SIGNS

 

I have always believed there is more to life than what my eyes can see

more questions than I can answer…more riddles…more mysteries.

I have always believed signs from our loved ones abound…

even from those loved ones who are no longer around.

When Deborah’s sister died a rare Luna Moth gave our window in NC a kiss 

and now we cannot see a Luna Moth without thinking of Pris.

Deborah’s mom loved gladiolas…they were the flowers she preferred.

Whenever Deborah’s dad found them…he’d bring some home to her.

Her Mom and Dad personified beauty and grace and love…

and whenever wee see gladiolas it’s the two of them we’re thinking of.

On our way to North Carolina we always stop at Momma’s Boy restaurant.

They have biscuits as big as your fist.

It’s a tradition heading to the mountains we never want to miss.

When we pull into Momma’s familiar parking lot…we always feel this same elation

unbeknownst to us this year, however, our GPS took us to Momma’s Boy 2nd location.

When I asked Deborah if she wanted to go back to our usual Momma’s Boy

So…to our tradition we would adhere…

No, she said smiling and pointing to the gladiolas…

I think Mom and Dad want us to eat here.

So we paused among the gladiolas admiring their multi-colored hues

thinking or Deborah’s Mom and Dad…and how they loved biscuits too.

Signs like these are everywhere…we find them from the flowers

to the clouds up in the sky…

reminders from our loved ones that their love will never die.

We’ll be spending two weeks in the mountains…

enjoying the view from high up in the sky…

And we can’t be sure but we have a feeling

Pris will be stopping by.

BLESSED TO THINK OF TIME AS A FRIEND

 

We know the exact moment our time on Earth began

but since we don’t know exactly when it will end

may we think of time less as an enemy

and accept her as our friend

And in the span that she has given us

before she puts us all to bed

may we treat the world with kindness

and leave no important word unsaid.

DICHOTOMIES

 

Before we left on our summer trip it was important for Deborah and me

to get together and spend some time with our friends and family.

And…as the love, the laughter, and the conversations overflowed with ease

in every case I was struck by one of life’s dichotomies:

Have you ever had those moments of joy experienced with family and friends…

when life, in that moment, seems so perfect you don’t want it to end?

Conversely, have you ever had moments of sorrow experienced with family and friends 

when life, in that moment, seems so sad and painful you can’t wait for it to end?

This is the dichotomy of time…how it is impossible to master…

how we wish some moments would linger longer…

while others would fly by a whole lot faster.

One moment we’re looking at our young face in the mirror with a smile

And the next we’re looking at some old person with a groan.

One minute our children are young and little 

and the next they’re fully grown.

It makes you realize how each moment is precious…

and…whether hoping that moment will linger 

or that it will quickly end…

how each moment is made more precious when spent with family and friends.

Which is why as long as the mastery of time remains one of life’s great mysteries…

I hope you’ll always find me surrounded by family and friends

searching for any joy I can

in the midst of her dichotomies.

TRAVEL

 One of the wonderfully exciting features of traveling….

Is something all those who have ever traveled know:

No matter how many places you have been….

there is always somewhere else to go.

HER WANDERLUST

 

Oh how she loves to journey…in her life travel is a must.

It’s one of life’s beautiful added bonuses…being born with wanderlust.

So they plan these awesome trips…and together they travel far and wide…

happily touring the country…hand-in-hand and side-by-side.

Yes, she was born with a lust for adventure…in her this need is strong

He was not born with her wanderlust…but he loves to go along.

One day she asked him…”You know how much I love to travel…

to experience all I can experience…to see all that I can see…

I don’t think I’ve ever asked you…do you love to travel as much as me….

 

“I look at every day as a new adventure.” He told her.  

“It has never mattered what we do or where we travel to.”

“Whether we’re in the car, climbing a mountain or standing by the sea.”

Whether on a morning walk 

listening to the birds

watching a butterfly or a bee….

Then he smiled…took her hands in his and said,

“All these years we’ve been together I guess I thought you knew…

“It has never mattered where we go…

as long as I’m with you.”

MEMORY LANE

 

May you be blessed to contemplate…to ponder…to entertain

every now and then…a walk down memory lane.

You’ll find the walk is beautiful and you don’t have to travel very far

before you start running into 

the people 

the places 

and the animals

who helped to make you who you are

THE NEW OLD ROOM

 

When I moved my Autistic class from a center to Oscar Middle

It was a brand new school…everything…was brand new…

It was the first time in our county Autistic students would be in a regular school…

and many wondered how we would do.

As I entered my brand new school and stepped into my brand new room

I was excited to show everyone how my students through their Autism could bloom.

And now…long after my time at Osceola Middle was done…

I like to think we all learned a lot…and along the way we had some fun.

Our daughter, Ali, attended Osceola Middle at the same time…it was nice to have her near

and she was one of the first students in the school to come into my class and volunteer.

 

Skip ahead a few years and we discover something very cool….

Ali, now a teacher, is teaching at Osceola Middle School.

Skip ahead to today and Ali has just become Osceola Middle’s behavior therapist…

And here is where Fate has provided a beautiful little twist.

The office they’ve designated for Ali is none other than my old room….

The same place I watched myself and some of my students bloom.

Of all the rooms in the school to which she could have been assigned….

They chose the one in which I left some energy and memories behind…

Starting a new job is never easy as you struggle to find your way…

and I like to think it’s the teaching Gods telling Ali everything will be okay.

As parents we can’t always be next to our children as they tackle new adventures

travel down new roads…try to scale and climb new hills

But the fact that Ali is now in my old room…

in a way…I guess I will.