GROWING OLDER VS GROWING OLD

 

There is a way to tell if we are just growing older

or truly growing old…  

or so I have been told….

If we’re still having fun each year we are just growing older

when we stop having fun…that’s when we grow old.

ANOTHER HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 

Today is my birthday…a time to reflect not only on this past year

but on my life as well….

as I look back on the 72 years upon this planet I have dwelled.

To ask myself if I am happy with my life…If I’ve done all I’ve wanted to do?

And to help me do this…I revisited a poem I wrote when I was 62:

I’m very lucky…blessed to still be married to my best friend…

and to continue to share a love I know will never end.

I have children whose life I’ve been a part of…who, now that I am old and gray,

still love me in spite of all the mistakes I’ve made along the way.

I have grandchildren who I’ve watched evolve from the time in their playpens

into one proud and strong young woman and three proud and strong young men.

And this year we were blessed to add another member to our family

when my son and I performed our eldest grandson’s wedding 

in the mountains of NC. 

If I’m not mistaken the old poem and this new one seems to show…

I am as happy if not happier than I was I was 10 years ago

So you can see when Deborah asks me what I’d like for my birthday

why I’m so quick to concede…

I’m blessed to already have everything I’ve ever wanted…

everything I’ll ever need.

If I can make one wish this birthday, however, 

it would be…when it comes to my friends and family…

I will still feel as blessed and happy…(or happier)

next year……when I turn 73.

BEING HUMAN

 

As this year comes to a close…

and we reach the end of December…

Here’s something all year long

I wish all humans would remember

Being human is the ability to look at every form of life 

on the land, the sea and the sky above

with a sense of tenderness,

A sense of kindness

with gentleness and love

WHAT DO THEY THINK OF US

 

One thing I’ve noticed when I walk among the trees…is how I’m never bored….

because every new tree that I see is a little different than the trees I’ve seen before.

When I walk among the flowers…even those who share a name….

I find no two sunflowers, no two daisies…no two roses are the same.

This holds true with the birds who fly above me…singing their morning songs…

and with the rabbits who when they notice me… are happy to hop along.

From the dogs and cats we keep as pets…who become members of our family

to all the creatures in the oceans…who swim the seven seas…..

When I look at all of nature’s creations…

I wonder what is the message they’re trying to send…

Could it be how they’re all different…yet how beautifully they blend.

The more I walk in nature…the more of her wonders I explore…

It’s obvious nature knows nothing of politics, of religion, of prejudice…or war.

So when all of nature gets together…and it’s us humans they discuss…

I wonder what the trees, the flowers and all the animals

might be saying about us. 

As they watch us vilify our differences…fight wars

destroy their sky and seas and land…

are they praying…hoping…someday

we humans might come to understand….

that our insecurities…our fears and our prejudices 

is the place from where all our problems stem…

and are they praying, hoping for the day 

we humans…

will be as half as accepting

half as generous

and half as intelligent as them…

DOG AND CAT LOVE

 

Cats and dogs show us two different ways to love…

Two different ways love can put a smile on our faces…

Reminding how when it comes to life and love

both ways have a place….

Dogs shout their love out loud…

jumping up and down…

tails wagging from the rear…

While a cat’s love is more subtle 

more reserved…

more like a whisper in your ear.

BETTY AND DOCTOR

 

We are pet sitting our neighbor’s cat and dog…which means we’re wearing two hats

one for Betty (she’s the dog) and one for Doctor (he’s the cat).

Dogs and cats are different…we know this to be true…

so I’ve had the opportunity to compare and contrast the two.

I’ve been walking Betty in the morning…she get’s excited once her leash she’s shown

while Doctor…when he chooses to go out…prefers to walk alone.

A walk with Betty takes twice as long as she sniffs everything…big, little skinny or fat…

while Doctor on the other hand is much too dignified for that.

Betty loves to be petted…needs to be petted every minute of the day

While I must ask permission to pet doctor…sometimes he agrees….

other times he merely walks away.

