Nothing looks the same
An April Fool’s surprise
Word Press gone awry?
Holiday Message 2020
A strange year just passed shaped by COVID19
Not in sync with my usual Christmas card message
Wearing masks for distancing safe but not jolly
Constant hand washing causes skin to dry out
A tragic time for U.S. and the world
Overwhelming death counts and grieving survivors
Occupy daily news headlines and stories
Businesses closed devastate the economy
Virtual school classes and all sorts of Zooming
Afford us necessary human connections
Neighbors helping neighbors and kindness of strangers
Testify that love still sheds a warm light
Holiday time is simply amazing
The arts are creating novel celebrations
Human spirit surges to reaffirm season
God’s gift of new life evergreen
Less Is More
This is a strange Christmas. I feel stretched by the Corona virus and diminished by the task of preparing for the Holidays. I am not up to doing all my usual decorating, though it is modest in size. I need a new proportion.
First I got out my front door decoration, a small Christmas tree in needle point with sequins and beads. It was a gift to me when I was doing an internship with a hospital Chaplain which included working with Hospice. The secretary in the unit whose name was Bob (I no longer remember his last name) gave it to me as a Christmas gift. It’s been around for thirty years. I hung it on the front door of my apartment like I do every Christmas.
Next I got out a miniature sized Santa Claus and his companion, a reindeer with a red bow around his neck. The little figures were given to me by a young woman named Ann I once counseled. I leaned them against a potted plant on my dining room table – like I do every Christmas.
And there I had a tree, Santa Claus, and one reindeer. Everything I need for a strange, and oddly wonderful, simple Holiday.
Haiku: New Discovery
Bright sun lights the sky
Morning coffee is perking
I’m on the right path
It is clear to see
Haiku tools were just lurking
Can I remember?
Haiku: Miracles Do Happen
Wonders of wonders
A dear fairy godmother
Shared secret with me
With strategic clicks
Classic Editor returned
All’s well with my blog
Quandry
Looking for answers in WordPress.org I took in the new scope of today’s blog world. Maybe you have already discovered that the mission of WordPress is to help business-focused people develop their creative ideas and attract customers and followers. I applaud their mission. But what about people who love words and writing as an end in themselves? And us who look forward to reading their posts?
I have struggled so to figure out how to manage the new editor. I have spent time chatting with a Happiness Engineer about my problems with only a small result. For me writing and struggling with technology at the same time are an unworkable combination. I would rather live poetry in my experience of things in the present than write with the frustration of technology bearing down on me. And, yes, I am showing my age.
Empty Pool Full Hearts
We sat socially distant beside the pool
Now drained and dressed in its blue winter tarp
Pool’s water once present now disappeared
Like the beloved woman who died this past year
Whom the Greenbriar family gathered to remember
Pat was our mentor, house mother and friend
Offering resources for solving dilemmas
Giving hugs when needed and sharing news
The stories we shared revealed how we loved her
This woman our rock and our joy
Our stories told also another tale
Pictured a community Pat helped form and enrich
People helping neighbors, exchanging smiles
Welcoming newcomers, sharing wonderful meals
A rich legacy Pat bequeathed us
Moving On
Tomorrow they empty the pool
Drain away our summer oasis
Silence the happy voices
Leave us to start over again
For a while things seemed almost normal
People exercised, floated, swam laps
Children splashed while moms supervised
Many stretched out on chairs in the sun
Now we reenter a virtual world
Zoom connects us for learning and fun
School is in session a variety of ways
We will discover new ways life can go on
