JUST LIKE MY DAD

I never thought it’s something I’d live to see……I’m not sure whether to be happy or sad

But today it finally happened to me…I turned into my dad.

We are supposed to welcome the good traits…we inherit from our mom dad

But we’re also, there is no debate…expected to overcome the bad.

I loved my father but when I was young…my friends and family would stare

When over at my house they hung…and saw Dad in his underwear.

Dad didn’t seem to notice or care…the chortles and the snorts

As he would walk from here…to there…clad only in his boxer shorts.

Oh, I thank you Dad…is only fair…for all the good traits I received from you

But I promised myself walking around in my underwear…is something I’d never do.

I kept that promise for 66 years…In my underwear I would never stray

I was doing fine…or so it appears…until earlier today.

Deborah, Bryan and I were working hard…in the heat of the Florida sun 

Moving our camper into our side yard…and it was anything but fun.

The camper was not cooperating…our best plans were derailed

as despite some great collaborating…every attempt had failed.

Every muscle in my body ached and I was dirty from my head down to my toes

so I decided to take a little break…go inside and change my clothes.

I’d like to blame it on the heat of the day…as I was totally unaware

until I heard Deborah laugh then say…Jim, you’re in your underwear.

I can’t believe it, I sighed….and I could hear their chortles and snorts

as I quickly rushed back inside to put on a pair of shorts.

When I returned I had to smile…I had become my dad, it’s true

And I stopped to wonder…for a little while…if Dad was smiling too.

THE MIDDLE

The beginning of another Summer means the end of another Spring

and I wonder as with all transitions what this new beginning will bring…

And it makes me think about beginnings and endings

will this new beginning bring us joy…or strife

and it makes me wonder how beginnings and endings

fit into a life.

Life is a series of beginnings and endings

they loom in the shadows like silhouettes

Every birth has a death, every start has its finish, 

every sunrise…its sunset

And though it’s true we experience beginning and endings

wherever we go and in whatever we choose to do

most of our life is spent in the middle

living between the two.

Certainly every beginning is important

as are the times we bid adieu

but isn’t it in the middles of our life

where most of our dreams come true?

So the next time you think about a beginning…

or an ending

take a moment

close your eyes…

and remember all that happened in between…

in the middle…

where our happiness lies…

SPACES

The heart contains four chambers…each one plays a part

but her mom didn’t call them chambers to her they were spaces in the heart.

She had her own philosophy, her own view…her own way

“I am not a doctor…or a scientist…more of a romantic she would say”.

She believed we were born with spaces in our hearts, spaces that never end

These spaces are easily filled she would say with the love of family and friends..

When her daughter asked what about our love for animals, a sunset, or the morning dew

“Oh yes!”, “her mom would answer there’s a space for them there too”.

“Your heart is always looking for love.” she’d smile…”to create or to restore it

and have no fear once it’s discovered…your heart has a place to store it.”

When she was dying she told her daughter 

“It’s just a new adventure I’m about to start.”

“But mom”, her daughter asked, “what will happen to your space within my heart”.

“Not to worry”, her mom replied, “for in your thoughts I will always be

and that space will now be filled with memories of me.”

At her funeral people spoke fondly of her mother

story after story they related…

about her laughter…about the love she shared

and about the life she had created.

They spoke of her kindness, of her smile

how they’d never seen her mad…

To a person they all spoke of what a big heart she had.

“I can tell you why Mom’s heart was so big”

her daughter said when it came her turn to speak

Then she paused to smile, took a breath

as a tear ran down her cheek.

“It was filled with the love of her family and friends.”

she said as she looked out at all the faces…

“You see here heart not only had four chambers

It had an endless supply of spaces.”

YOUR CHOICE

Though we come from different places

different cultures…have different faces

and we may not understand what each of us is saying

who we love, the way we live or to whom or how we’re praying

I hope one day we’ll understand…and happily exclaim

despite our undeniable differences…

we’re basically the same

How the love that brought us into this world…

still plays an important role

as caretaker of our heart and keeper of our soul.

How there is a universal language…

perhaps handed down from up above

a language spoken without words…

a language we call love.

But there is another universal language

that has reared it’s head of late

It too can be spoken without words…

a language we call hate.

These two languages are currently in a battle…

we have reached a ‘D Day’ state

and the final outcome of this battle 

will determine all our fates…

For only one can...

the other has to loose

So the question for the world becomes…

which language will you choose?

WHEN GRANDMA READ TO ME

I loved going over to Grandma’s not just because there was so much to eat and see

but I loved how she always has a book out and how she read to me.

