BLESSED WITH 1000 SMILES

 

May you be blessed…

wherever you go…

the older and older you grow…

that 1000 smiles 

accompany every mile

and at least one twinkle 

finds its way into every wrinkle.

TWO OLD OPTIMISTS

 

Deborah and I feel blessed to be optimists…

to be able to find a bright spot in every day.

Blessed because we have never had to work on this…

we were both lucky to be born this way.

For instance: the realist in us knows we’ve reached a point as we grow older every year

where our eyesight fades a little more and it’s a little harder for us to hear.

But as optimists these two things have never bothered neither Deborah nor me…

It tends to make us look at life a little closer at life and listen a little more carefully.

The realist in us knows we've slowed down…we tire more easily

we are no longer that young energetic maiden or that young and vibrant chap…

but as optimists we find solace in our new rhythm…and comfort in a nap.

The realist in us knows we forget things more often now…much more than we use to…

But as optimists we realize this also makes so many things seem brand new. 

The realist in us sees this old couple

whose body parts don’t work as good as they did when we were small….

but as optimists we’re constantly amazed 

we have any body parts that work at all.

Yes, we’ve blessed with the ability to find the happiness inherent in every day

and looking back… as two old optimists…

we wouldn’t have wanted our lives to be…

any other way

ONCE AGAIN GRATEFUL FOR GRATITUDE

 

Today, once again, I’m grateful for gratitude….

Sometimes I think gratitude is the greatest quality of all….

For it has the ability to sweeten every moment….

From the largest ones in our life

down to the tiny and the small.

ONCE AGAIN GRATEFUL FOR GRATITUDE

 

Today, once again, I’m grateful for gratitude….

Sometimes I think gratitude is the greatest quality of all….

For it has the ability to sweeten every moment….

From the largest ones in our life

down to the tiny and the small.

I HOPE I HAVE BEEN WORTH IT

 

My mom and dad fought in World War 2

They made it home…which is every soldiers aim

I didn’t know them before their war but I imagine they didn’t come back the same.

I had friends who were drafted…and Vietnam is where they fought

some of them made it home…some of them did not.

I have never been to war..never once stood at attention or at ease…

so I can’t imagine the fear in war one feels and horrors in a war one sees.

When I see someone who is fighting or has fought in war

I want to let them know I’m grateful…but I’m always a little nervous

I don’t want to put them on the spot..

So I usually say, “Thank you for your service.”

But, ‘thank you for your service’ never seems to be enough

and I’m sure they’ve heard this sentiment a thousand times before…

so I’ve always wished I could come up with a little something more

Until today when I heard a man in the store addressing

a veteran with what I hope is the perfect form of blessing:

He said to the veteran…thank you for your service…

which, as I said, in most cases would suffice…

but then he added I want you to know I try my best to be worth your sacrifice. 

So I hope I have the courage each time I see a veteran

to take this man’s sentiment…and every time rebirth it….

To thank him or her for their service…

then look them in the eye and say

I hope I have been worth it.

THANKFUL TO HAVE SO MANY HEROES

 

Today I’m blessed to have a host of heroes in my life.

A long line of heroes I hope will never end

I find them in the strength, 

the courage 

the support

and the love 

of my family… 

and my friends. 

NOT TOO HARD TO FIND

 

I’ve heard people say heroes are getting harder and harder to find

You may call me idealistic

But I find that message to be too gloomy, too dark and much too pessimistic.

 

I found my first heroes in Fairy Tales

I admired their courage, their integrity…their power…

They were the ones unafraid to face the dragons…to save the princesses in the tower.

My next heroes were sports figures…which made it a lot of fun

They passed for the winning touchdown, shot the winning basket

or scored the winning run.

Next, I found my heroes in the pages of books about history…

Their names were Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin and John F. Kennedy.

But when I learned more about my heroes…I was astounded by what I found

Abe couldn’t control his children, Ben abandoned his family

and Johnny fooled around.

One day I realized to find my heroes…I didn’t have to look very far…

My dad was a postal worker and my mom…a nurse in an ER.

