WHY DO WE WALK?

“Why do you walk?” The young ones asked.

“Does it help improve your aging parts?”

Because it stirs our souls, the couple smiled…

and opens up our hearts…

We walk to feel the morning breeze blow softly in our eyes,

to see the moon change daily…to watch the sun burst ‘cross the sky 

We walk to embrace a host of people who, like us, are walking slow.

We greet some by their first names…and wave at others we don’t know.

We smile at joggers running by, nod to people walking their dogs.

We stop to listen to the birds in the trees…some days hidden by the fog.

We love walking to the ocean and we think it’s ver cool

that the fish and the children we see along the way

are all heading off to school

We walk to see the flowers blooming. 

The hibiscus, orchids, magnolias and azaleas are everywhere.

We walk to smell the aroma of jasmine…and bacon in the air. 

We walk sometimes on the sidewalk…and sometime in the street.

We walk to watch the sun light up the Spanish Moss

and hear the crunch of leaves beneath our feet.

Why do we walk?” The couple smiled…

Because we find walking so engaging…

And we find the more and more we walk…

The more it keeps our parts from aging.

TALK TO A CHILD

When confused some people look to religion for peace and understanding..

others turn to the Tao, the Buddha and Zen….

Still others only need talk to a child

to understand life again.

ONE MORE LAST TIME

I love Winter’s silent beauty…as her snowflaked breezes sing…

But no matter how much I love the winter…she cedes herself to Spring.

I love how Spring awakens us…to dream, to paint…to rhyme

But no matter how much I love the Spring…she gives way to Summertime.

I love Summer’s excitement…and the  many ways she can enthrall?

But no matter how much I love the Summer…she acquiesces to the Fall…

And I love all those Fall colors…and how those Autumn breezes blow

But no matter how much I love the Fall…she can’t hold back the Winter’s snow…

For years now, after we retired, we thought it would be cool

To bring a lunch, every now and then, to our granddaughter…at her school.

She usually invites a friend to dine…we wave as they walk in the door

and we pretend we ‘re in a restaurant…at our table set for four.

Yesterday we brought their last lunch…(time can be both wonderful and cruel)

because this time together is over…they’re moving on to Middle School…

Minutes change to days…then months…new years come and go

We know seasons will continue to change…and all children will grow…

But we also know as each moment shifts from the present to the past

Every new first moment evolves from shadows of the last…

So we do our best to make a memory in the moment…this is our endeavor 

Knowing the moment will eventually end,

but the memory will last…forever.

And we took these memories with us…as we headed out the door

A little sad this season’s over…

wondering what next season has in store.

REMEMBER

Remember when you were a child…just a little kid?

Remember all the fun you had…all the crazy things you did?

Remember when you you were mesmerized by the land…the trees…the sky?

Remember when you laughed a lot…when you weren’t afraid to cry?

Remember playing pirates…watching birds as they took flight?

Remember when you played in the rain and had neighborhood snowball fights?

Remember when you watched insects for hours…built a castle in the sand?

Remember when a few pots and pans were the instruments in your band?

Remember going on scavenger hunts…riding on handlebars?

Remember making forts out of cardboard boxes.

Remember staring at the stars?

Remember playing hooky…jumping in puddles after a storm.

Remember baking cookies with grandma and eating them when they were warm?

Remember getting dirty…remember how you loved to draw

Remember making silly movies…the kind only your family saw?

Well that child you remember…and all those crazy things you used to do…

that child you remember…is still inside of you.

He or she is waiting…of this I have no doubt…

Perhaps today’s a good day…to let that child out.

THE ALGEBRA OF DIET

Remember back in high school math when Algebraic equations filled our minds with strife?

When we wondered how learning Algebra could ever help us in real life?

For instance we learned you can have a ‘NO SOLUTION’

meaning no matter your confidence or conviction 

whatever values you plug in for variables

will always end in a contradiction?

Yep, just another fact we learned in Algebra (some of us had to take it twice)

that has no meaning in a world where addition and subtraction will suffice.

Then you get a little older and pounds start to accumulate

and when you can’t see your whole body in the mirror anymore

you begin to watch your weight.

