Gratitude: Days 29 & 30

Prompts: Self-care & Myself

I’m grateful for the quiet of a cool morning light,

For fields that awaken after the darkness of night.

For root beer, for pages, and time to reflect,

For giving my weary heart some respect.

I’m thankful for moments I don’t have to race,

For slowing my steps and reclaiming my space.

For books on the table, a song in my heart,

For walking through life at my own chosen start.

I’m grateful for hands that have planted and grown,

For stories and histories I’ve gathered and sewn.

For voices I’ve carried, for truths I have told,

For memories treasured and tales yet untold.

I’m grateful for me, for the road I have walked,

For the courage to write and the courage to talk.

For every small kindness, each lesson I’ve learned,

For bridges I built and the pages I’ve turned.

I’m thankful I’m still here, still dreaming, still free,

Still becoming the person I’m meant to be.

Through seasons of sorrow and storms I have known,

I’m thankful for me, this woman who has grown.

_____

Last month, The Gal did a 30-day gratitude challenge. I've swiped it to do for July. Only I'm going to try to do it in rhyme, just because.

Thursday Thirteen #970

 

Thirteen Things I Noticed This Week

1. A rainbow came out Tuesday evening when we were on our way home. It was low on the horizon. Because of the way our house is positioned, I cannot usually see evening rainbows, only morning ones, and those are rather rare.

2. My physical therapist gives the best hugs. Some people just have that grounding energy.

3. Trying to get custom orthotics made right apparently is the equivalent of running a space program without any funding.

4. The drought continues even though we've had a little rain. The rain has made the grass grow a bit, but the pastures are thin and the hayfields sparse.

5. I love the taste of an A&W Root Beer. I hadn't had one for several years but recently broke down and drank one. Ah, the joy of the first taste! It was like memory washed up in a soda.

6. When people show you who they really are, believe them, and make decisions from there. Wishes are for beggars, suckers, and dreamers. And while I'm a dreamer, most days my feet are firmly on the ground.

7. Speaking of dreams, a Florida person won $800 million in the Mega Millions drawing Tuesday night. Can you imagine suddenly having that kind of money?

8. My husband planted yellow zucchini in the garden this year. I don't quite know what to do with it. It is like a yellow summer squash but not, and it's not zucchini, either. So far it's found its way into a squash casserole and been sauteed in butter, but I would rather have the regular ol' green zucchini.

9. Someone used my email to sign up for various things such as Warner Brothers Games and Sportsman Warehouse. They aren't accessing my account, just using my email. I guess they didn't want the spam. Interestingly, this means I can access their account by changing the password and sometimes that even means I could order something because they've left their charge card in there. But I am honest and don't do that.

10. My pharmacist calls to tell me my prescription is ready. They have a new automated message now that says, "Please move this to the top of your to-do list." I resent being told what "To do" by some company, and I will be out to pick up my medicine when it is convenient for me. They called 8 times before I picked it up.

11. The last pair of pants I bought has one leg shorter than the other. I didn't realize this until I brought them home and washed them in vinegar and then in baking soda to try to get the perfume stench off of them. They will have to be wear-around-the-house pants.

12. When I play Wordle, a majority of times when I see what the "Wordlebot" thinks of my play, it tells me, "No one in our system of 1,587,000 players had this scenario." I am apparently an outlier in the Wordle world.

13. I bought a cheaply made copy of a Rubrik's Cube, I immediately remembered how to get one side completed, but I've forgotten how to go from there. It has instructions but I've not read them. I want to see if I can remember. If I can remember, maybe I'll get a real Rubrik's Cube, because this thing is really poorly made.

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 970th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

A Rainbow

 

Gratitude: Day 28

Prompt: Letting go

This is not a new poem. This is a poem that I wrote a long time ago. But it works for this particular prompt.

Daughter by the Tomb

A Villanelle

Be still, mother, I pray for rain.

I am not the one to curse the day

Nor ask the dark to be light again.

The thunderous strikes are foreordained

and all winds blow a separate way.

Be still, mother, I pray for rain.

I shall not kneel where you have lain.

I will not lift you from the grave

Nor ask the darkness to be light again.

The rose thorn pricks but brings no pain.

The leaves grow brown, I cannot stay.

Be still, mother, I pray for rain.

The sun has dried the yellowed grain.

With withered face you felt each ray

And asked the dark to be light again.

The dew has left its glossy stain

And blends with tears I've wiped away.

Be still, mother, I pray for rain.

Don't beg the dark:  be light again.

_____

Last month, The Gal did a 30-day gratitude challenge. I've swiped it to do for July. Only I'm going to try to do it in rhyme, just because.

Gratitude: Day 27

Prompt: Kindness

I am grateful for the kindness

my people show to me.

