For my birthday one year, my mom gave me all of her writings from 1960 to what was present day. In 1973, my dad had undergone open heart surgery, and they had been told he maybe had 8 years to live. Having trouble processing what was their new reality, she was assigned to write a…
Tag: hope
My Bravest Moment
Yesterday, I delivered the eulogy at my sweet mama’s memorial service. It was not nearly as hard as I had imagined and certainly won’t compare to the emptiness I will feel in the days to come. But for today, I can say that I am proud of myself that I tried to give my mother a proper good-bye. After…
Family Gifts: The River and Cards
Ever since I can remember my family has combatted boredom in two ways: 1.) Go to the river 2.) Play cards My personal favorite is to play cards at the river. This does not literally have to be on the banks of the river, although when camping that’s fun too. My family has a great…
unpublished love 3
the rose petals have fallen, sunken, dropped italian frescoes crumble into piles of expensive dust where cars whizz by without a care onto ancient roads of traveled souls, where gold seeps into the aqueducts where the decadence of Rome poisons the people into believing that gratitude is not a blessing to be revered when discoveries…
unpublished love
unpublished love comes to me like a cloudy vision that sounds like distant church bells* that wake me from sleep unpublished love is why i toss and turn because it whispers my name and then vanishes unpublished love lights the night sky with the brightest stars to remind us unpublished love waits for me at…
resilience
dirty windows look upon a cottage from my dining room i keep a careful watch over bedroom curtains then i can see flickering lights if she wrestles with the night while i am awake writing silly poems about love as each day passes it will be harder to drive away the maturation process the…
for the innocent
the full moon eclipsed by a cloudy night finds its way to my core where moments are treasured like lucky pennies to be given away in dreams where the wind blows impressions of a softness on a difficult day to remind me that Spring returns where meditations trace my beginnings to a river, diverged that…
A Plane Crash, a Needlework Sampler, and a Painting
This is a tale of ancestors, angels, and spirit guides. This tale is about the manifestation of whatever lies on the other side into physical form in my world. Connecting the events is tricky. Let me introduce my mother, Artis Ann and her Papa. Artis Ann was Papa’s only child. This photograph was taken before he…
Forgiveness: A Personal How-To
(San Marcos River at Scull Crossing) God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change The courage to change the things I can And the wisdom to know the difference When it was the hardest to forgive others or myself, when it was the hardest to see my hand in every…
For the Love of Shoes
I have said that I love shoes, as recently as this week. I always joke with my students that I like their shoes and ask if we can trade. They always say no, until I asked Derek. He said yes, and he was serious. I kicked off my shoes and he his. They were a…
LESSONS ONLY A MOTHER CAN TEACH
Tangible gifts are not what constitutes true giving. True giving is something that can only be gleaned from an expert. Only experts of true giving understand intent. Research says that to be an expert you have to work for ten years or ten thousand hours in the area you desire to know intimately. My teacher…
BEING PRESENT
The price of being honest is worth the risk every time. That is the lesson I have learned this week. People tend to show their colors when confronted with honesty, a benefit to the truth teller. When honesty is not met with logic I admit to getting a little crazy. Even when the palms of…
arlisann 