I remember being so excited…sometimes she’d sit me on her knee

And I remember how I used to smile…when Grandma read to me

We’ve traveled around the world…and I learned fact and fantasy…

without ever leaving her house…when Grandma read to me. 

We might visit a castle…or sail in a ship across the sea

or climb the highest mountain…when Grandma read to me

I’ve watched a hungry caterpillar eat…learned how the Lorax speaks for the trees

and how a spider and a pig can be good friends…when Grandma read to me.

I learned how a cat can wear a hat…while a mad hatter likes to drink tea

I learned about a little prince from another world…when Grandma read to me…

I learned all about unicorns…and how to be the best princess I can be

all from the pages of the books…my Grandma read to me…

As I grew up we read less and less…but I think I’m the person I came to be

because I went to Grandmas house…because she read to me.

Grandma doesn’t see as good as she used to…

Like me, I imagine, she loves remembering how we were….

now I see the excitement in her smile

every time I read to her.

HOW WE RECEIVE

One of the great things about living, has to do with a thing called giving

for it is incumbent on all of us to believe

That as the saying goes…through life’s highs and through life’s lows

It is as wonderful to give…as to receive.

In this life we live it is quite easy for us to give

for giving with grace is our nature I believe

But when the gift is given to us…we often don’t know what to do…and thus 

We must also learn, with grace, how to receive

Coming home after a North Carolina stay…we’d been driving most of the day

anticipating as to when we would get back

when it was time to make a stop at a little gas station with a shop…

time to rest, gas up and buy some snacks.

With the tank filled up with gas it was time now to amass

snacks we would devour in the car

when we had a quick encounter with the clerk behind the counter

as she noticed in my hand…a candy bar.

She said, “I have a candy bar for lunch…it is a Nestle’s Crunch

but we don’t sell them in this store.”

I said, “Oh what I wouldn’t do for a Nestle’s Crunch bar too.”

as it is also a candy bar that I adore.

She did not lolly gag, she turned, reached in a bag

and in a moment she was finished with her search…

she handed two Nestle’s Crunches to me and said that they were free

she said she gets them when she goes to church.

We offered at once to pay…she said no they’re free today

there is nothing more you need to do

she looked me in the eye…smiled, said goodbye

then said, “Think of it as a gift from me to you.”

We thanked her walked away and then…

we turned and thanked her once again

her smile showed she truly understood

and I think it’s fair to say…that as we drove away

no candy bar I ever ate tasted as good.

CIRCLE OF LOVE

In the circle of life, if you’re lucky…ripples of love will extend…

forming an ever increasing circle of its own…one even death cannot end:

Before he met her what he knew of love…every understanding he ever had

he gained inside his family…watching his mom and dad.

Thus before he met her he was ready to love…and the older and older he grew

he was confident he would find someone…someone to love…like they do.

Then he met her..and he began to draw on everything about love he once knew

and he whispered when held her…“No one will ever love you like I do.”

They raised a family and what their children learned of love…every understanding they ever had

they gained inside their family…by watching their mom and dad.

And once on their own they were ready to love…for the older and older they grew

they knew they would find someone to love…like their mother and father do.

Then they met their someone and they began to draw on everything about love they once knew

and they whispered as they held them…“No one will ever love you like I do.”

And when one life was about to end

one hand into the other hand slid…

and they whispered softly to each other

“No one ever loved me like you did.”

ANOTHER SOMEBODY

Somebody died today…it’s part of life’s ebb and flow

but what makes this day so different is…this somebody was somebody I know.

She had a full life, my somebody…filled with many highs and some lows…

but Death is unsympathetic…when it comes our time to go.

Yet how lucky we are has humans… 

for although in death…of her presence we’re deprived

the myriad of memories we created…in a way keeps her alive…

And that’s where our sadness originates…

That’s why we feel so bereft…

not from all those memories we created together 

but that those memories are all I have left.

We know Death has taken her from us…but in Death there is a plus

for Death has left her memories behind…Death can’t take those away from us.

When we want to, when we have the urge…we can visit her a while

Just by closing our eyes and remembering…

her voice, 

her eyes…

her smile…

And for a moment in our silence…as more and more memories arrive

it’s as if she never left us…as if she’s still alive

And when our eyes reopen

we smile remembering all the memories we’ve sewn

and we feel blessed 

she was a somebody we were lucky enough to have known. 

Which gives us all hope for the time when Death comes too our door

as part of life’s ebb and flow

That we, too, will have been lucky enough

to be somebody…somebody knows.

