after all, i had the OCEAN.  and sunny blue skies.  not a colored leaf to be found, but it didn’t matter.  and just as well, since october was not a month when we could ever travel, due to my teaching responsibilities.

 now that i have a little more freedom, i’ve noticed that old birthday/color connection re-establishing itself.  as my birthday approaches, i long to go to a place where i can see the changing of the leaves in all their brilliant majesty.  it’s a challenge around here because even in the mountains, where, yes, the leaves do change…. mid-october is still a little early.

this year brought us to big bear lake.  although the colors weren’t necessarily rampant, i was able to track some down and get a good fix.  more on the lake later…. oh, and birthdays too.

 hope you have been able to savor some of the brilliance of fall this year!!

Many Moods.....

 

“A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.  It is earth’s eye, looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” 

Henry David Thoreau

 

“A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable”

William Wordsworth

(all taken on the eastern shore of lake michigan, 9/2011