DAILY GRATITUDE ELLIOT PAGE

 

Today I’m grateful that to be on the same page as Elliot Page

and wish more people could see the world through his/their eyes…

“Everyone deserves to feel love” he/they says

“Equally

without shame

and without compromise”

PRIDE IN HUMANS

 

May we be blessed to take pride in the fact that

we are all human sisters and brothers….

And blessed to understand being human is simply about 

being kind

and taking care of one other…

BRACELETS WITH AN S

 

We went to the Haywood County Pride Day celebration where it was wonderful to see 

all the people In Waynesville, North Carolina who turned out to celebrate diversity.

We waved our rainbow flags at all the people walking or parading in their cars…

proud to help them celebrate exactly who they are.

When the Pride Parade was over we visited many Pride booths ..

where we happened to meet

a little girl In a make-shift booth- a blanket she had spread out on the street. 

Her booth was next to her father’s booth…where her dad let it be known

that on this Pride day he was proud she was starting a business of her own.

What caught my attention was her sign…she was selling bracelets

and she spelled bracelets with an ’s'

Her price…a reasonable $2.00…

and she made it clear she would take nothing less…

We arrived at her booth early  

where she was completing her first bracelet of the day

I was proud to be her first customer…and when it came time to pay.

she handed me the bracelet…I handed her a five dollar bill…

and for her first entrepreneurial exchange…

I was happy with my purchase 

and she was happy when I told her, “keep the change”.

Her bracelet is now hanging form the rear-view mirror in our car

to remind us to take pride everyday…in exactly who we are.

To remind us every human life is a life we should hold dear.

To remind us everyone deserves a life free from prejudice and fear…

And to remind us how our children need to grow up filled with pride and happiness….

Who knew all this joy and wisdom could be found in one little bracelet …

that’s bracelet with an ’s’.

As I walked away with the bracelet in my hand…and thinking what it meant…

I realized that may be the best $5.00 I have ever spent.

TINY MIRACLES

Today I’m grateful for butterflies and luna moths…

how they easily deceive the naked eye….

How when we see them for a moment we believe…

there are flowers that can fly. 

FLOWERS THAT CAN FLY

 

May we be blessed when we see a luna moth or a butterfly

(at the risk of sounding lyrical)

to be reminded how life is made up

of so many tiny little miracles

A CABIN FILLED WITH MEMORIES

 

I’ve said this before (and I’ll likely say it again!) about our cabin in the trees…

How it’s not just a cabin…it’s a cabin filled with memories.

Memories…compiled from the time our children and grandchildren were small…

each memory plays a part in the magic painted on its walls.

And the way I feel about our cabin…I know I’m not alone

because everyone who’s ever visited…takes away memories of their own.

Some of our memories that surface when we reach the cabin…are of Deborah’s sister Pris… 

Her memories remind us of how much fun we had together…

and how much and often she is missed.

After her funeral in Florida years ago we escaped to our cabin

and that same evening a luna moth perched herself upon our door….

in all our years coming to the cabin…we’d never seen one there before.

When we saw the luna moth we immediately took her as a sign…

a message from Pris herself…that everything was fine.

The luna moth…was telling us…in a natural way so sweet…

that when it came to Pris from this world to the next…her transformation was complete.

 

Now when we visit the cabin…we’re never sure how or when…

Pris, in her luna moth form, will visit us again.

This morning on our porch I sat down to write a poem…

(after last nights rain the morning air was colder)

and as I was wondering what I was going to write…A luna moth landed on my shoulder.

I’m not great at understanding Luna moth speech…but near as I could tell

Pris wanted her family to know that she’s still doing well.

And she wanted her sister, her children, her grandchildren, 

and great-grandchildren to know…from wherever luna moths come from…

how proud she is of all of them…and the people they’ve become.

So perched upon my shoulder…in the early morning dawn

Pris helped me write this little poem…and when we finished…she was gone.

You may be wondering if these luna moths who visit at the cabin then depart…

are really Pris or just a little bit of wishful thinking on my part…

It could be this phenomenon is a lot like love…all in the eye of the beholder…

then again I think I’ll wait around and ask Pris…the next time she lands upon my shoulder.

DAILY GRATITUDE MEMORIES

 

When I see time moving ever forward…

and each day I grow a little oder than the day before…

I am grateful I have a way of looking back…

grateful knowing that’s what memories are for.

TIME AND MEMORY

 

May we be blessed..this simple truth to see:

Every moment we’re alive…

is another chance 

to make a memory.

GRANDPAS PATH

 

Our cabin in North Carolina was built by Deborah’s mom and dad in 1983…

It rests on the side of a mountain…nestled in among the trees.

When Deborah’s dad was alive he had a garden terraced off at the bottom of the yard.

He built a pathway to this garden…to make the walk down there…not quite as hard.

This was no easy task…you have to understand… 

as he molded each square out of cement…and placed them in the ground by hand.

When our family would visit in the summer time…

our children would run up and down his steps with smiles and wide eyes..

to pick vegetables and blackberries from his garden…play in the woods

or in the evening to chase fireflies….

Our grandchildren used his steps to take them to a fort we made when they were small

Our dog Whitman used his steps chasing countless tennis balls.

When Grandpa was alive he kept his steps in perfect condition…

clean with no weeds around them,…

because he knew when we would visit…our children would be running up and down them.

But Grandpa is no longer with us and our children and grandchildren have grown…

which means Grandpa’s path…once used to play on and explore…

those 41 steps that led to countless adventures…aren’t used as often anymore. 

As children grow their interests change and their desires to play in the yard wane…

now on Grandpa’s path…up and down those steps…only memories remain…

But that doesn’t stop me every summer…once we arrive…

from taking a hoe a sickle and a little brush too..

and cleaning off each step on the path…just like Grandpa used to do.

It is a labor of love…making sure Grandpa’s path is as perfect as it used to be…

because on the one hand I know somewhere…Grandpa’s smiling down on me…

But I also have an ulterior motive…each year I’m on my own crusade

to make that path exactly the way it was when our children’s memories were made.

So if you happen to visit us in the summer at the cabin…

and you see an old main in the yard with a hoe, a sickle and a little brush too

Don’t be alarmed…he’s just getting an old path ready for summer…

just like Grandpa use to do.

DAILY GRATITUDE ANIMALS AND CHIEF GEORGE

 

Today I’m grateful for Chief Dan George

Who understood the animals and the world in which they dwell…

but his message can be extended….

to the human animals as well.

If you talk to the animals they will talk to you

and you will know each other.

If you do not talk to them

you will not know them

and what you do not know

you will fear.

What one fears, one destroys.

DAILY GRATITUDE ANIMALS AND CHIEF DAN GEORGE

 

Today I’m grateful for Chief Dan George

Who understood the animals and the world in which they dwell…

but his message can be extended….

to the human animals as well.

If you talk to the animals they will talk to you

and you will know each other.

If you do not talk to them

you will not know them

and what you do not know

you will fear.

What one fears, one destroys.

OUR SOULS

 

May we be blessed to understand

although the body of every living creature is different

different looks, different appearances…different names

at the moment if our creation…

our souls are all the same.

OUR SOULS

 

May we be blessed to understand

although the body of every living creature is different

different looks, different appearances…different names

at the moment if our creation…

our souls are all the same.