These are the people who loved me…whose inspiration and guidance I sought

which, to me, was more important than if they slew any dragon or not.

I found my heroes didn’t have to save the entire world or make the winning score…

they could be a nurse and a postal worker who lived on the other side of my front door. 

Yes, I’m proud to profess in the final stanzas of this now lengthy rhyme

The heroes I once went looking for…had been with me all the time.

To those who say heroes are harder to find…I say…not in my book

because the keys to finding heroes…is knowing where to look. 

THANKFUL FOR FISHING AND OUR SON

  Today I’m thankful for fishing…and for our son Ryan

I am not a fisherman…but our son Ryan is…

you might say when it comes to fishing…

Ryan is a whiz. 

I love that Ryan grew up fishing…

that being a fisherman has always been his wish..

Because he will never remember his best day watching TV

but he will remember his best day 

out on the water 

catching fish.

TWO FISHERMEN BY THE SEA

 

Most times when we walk early on the beach it’s just Deborah and me. 

but the other morning we happened to walk past two old men fishing by the sea.

We quickly exchanged greetings then quietly let them be…

knowing you never say ‘Good Luck’ to a fisherman by the sea.

When we returned we found these two fishermen laughing and…smiling a lot.

They called us over to show us all the fish that they had caught.

We talked with them a while and…before our visit with them was through…

they regaled us with a fishing story….as fishermen are wont to do:

“We were standing on this very shore,” Tom began, “when Bob began to shout…

I feel it on the end of my line! He said. I think I’ve hooked a trout!”

“As I was happily reeling in my catch” Bob said. I heard Tom begin to shout..”

“Reel any faster Bob?” He said, “theres a dolphin after your trout!”

When matching fishing prowess with a dolphin, however, your margin of error is thin…

and even though Bob was reeling as fast as he could…the dolphin was closing in.

Just as Bob was about to lose his battle…and kiss his trout goodbye…

an osprey swooped down…grabbed that fish and flew up to the sky.

The hook, however, was still in that trout’s mouth…

so Bob kept reeling without saying a word

determined to wrestle his trout from the talons of that bird.

After a while of playing tug-of-war the osprey let out a shout…

then angrily gave up the fight and let Bob have his trout.

As those two fishermen stood there smiling at us…

we weren’t sure if their story was true

or if they were spinning a fishermen’s yarn…as fisherman sometimes do.

But we didn’t care 

We were glad on our walk that particular morning that it wasn’t just Deborah and me….

We were glad to have met and been enchanted by…two fishermen by the sea. 

THANKFUL FOR NATURE THE TEACHER

 

How blessed are we to have nature as our teacher

although her biggest obstacle

 which leads to her biggest concern

is how even the greatest teacher cannot teach

those who are unwilling to learn.

BUTTERFLY TEACHERS

 

I was out in Deborah’s garden the other day when what should catch my eye

flitting from flower to flower but a monarch butterfly.

A walk through Deborah’s flower garden is brimming with surprises…

Like when that monarch was joined by other butterflies of all colors, shapes and sizes.

Nature is always trying to teach us…for she is experienced, enlightened and wise…. 

and her most basic lessons are being taught to us…by her butterflies.

Like how nothing is ever permanent…no matter in what stage we’d like to stay

We…and everything around us…all change a little every day.

Like how knowing all life is fragile…once our delicate wings have finally unfurled

we should treat everything with gentleness as we add our beauty to the world.

Like how all butterflies share the flowers…no butterfly is rich…no butterfly is poor…

Like how you never see a butterfly carrying a weapon…or marching off to war.

The average butterfly lives only two weeks…they have only two weeks to try and reach us

which means they cram a lot of material in the lessons they try to teach us.

Nature knows we are not fast learners however…so she has found a way

to keep a kaleidoscope of butterfly teachers constantly coming our way.

I hope one day we will have learned their lessons…

that we too will be experienced enlightened and wise….

It’s a dream that I’ll keep dreaming…

as long as there are butterflies.