If we walk by the kitchen or sit at our table Betty thinks it’s time to eat

It’s as if she never full…and for food she’s always yearning…

Doctor prefers to order off the menu and dine while listening to classical music 

with a scented candle burning.

When Betty is thirsty and she sees water…in her bowl, a birdbath…

a puddle in the street…she will always take a drink…

Doctor prefers to sip his water as it trickles out the faucet 

while he sits in the bathroom sink

When Doctor sings he sings soprano…while Betty is a baritone….

You get the picture when it comes to Betty the dog 

and Doctor the  cat…

they each possess a beauty all their own.

While Betty was busy sniffing on our walk this morning

I had more time to enjoy the moon, the clouds and the stars…

And I realized how Betty and Doctor are a lot like Jupiter and Mars.

Both are singularly beautiful….

both shining with their own unique and special light

both are there to comfort us during the day

and both brighten up the night.

THE BEST MAKEUP

 

As you prepare yourself for life each day…

may you look into the mirror and concede

the joy you see upon your face…

is the only make-up you will ever need.

WELCOMING JOY AGAIN

 

This goes out to all us who’ve lost someone we love…(and isn’t that all of us?)

For those moments when we find it difficult to welcome joy back into our lives:

They spent their life together…finding joy, laughing, loving…and then

one day she died and he was left to wonder if he would ever find joy or laughter again.

He wondered how long it would take…how many months…how many years

before a memory…a thought of her…wouldn’t fill his eyes with tears.

He loved the life they built…and did not want her to infer…

If he laughed…if he found joy…that meant he was forgetting her.

Then in a misty fog of sadness one day…suddenly…out of the blue

arose a memory of her laughing…and he found himself laughing too.

 

And as more memories of her laughter flooded in

he realized there was a part of him his sorrow did not destroy…

that in spite of a constant shadow of sadness…

there was still room in his heart for joy.

He discovered so much about himself while she was alive 

and now with her death he learned…

the best way to live with his sadness….

was to allow his joy and laughter to return.

Oh, he still has moments when sadness envelopes him…

and he knows for the rest of his life for sorrow he will not lack…

but since that day, with her encouragement, he’s welcomed his joy and laughter back…

Now whenever he smiles or laughs he looks up…

and thanks her for helping change his point of view…

knowing whenever he finds himself laughing…

somewhere…

she will be laughing too.

WHY WERE WE GIVEN HANDS

 If we weren’t meant to give to one another…

If you don’t think that was in our Creators plans…

then why in Heaven’s name do you suppose

We were ever given hands.

THE LAST ORNAMENT

 She’s come into the bookstore with her mom a few times…she’s tall and innocent and shy.

It was maybe the fourth or fifth time I greeted her that she finally answered “hi”.

After her initial ‘hi’, however, she was as friendly as can be

and now she always makes a point to come and talk with me.

She came into the store a few days before Christmas

dressed as Santa…and me…being so astute…

said, “Merry Christmas” and told her how she great she looked in her Santa suit. 

She reached into her pocket and with eyes that sparkled blue

smiled then said, “I made this conch shell ornament especially for you!”

She said she found it on Honeymoon Island

which for Deborah and I is one of our favorite places.

I held it up and thanked her as a smile crossed both our faces.

We talked about Honeymoon Island…how we love to walk along the shore

and she smiled as I told her, 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ornament as beautiful as this before”.

As we talked she told me she believed in Santa Claus…then asked,

“Do you believe in Santa too?”

And as her mom looked at me with imploring eyes I said…

“Why not only do I believe n Santa…but I also believe in you!”

We wished each other a Merry Christmas…she waved as she walked out the store

and I smiled again thinking how blessed I was with an experience I’ve never had before.

Her ornament was the last ornament I hung this Christmas…

in a prominent place for all to see…

and I’m positive it will be the first ornament 

I hang…on next year’s Christmas tree.