The type of love that softly sighs

like a quiet harmony.

Someone who brings an apple pie,

someone who calls to say

I'm thinking of you at this time

You're on my mind today.

The folks who remember I exist

that I'm not theirs to use

The ones who ask me how I am 

and listen to my truth.

_____

Last month, The Gal did a 30-day gratitude challenge. I've swiped it to do for July. Only I'm going to try to do it in rhyme, just because.

Gratitude: Days 25 & 26

Prompts: Movement & Stillness

I move with purpose in my pace,

A quiet stride, a grounded grace;

I follow truth where it resides,

And walk with clarity as guide.

Yet stillness settles in my mind,

The calm where sharper thoughts unwind;

A pause that lets the dust descend,

So what is real can stand again.

I shift, I stop, I weigh, I choose;

Not rushed by noise I didn’t use;

My motion starts where calm begins,

A balance held beneath my skin.

For both are how I stay aligned.

The steps I take, the peace I find;

Two halves that keep my truth supplied:

My stillness is my center, movement is my stride.

_____

Last month, The Gal did a 30-day gratitude challenge. I've swiped it to do for July. Only I'm going to try to do it in rhyme, just because.

Sunday Stealing

 

The $80,000 Meme

Premise: A philanthropist awards you $80,000 with the stipulation that you must spend half on yourself and half for the benefit of others. 

1. Of the $40,000 you must spend on yourself: 

a. First you throw yourself a lavish birthday party. Tell us about it.

A. My lavish birthday party would include a complete takeover of The Hotel Roanoke, and I'd invite all the Saturday 9ers and Sunday Stealers to come, because you know, why not, and I'd pay their expenses to get to me. I'd also invite all of my friends. We'd have a flowing chocolate bar and lots of cake. 

b. Then you take off on a cruise. Where are you headed?

A. My cruise would be to Alaska.

2. Of the $40,000 you must spend for the benefit of others: 

a. Who would be on your gift list? What would buy them?

A. I would give a little something to all of the Saturday 9 and Sunday Stealing players, I'd get my husband something nice, I'd buy something pretty for my friends. Maybe some local art.

b. Which charities would you support?

A. My alma mater, the local fire department, and the local food pantry. I've about given up on national charities, I swear they spend more money than I donate trying to get me to give them more money.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Special Day

Saturday 9: This Is a Very Special Day (1953)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Peggy sings that she feels good enough to climb a hill. Will you be doing anything athletic today?

A. I am not very athletic. I suspect stripping the bed and changing the linens might be the extent of my athletic prowess on this Saturday.

2) However, she was also tempted to climb back in bed. Is a nap in your plans for today?

A. I very seldom nap. My husband says I should nap, it would make me feel better. 

3) She tells us that she looked in the mirror and told herself it was time to "lose the blues." Do you ever speak out loud to yourself?

A. I talk to myself all the time and always have. Only now I might utter something like "seriously" under my breath and have my cell phone perk up and go "Hmm?"

4) Peggy wrote this song for the 1953 remake of The Jazz Singer. She performs it in the movie, too. In the 1950s, female singer-songwriters were unusual, but not so today. Can you think of another woman who not only sings but writes her own material?

A. Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Carole King.

5) Her co-star in the film was Danny Thomas. Today he is best remembered as a philanthropist and founder of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, but he was quite a star in his day. He appeared in nightclubs and movie musicals and, from 1954 to 1963, had his own sitcom. Do you know the show?

A. I think it was called The Danny Thomas Show, wasn't it? But I don't recall watching it. And I'm not sure if that's right.

6) When Peggy Lee was trying to break into show business, she supported herself as a short order cook. She was required to turn orders around quickly. Are you fast and efficient in the kitchen?

A. I dislike cooking, but I can get a meal on the table in a hurry if I have to.

7) Just when her career started to take off, Peggy had to take a break when she had her tonsils removed. Do you still have your tonsils?

A. I had my tonsils removed in 1994, when I was 31 years old, and it was incredibly painful and a difficult recovery.

8) In 1953, when this record was released, Matchbox Cars were introduced and they remain popular today. Did you ever play with Matchbox Cars?

A. Yes, I played with Matchbox Cars, along with Hot Wheels.

9) Random question: You're walking past a filthy puddle. Floating on top you see a dead bug, a cigarette butt, and a $1 bill. Would you bend over and rescue the dollar?

A. If I can flip it out of the puddle with my foot and I have a tissue in my purse with which to pick it up, maybe.

_______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Gratitude: Day 24

Prompt: Intentions

I seek the truth in every thread,

To name the thoughts that go unsaid;

I gather meaning, piece and part,

And turn the scattered into art.

I hold the world in clearer view,

Make chaos small and insight new;

My purpose lives in what I find.