You count your calories religiously as you make your daily calculations…

and it’s about this time you begin to appreciate your Algebraic education.

Sure you know with just a dash of will power…and cutting back a little every day day

you’ll be able to see yourself in the mirror…as your excess baggage floats away.

But then you pass your favorite cupcake store…and you feel a familiar pull

and you wonder what you’re going to do…since your calorie count is full.

The dieter in you says you’re better than this…tells you to slowly walk away…

But then you remember your high school math…and you smile…as you say:

If these cupcake calories won’t fit into today’s equation…

then what I learned in Algebra must be right…

there is no solution to this problem…

and you eat that cupcake…

every bite.

WALKING WITH US TOO

I had a sister I never knew…who Mom and Dad still mourn.

She died, Mom said, when she was two…

and two years later…I was born.

They often talk about her.

They want to keep her memory alive…

Dad says it help him to remember…

Mom says it helps her to survive

Sometimes I’ve seen them wipe away tears when my sister’s name is spoken

and I can feel their pain and fears

and I know how their hearts were broken.

Mom says that it’s okay to cry…to weep to grieve…to feel

because when one can find no reason why…

crying helps to heal…

She says sometimes it’s too hard to talk about her feelings after all these years

And when her worlds will not come out…her eyes speak for her in tears.

The day she died, Mom said, was but one day…

two years after her arrival

but living without her everyday

is a lifelong journey of survival.

But our family is a happy one…in spite of losing one bright star.

We know living without a sister…a child…is just but part of who we are…

So we find our happiness wherever we go

Wherever we walk and in whatever we do…

and we all smile because we all know

my sister’s walking with us too.

OLD FRIENDS

We keep old books upon our shelves revisiting our favorite story lines

We love to watch old movies…and drink a fine old bottle of wine…

Our old jeans are our favorite…we fit in them with ease….

and we cherish our old friendships with their host of memories.

When we see old friends approaching…our heart seems to ascend…

for how wonderful to be embraced by the arms our old friends.

We sit and laugh and reminisce….of other times…of other days

and before we know it we’re young again…time has all but slipped away.

We spend the evening remembering…retelling stories we already know…

The evening, like life, flies by quickly…where does…where did…time go?

And when it’s time to say goodbye…we’re sad this moment ends

as once again we are embraced by the arms of our old friends…

And that embrace will have to last…until such time as when….

we all come back together…and old friends embrace again.

WHAT DO WE DO?

Grandparents know their grandchildren make life more interesting.

How they add beauty and laughter…

how they enhance…

But what do you do when your grandchildren ask…

“Hey PopPop do you wanna dance?”

  

You immediately weigh out your options.

It’s not pretty when you shimmy and shake.

You think of your poor aging muscles…

and all of the parts you might injure or break.

You’re not as limber or athletic as you once were.

Who are you kidding! 

You were seldom limber and never athletic!

Then you look at your grandchildren and ask yourself,

Do I risk looking awkward and pathetic?

You never danced much when you were younger

not even at sock hops while you were in school

and with your grandchildren patiently waiting…

do you risk looking, now, like a fool?

Then you think of your grandchildren and you marvel

at how fast they are growing each day

and you think…life is made up of moments like this

and decide not to let this one slip away…

So you smile and you take a deep cleansing breath…

determined not to to miss out on this chance…

you find a place between your two grandchildren

and when the music starts…

you start…

to dance

SMARTER THAN THE TREES?

The moment we start believing we are smarter than the trees…

we must place those thoughts directly on the shelves…

Because no trees have branches so foolish 

as to fight among themselves.

ONE FAMILY

When we think about our family…

something we hold in high regard

we must admit it’s not always easy…

in truth…sometimes it’s hard.

In fact a family has a unique way of loving…

Every aunt and uncle…every sister every brother

are loved wholeheartedly…unconditionally

even on days they don’t like each other…

Every family is unique…no one description fits it like a glove

But most families have just the right amount chaos…

mixed with a plenitude of love.

I wonder if that’s why it’s called a ‘family tree’?

Because each branch has it’s own identity…it’s own aim

growing off in so many different directions…

but the roots remain the same.