HE HAD THIS DREAM

Growing up he had this dream…to be a millionaire…

He’d live in a beautiful house, 

drive a fancy car 

and have wealth beyond compare.

He’d skate through a life of happiness, never wear a frown

There’d be no reason to be sad…for he’d be the richest man in town.

Then he grew up, got married…suddenly…lo and behold

with a family that was growing he put his initial dream on hold.

With these new responsibilities came some apprehension and some doubt

Now a healthy, happy family was all he dreamed about.

Then something wonderful happened…for as his family grew

he looked around and realized…his simple dream came true.

He looked around and realized…he was a millionaire

He had friends, a beautiful family and and love beyond compare.

And today he skates through a life of happiness…

he never wears a frown

after all has no reason to be sad…

for he’s the richest man in town.

THINGS I MAY NEVER UNDERSTAND

The older that I grow…it seems there more and more I do not know

about this world I live in…this wonderland.

When I look at the ocean and the trees…and think of them…then think of me

there are so many things I do not understand.

Like how the sun in the morning can apply…so many colors to the sky

painting a magnificent landscape in pigments dark and light

how that landscape changes through the day…but the sun still finds a way

to return and paint again at night.

How birds and flowers are related…it’s one reason they’re created

a fact nature does not try to hide

and subtly she shows this…for she wants us all to know this

when she creates a flower with a bird inside.

And how often do you wonder when you hear a clap of thunder

how that sound makes its way into the sky

or when you see a butterfly…or two…have you ever wondered who

decided to create a flower that can fly?

I do not understand how natures builds a mountain grand

or how an ocean of water can look like glass

or how a river on the ground can make such a lovely sound

or why there’s so much beauty in a blade of grass.

How it’s impossible to be lonely when you walk in nature only

by yourself without a soul to see…

because when you look around at the sky and on the ground

there are so many things to keep you company 

I guess as long as I am growing…I will find joy in not knowing

so much about the air…the sea…the land…

for I am glad to live in awe of all the things I see…and saw

glad for all I do not understand.

THE LANGUAGE OF NATURE

Each language has it’s own beauty

perhaps that’s why people travel the world seek them…

I imagine they are just like me

and would someday like to speak them…

But there is one language we may never speak

it is a culture without words

It’s one we step outside to seek

in the trees, the sky…the birds.

It’s a language none of us can recreate

as it remains, to us, unknown

because nature does not translate

a language all her own.

When rain drops fall upon the ground

seedlings immediately know…

as the water reaches them without a sound

they hear…it’s time to grow.

And when the sun’s rays touch that soon-to-be flower

as it awakes from its womb

the silent sunshine reveals its power.

when it whispers…time to bloom

The wind invisibly rushes out and in

We try to comprehend but we have no chance

for we only know where she has been

as she invites the trees to dance.

We know all living things talk to each other

We know they’ve found a way

We know they’re listening to their mother

We just don’t know what they say.

But that’s OK with us…for each day

we can enjoy their music and their dance

without recognizing all the words they say

Like when we visit Italy or France.

In a way it’s like we’re in a foreign land

Nature’s land of trees and fish and birds

and tho their language we may never fully understand

we can enjoy the rhythm of their words.

THE PERFECT CAMPFIRE

When I was younger I would agonize…oh how I’d aspire

to pile the kindling and logs just right…and build the perfect fire.

I’d light and relight, I’d blow…I’d spread the wood apart

I even prayed to the god of fire to get those flames to start…

But I was not very good at it…although in my mind I could conceive it

when it came to the perfect campfire…I never could achieve it.

Over the years my skills improved…to the point I can sit back now and inquire

What are the ingredients?

What are the pieces?

What make up the perfect fire?

Is it the color of the flames? 

How the fire ebbs and flows?

Is it the sound of the wood as it crackles 

or the smell of smoke on your clothes?

Is it the warmth silently emitted…

or how its luminescence lights the night

or how, when the flames depart for the evening, the fire breathes in light?

All these are important…but the perfect fire for me

has more to do with the people around it…our friends and family.

It’s telling stories…smiling and laughing while sitting in the great outdoors

It’s the children running to and fro, toasting marshmallows, making s’mores.

It’s how time seems to blend together…as the mind is navigating

memories we’ve made in the past with the new ones we’re creating… 

It’s how the night envelopes the fire…so the only ones I see…

are those…for that brief moment…who are sharing the fire with me…

When I was younger it thought the perfect fire couldn’t be lit…

that it was just a myth

now I know it all depends 

on the people I’m sharing it with.