WHEN YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER ASKS YOU TO DANCE

I had a wonderful moment yesterday…it was the perfect circumstance…

when my granddaughter said, “Hey PopPop…how’d you like to dance?”

I hesitated but she persisted…“It’s easy…you will see

we pick a song and you follow the moves from the video on TV.”

I’ve never been known for my rhythm…but I kind of remembered the song

so I put my inhibitions aside and tried to dance along.

My arms began to flail…I had the rhythm of a stone…

I tried to dance to the music but my feet had a mind of their own.

Eventually I didn’t care if I was nimble or light as a feather.

What was more important than the dance…was that we were dancing together.

And for a moment, just a moment…in my mind we were the perfect pair…

She was a young Ginger Rogers…and I was Fred Astaire.

An hour later my legs were sore,…I hadn’t danced like that since I was ten…

But I know for certain if she asked me tomorrow…I‘d dance with her again.

Grandparents if you want to make a memory…I suggest you take a chance

to trip the light fantastic…when your granddaughter asks you to dance.

WHEN YOU SEE YOUR CHILD SLEEPING

When you see your child sleeping

it makes you stop and smile.

It’s as if you’ve discovered pure innocence…

and you want to linger there awhile.

He sleeps in peace and wonder

all her energy…confined.

Any anxieties and troubles from the day

in sleep…are left behind.

When you see your child sleeping

so natural, so tender and so free

You wonder what tomorrow will bring…

what he or she will be.

Will he be the one who cures cancer?

Is she the one the world is looking for?

Will he help end world hunger?

Will she bring a stop to war?

Will she find peace and joy?

Will he have many friends?

Will she be healthy? Will he be wise?

Will they be happy in the end?

But those are questions for tomorrow…

questions that can keep…

Tonight you’re happy you had the chance…

just to watch them sleep.

Happy they are unharmed…unhurt

and safe within your keeping…

Happy you were blessed this moment…

to see your child sleeping.

SYNCHRONICITY...THE FINAL CHAPTER

I found a sign in the middle of the road

and, for a moment, I was bewitched.

I saw it as synchronicity…

a sign that I’d be rich.

And it’s true I did find 20 dollars

sitting on the ground…

but it made me pause a moment…

to stop and look around.

It seems my life is filled with love.

I get to spend it every day…

on my wife, my children, my grandchildren…

and friends I meet along the way.

And it’s true, finding 20 dollars

did give me a thrill…

but love will last forever…

unlike a 20 dollar bill.

And I know it does sound so corny

and you may think I am a clown…

But I already consider myself

the richest man in town.

So this morning I took that 20 dollars

and put it back unceremoniously…

Hopefully someone will find it…

who needs it more than me.

WHO I WANTED TO BE...

When I was young I had big plans…I knew eventually

what I wanted to do with my life…and who I wanted to be.

I wanted to be a baseball star…the envy of the nation…

until I realized to be one…takes good eye-hand coordination.

Then I wanted to be a football star…have my name emblazoned on my shirt…

until I realized I was much too small…and all that tackling hurt!

Next I wanted to be an astronaut…and soar up among the stars…

until I realized my tummy ached…just riding in the car.

Then I wanted to be President…in charge of all the masses…

until I realized somedays…I can’t even find my glasses.

Eventually a teacher, husband, father and grandfather

is what I came to be…

and I often wonder if I chose them…

or if they have chosen me.

Yes, when I was young I had big plans

but I didn’t know…eventually

who I am in my life

is who I’d want to be.

SYNCHRONICITY

I believe in synchronicity…

coincidences we discover along the way…

little signs from nature

that help define our day.

Yesterday morning on our walk

as merrily we strode…

I found a dollar sign someone had painted

in the middle of the road.

“Deborah it’s a sign!” I said,

“right here beneath our feet.”

“It means we’re coming into money

and we’ll live on easy street.”

“I wonder how rich we’ll be?”

I said happily to my spouse.

“Perhaps we’ll win the lotto…

or Publisher’s Clearing House.”

We kept on walking contentedly

until, around the next corner, I found

there shining right in front of me…

a nickel on the ground.

Deborah took one look at our treasure 

and said, “A nickel…how terrific!

I hope the next time you find a sign…

it’s a little more specific.”

I LOVE...

I love watching the sunrise

how the grey sky turns to gold

in the peaceful quiet of the morning

as another day unfolds.

I love being present at the moment

of nature’s awakening…

I love the silence being broken

when the birds begin to sing.

I love to watch the flowers yawn

when their nightly sleep is done…

then drink a drop of morning dew

and stretch to catch the sun.

I love watching the moon…

far from the noise, the lights…the crowds

as it hovers in the heavens

and drifts among the clouds.

I love being present at the moment

when nature goes to sleep…

how the night recedes to silence

and the darkness seems so deep.

I love watching the beauty and the mystery

of this wondrous day…and then…

I love knowing tomorrow

it will happen once again.

EBB AND FLOW

There is an undulation to life...

a natural ebb and flow.

Sometimes it’s dark and grey...

other times...it glows.

And when it glows...we must enjoy it...

every moment of every day...

so when it’s dark we have joy saved up

to help us light our way.

And when it’s grey...we muddle through...

we try to overcome our fears...

knowing joy will soon return...

in the wake of all our tears.

Knowing somewhere in our sorrow 

If we look for joy…we’ll find it…

Knowing a cloud cannot cast a shadow…

unless the sun’s behind it.