A quiet order, cleanly lined.

_____

Last month, The Gal did a 30-day gratitude challenge. I've swiped it to do for July. Only I'm going to try to do it in rhyme, just because.

Gratitude: Day 23

Prompt: Peace

Peace is the moment where I don’t have to brace,

No chaos arriving to crowd out my space;

No printer rebellion, no tech going rogue,

No nonsense that forces my patience to go.

It’s clarity landing in clean, steady lines.

No riddles to parse, no hidden designs;

Just itemized truth in a world that behaves,

where competence smooths out the everyday waves.

It’s safety from hazards that lurk in the grass.

No snakes in the shadows, no ticks as I pass;

No poison‑oak worries, no wildfire sky,

No high wind that howls as it barrels on by.

It’s freedom from people who drain or demand,

No emotional storms I must bravely withstand;

No heart‑shaped weight pressing hard on my chest.

Just distance that finally feels like a rest.

It’s room for my writing to spark and to play,

For dragons and heroes to wander my day;

For blogging, for poems, for my journalist mind

to shape the small truths that others don’t find.

It’s my home as a buffer, a boundary, a keep,

where the outer world’s noise stays politely asleep;

No dogs in the aisles, no knocks at the door,

Just quiet that settles and asks nothing more.

Peace is skill, clarity, safe release;

Autonomy wrapped in a soft kind of ease;

It’s the life where my shoulders can finally drop down,

Where the ordinary shines and the chaos leaves town.

It’s the rare, gentle moment where I fully exhale,

a world without friction, a day without scale;

a space built of calm where my energy’s free

That’s peace in the shape that is perfect for me.

_____

Last month, The Gal did a 30-day gratitude challenge. I've swiped it to do for July. Only I'm going to try to do it in rhyme, just because.

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday 13: Songs I Loved (But Now Maybe Not So Much)

1. Muskrat Love, by Captain & Tennille. I once thought it was charming. Now I wonder what was in the water. Rats in love? Who sings about that? Besides Captain & Tennille, I mean.

2. You Light Up My Life, by Debby Boone. This was mandatory listening in the 70s. Like jury duty, but with strings. And it was also the first song I ever sang in public while accompanying myself on guitar. I was a freshman in high school.

3. Afternoon Delight, by Starland Vocal Band. In the 1970s, I sang along cheerfully. Then I learned what it meant. Then I discovered Sunday afternoons. ::: wink wink :::

4. Escape (The Piña Colada Song), by Rupert Holmes. A catchy tune about two people cheating on each other … with each other. It was kind of fun, but I do wonder if that couple would have made it.

5. Seasons in the Sun, by Terry Jacks. All the young girls cried over this song when I was in . . . I think elementary school?  We thought it was profound. When I listen to it now, it's terribly depressing.

6. Honey, by Bobby Goldsboro. I remember my father singing this song. I once found it touching. Now I find it emotionally manipulative.

7. Feelings, by Morris Albert. Feelings… nothing more than . . .  melodrama. My husband hates this song.

8. Sometimes When We Touch, by Dan Hill. The honesty was too much. And also somehow not enough. I loved the line about being "just another writer, still trapped within my truth," though.

9. You’re Having My Baby, by Paul Anka. I didn’t realize how cringe this was until I heard Howard Wolowitz sing it on The Big Bang Theory, aimed at Bernadette's tummy. Then it was like, oh yuck. I will never be able to hear this song again without seeing Howard's face.

10. The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, by Vicki Lawrence. I loved the drama. I loved the story. Now I hear it as a soap opera, but I confess I still like the song. I just don't love it like I once did.

11. Delta Dawn, by Helen Reddy. Still catchy, but the storyline feels different when you’re old enough to read between the lines. I mean, 40 years old and her daddy still called her Baby? What's up with that? However, this song hasn't anything on Reddy's Angie Baby for total weirdness. That's some freaky stuff right there.

12. Billy, Don’t Be a Hero, by Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods. I thought it was sad. I still think it's a sad song, but I also think it should be an anti-war song. Nobody should come home in a coffin.

13. Brand New Key, by Melanie. Cute, yes. But also . . . what exactly was happening here? I remember singing this song with my mother, who apparently did not make a connection between roller skates and keys and, well, sex. Because surely that's what they're talking about right? Right?

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 969th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Gratitude: Day 22

Prompt: Purpose

I gather scattered bits of days,

Then shape them into steady phrase.

I'm a keeper of the small and true,

who turns the world to something new.

I sift, interpret, make things clear,

give fleeting moments form and gear.

My purpose lives in what I write

as I try to make the ordinary bright.

_____

Last month, The Gal did a 30-day gratitude challenge. I've swiped it to do for July. Only I'm going to try to do it in rhyme, just because.