Today I’m thankful that I’ve never stopped believing
in fairy tales, legends, myths and fantasies
That I can still recall these stories…remember them…with ease
The stories I grew up with that have helped to keep my disposition sunny
like Santa Claus, the tooth fairy…
And today a Happy Easter…from the Florida Easter Bunny
Easter arrives on the wings of Spring…
It’s a time of rebirth reminding us to take stock…
for Deborah and I that means a visit to the bunny beneath the mailbox.
She’s a tiny sculpted bunny…who has been painted gray.
Her head is bowed, her hands held in prayer..
In fact…she prays all night and day.
Her owners dress her up for every holiday a s she loyally sits beneath their mailbox
But, being a bunny rabbit, Easter is the holiday she rocks.
Most mornings we smile and greet her on our walks down to the shore
But Easter is when we stop and wonder what that bunny is praying for.
Is she praying just for rabbits everywhere?
For a life that is pure and simple and sweet?
For rain to grow the grasses that all rabbits love to eat?
Or do her prayers extend to those of us who pass her on the street?
Is she praying for a world of love, kindness and acceptance
where everyone has enough grass to eat?
I like to think she’s not just praying for rabbits…but for me…as well as you.
since she only prays in silence however…I’m not sure which is true.
I do know…looking at our world…we need all the prayers that we can get…
and that this bunny, like the rest of us…is not done praying yet.
Which is why many is the day during Easter week
we pause our morning walks…
to share a prayer with the bunny
who lives beneath the mailbox.
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE
Today I’m thankful for the ability to give…knowing giving can be fun…
as I now give the rest of this blessing to Emily Dickinson:
Who wrote:
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again
I shall not live in vain.
My parents taught me early…it was built into our lifestyle
to never miss an opportunity to speak with kindness
bring joy to another person…or make a child smile.
A while ago I ran across a stuffed Charmander at a neighborhood garage sale
For those of you who don’t know :
Charmander is an orange Pokemon lizard with a fire at the end of his tail.
Don’t feel bad…I didn’t know either….I didn’t know who Charmander was or what his tail is for.
I only thought that orange stuffed lizard would look good in the Children’s section of our store.
I found him a spot high on the shelf…where he could watch the children read and play.
And that is where he sat…that is…until yesterday.
When Kayla, a little girl, burst into the store…with her grandparents close on her tail.
and asked, her eyes wide with anticipation…if Charmander was for sale.
I asked her who Charmander was…remember I was totally unaware…
She pointed…saying it’s the orange Pokemon lizard…on the bookcase…over there.
Her Grandma said Kayla loves Pokemon…lives for Pokemon
Which is what brought her to this place.
I could see the hopefulness in her eyes match the excitement on her face.
I told her he wasn’t for sale…but he is tired of sitting on our shelf…
and it’s time for him to roam…
I told her we’ve been waiting for just the right person…to give that lizard a home.
So Kayla got her Charmander….I got a big hug…and here I must reveal
I’m not sure of the two of us…which one…got the better deal.
I imagine my parents knew when you bring even one child joy
when you make her smile
with a gift as simple as an old orange lizard on the shelf…
you cannot help but feel her joy…
you cannot help but smile yourself.
Today I’m thankful for poetry…
Even those poems that do not rhyme!
because anyone who reads poetry understands…
a poet has the ability to touch someone
without using their hands.
When I think about where my love of rhymes comes from…the best I can deduce
is it all stems from my childhood…and a love of Mother Goose.
It’s as if my parents weren’t reading…but singing the stories of Humpty Dumpty,
Little Miss Muffet and that old woman who lived in a shoe.
The older I’ve grown I have discovered…time after time after time
beauty, love and nature were created for the rhyme.
How a rhyme can take something as simple as a breeze…
and show how it waves to us…or how it whispers through the trees?
We might think the ocean is just a huge expanse of water…nothing more
until a rhyme shows us how she sparkles as we walk along the shore.
We might not think about how the sky rhymes…but then again… we might
as we watch birds soar through her in the day…and her stars come out at night.
And there’s no doubt from the moment we’re born…until we reach the end of our time
how our heart is always beating with the rhythm of the rhyme.
When someone we love is dying…is there anyone in this time and space
who doesn’t pray with all their heart for one more day in their embrace?
When I think back to my childhood days…I know this to be true
my world has changed a lot since Humpty Dumpy, Little Miss Muffet
and that old woman who lived in a shoe.
It is much more complicated world today than when I read Nursery Rhymes in my bed.
It’s a little more frightening than I remember…filled with more sadness, dismay and dread.
But I also know that beauty, love and nature still exist…
which is why from time to time
When I cannot find a reason for the way things are…
you’ll find me looking for the rhyme.
We are all students and we are all teachers…
Today I’m thankful for being each…
And may I be blessed to always know…
when it’s time to learn
and when it’s time to teach
It’s been 10 years since I retired from teaching…
but…every now and then…happily…some of those old memories soar…
This week awakened by a letter…a photo…
and a chance meeting at a grocery store.
The letter was from Jason…an old student…
in his letters…for me he always prays…
We’ve been writing back-and-forth for years.
His letter arrived today.
The photo was of Stephanie…
Her beautiful memories I shall always prize…
Stephanie was non-verbal…she did her talking with her eyes.
The chance meeting was with Austin’s dad…
I hadn’t seen him or Austin in a while…
and when we said our goodbyes
In my mind I kept seeing Austin’s smile.
I remember my teaching days with fondness
It was hard work…but it was fun.
By the way…Austin is no 32, Stephanie’s 45…and Jason is 51.
Still my memories of them are fresh…as fresh as the day they were made
and I hope I’m blessed throughout my life that their memories never fade.
I hope I’ll always remember those moments we shared
as what they were…a beautiful synchronicity
How…while I was busy teaching them…they were just as busy teaching me.
Yes, I hope…in the short time we were together
they learned as much from me…
As I learned when I was teaching
Jason,
Austin
and Stephanie.
Today I’m thankful for rabbits…
I learned a valuable lesson from rabbits
when I was just a boy:
How to leap into each new adventure
with a blend of enthusiasm…and joy.
On my walk this morning, as usual, I stepped out of my world…
With the full moon lighting my way and cooled by a morning breeze
I stepped into the world of nature…of flowers, animals and trees.
I stepped into the world where rabbits live…and when I visit their world for a while
I have to admit…just like my family and friends…rabbits make me smile.
Sometimes we play this game…to this day it still give me a thrill…
When a rabbit sees me coming…he stops…he stands completely still.
She’ll freeze…just like a statue…not moving a muscle or a hair…
Thinking I won’t be able to see her…but, of course, I know she’s there.
Most days I just play along…I don’t want him to know…
So I’ll look around…I’ll act surprised and ask, “Where did that rabbit go?”
Then I’ll walk on…ignoring her…because this is the game we play…
I’m delighted to let her think she’s fooled me…as she happily hops away.
Rabbits who have played this game with me before…who have come to know my smile…
understand they’re safe…and will hop beside me for a while.
I don’t know much about rabbit world…my knowledge of them is weak
I know they hop, they love to eat grass…and they like a good game of hide and seek.
I imagine rabbits don’t know much about my world either
perhaps they’ve never been schooled….
They know I walk on two legs, smile a lot…and that I am quite easily fooled.
We both know we need to treat each other with kindness and respect…
when our worlds meet…wherever we may go…
Perhaps… when it comes to rabbits and humans…that’s all we need to know