Family extends back for generations…

remembering this is paramount 

because…when we look back at our family 

there are more people than we can count.

Which means family should also extends outward..

and perhaps our family will never be complete

until it encompasses every person in the world…

yes, everyone we meet.

A world where everyone is part of one extended family…

now wouldn’t that be a plus…

Of course how far our family actually extends…

Actually depends…

on us.

TEARS

“Do not try to stop my crying.” she said.

“My heart must weep…before it can sing…”

“Instead…encourage me to begin the healing

only tears can bring.”

CASTLES IN THE SAND

He brought him to their favorite spot…where the water meets the land.

The perfect place to say good bye…to build their castle in the sand.

“Your mom loved this spot.” Dad said. “This was her Disneyland…

Watching people walk along the water as we built our castle in the sand.”

So they began to build…with watchtowers, ramparts and turrets springing up across the land

and when the moat had been completed…standing majestically was their castle in the sand.

They sat where she would sit…together hand in hand

and watched the sun begin to set on their castle in the sand.

As they witnessed the tide rise higher and higher…creeping out upon land

they knew it wouldn’t be long until the water reached their castle in the sand.

The father observed his son in silence…hoping he’d begin to understand

the evanescence of the moment…of their vanishing castle in the sand.

“That is the beauty and the sadness of life.” his father said, 

“for no matter how wonderful…how grand…

eventually we all fade away…like a castle in the sand.”

The young boy now has a family of his own.

He often brings them to where the water meets the land…

and he smiles, remembering his Mom and Dad…

as they build castles in the sand.

SAYING GOODBYE

They each had their moment alone with her…

wondering why it was her time to die…

They each took that moment to thank her…

to remember…and say goodbye

“You were a wonderful friend.” she whispered

as a tear fell from her eye,

“and I will visit your memories often

Goodbye, my friend…goodbye.”

“You were a wonderful Grandma.” he whispered

as a tear fell from his eye,

“I will never ever forget you…

Goodbye, Grandma…goodbye.”

“You were a wonderful mother.” she whispered

as a tear fell from her eye,

“You gave me life and taught me how to love…

Goodbye, Mom…goodbye.”

“You were a wonderful wife.” he whispered

as a tear fell from his eye,

“My heart will forever be your heart…

Goodbye, my love…goodbye.”

They sat together holding hands

as her coffin went floating by…

each one realizing they began to miss her…

the moment they said goodbye.

MIDDLES

We talk about beginnings and endings in life a lot…

births and deaths…starts and finishes…sunrises and sunsets

For every beginning there is an ending…after every ending…a beginning…

looming in the shadows like silhouettes.

And although beginnings and endings are important 

wherever we go and in whatever we choose to do

we spend most of our life in middles…

living between the two.

The next time you think about a beginning…or an ending

take a moment and close your eyes…

to remember all that happened in between…

in the middle…where happiness lies…

Yes, beginnings are certainly important…

as are the times we bid adieu…

But it is in the middles of our life…

where our present meets our past…

where most of our dreams come true.

THANK YOU ELIZABETH

When she discovered the letters…she immediately had to catch her breath…

each letter was written by hand

each one beginning…Dear Elizabeth…

The people in the letters have long since passed…only these letters survive…

The first Dear Elizabeth letter was dated…August…1895.

They were from a simpler time…long ago…a slower…harder time when…

people wrote their feelings down on paper…with a pen.

She began to read…Dear Elizabeth…and found the feelings were intense…

The written words like music…filled with grace and eloquence.

Each letter was filled with emotion.

They spoke of family…of love and death…

She read them slowly…savoring every word…every Dear Elizabeth.

As she read she wondered what it must have been like …to live back in an age…

when the words people shared in letters came floating off the page.

And she thought how writing letters to one another was in it’s own way a kind of art…

Where words move from paper to lips to ears…bringing joy or sorrow to the heart.

And she thought of a way to pay homage to these letters…and to 1895…

to pay tribute to a time forgotten…and keep both legacies alive…

Which is why she passes on these stories…stories of life and love and death

and why after each story is repeated…

we all whisper…

thank you, Elizabeth.