I AM ME

 

“Who are you?” A young girl asked me in the bookstore after giving me a quizzical look.

I smiled and told her, “I am the man who’ll help you find a book”.

“And who are you?” I asked…she looked at me and smiled innocently…then pointing out the obvious she answered, “I am me!”.

As she walked away I had to wonder how many different ways I could reply to her simple, honest and straightforward query…to her question…”Who am I?”.

I am a child whenever I eat ice cream or dance out in the rain…

I am a friend when I share another friend’s happiness…or help to ease their pain.

I am a poet (or at least I try to be) with words like these I write…

I am a husband when I hold hands with Deborah…or give her a kiss goodnight.

I am a dad to our three children…even when they’re far away.

I am a brother, a cousin, an uncle…depending on the day.

I am a PopPop who has been a horse, a magician…with his own magic show…

I am a person who’s been blessed to watch his children and grandchildren grow.

Sometimes I’ve been all these people in a single afternoon!

It’s as if they’re always with me…like the stars that surround the moon.

For who I am is not an easy concept to truly comprehend…and after giving it some thought the best answer is most likely…”It depends”. 

It depends on what circumstances I am in…on what I’m asked to do…

It depends on where I am…and who I’m talking to

And when you stop to think about it…It’s fun to look at life this way…

never knowing, when the day begins, how many ‘mes' I’ll be today.

And as for that young girl who waved to me as she left the store sucking on her thumb…I had to smile as I waved back thinking of all the ‘mes’ she will become.

OLD FRIENDS

 

I picked up my old high school yearbook from on the shelf where it has stood for many years and when I opened it I thought…it smelled like childhood.

Browsing through its pages I found, much to my delight, how my old f friends and even I looked good in black and white.

I found faces I remember…friends I use to know…

moments captured for eternity…a long, long time ago.

Names I still remember…Marilyn, Joe and John…

I remember so many wonderful moments spent together…

and how, in a moment…they were gone.

Gone…as we left to find our places in the world…

wondering what futures we might find…

excited at the possibilities…grateful for the friends we left behind.

I did not know back then…I was much too young to see how the people in this yearbook helped determine who I’d be.

I turned to a photo of me standing with my friends…smiling…seemingly without a care…and I realized I wouldn’t be standing where I am today…if I hadn’t been standing there.

Standing with my childhood friends…friends who helped me find my way…friends who helped transform the boy I was back then into the man I am today.

Yes, looking at old photos of a young me…and old friends I can still name…I wondered if anyone who picks up their old yearbook doesn’t feel the same.

Doesn’t smile as they look back on a different time…a different where and when…

and wonder who’d they be today…without the friends they had back then.

OLLIE'S OTTER

 For years the otter stood on a shelf in the toy store…stood up proud and strong…

waiting for the right child to choose him…then Ollie came along.

In his stroller while in the store…long before he had a voice…Ollie let his parents know…the otter was his choice.

From that day forward they were inseparable…playing in the yard…the sand…the water…they did everything together…Ollie and his otter.

When Ollie was a child…not yet grown up…still quite small…his hopes…his dreams…his wishes…the otter heard them all.

There comes a time in a child’s life, however, a time all their favorite toys dread…when the toy spends less time with the child…and more time on the stand beside his bed.

But Ollie’s otter didn’t mind…he knew they were still a team…that even though he didn’t play with him as much…Ollie still shared with him his his hopes, his wishes…his dreams.

When Ollie went off to college…his otter stayed back…he didn’t roam…

waiting proudly on that shelf…for Ollie to come home.

Happy to welcome Ollie back…happy to visit for a while and then…

proudly taking his place until Ollie returned again.

When it came time for Ollie to move out…to start a life…more independently…

“Mom!” He said as he was packing, “Otter comes with me.”

Throughout their years together…their friendship would endear..

both of them glad just knowing the other one was near. 

Ollie’s otter got to meet Ollie’s wife and children…and they all cam to know…

the meaning of a lifelong friendship formed so many years ago.

And Ollie’s family loves to tell the story…

of how once in a toy store this otter stood up proud and strong…

and how both their lives would change forever….

the day that Ollie came along.

MAGIC IN THE CLOUDS

 

There was magic in all his grandpa’s stories…they were filled with wonder and surprise…he could feel the magic in his grandpa’s words and see the magic in his eyes.

His grandpa found magic everywhere he looked…in the birds, the butterflies…the bees,

in the stars, the moon, the sun…in the flowers and the trees.

As they lay in his backyard one day…the grass still damp with morning dew…

his grandpa said, “Did you know…there’s magic in clouds too?”

“Watch the clouds above us…as across the sky they flow…

Watch and you will see…they put on a magic show.”

His fondest memories of his grandpa…the times that make him feel most proud…

are the moment they spent together watching the magic in the clouds.

Still today when he sees clouds spreading across a sky of blue…

he’s reminded of those times with his grandpa…in the grass painted with morning dew.

The other morning, on the beach, far away from the crush of crowds…

he and his wife witnessed that magic…when they saw dolphins in the clouds.

An entire pod of dolphins smiling as they leaped out of the sea…

for a moment, a brief moment, flying high…and flying free.

His wife pointed to the sky and said, “Do you realize what we’re looking at?”

He smiled, then nodded saying, “I bet Grandpa had a hand in that!”

BETTER...GRAND...GREAT

 BETTER…GRAND…GREAT

As a parent the first thing you discuss with your partner, your husband or your wife is the hope your children will be healthy and have a happy life.

And, though you know your life’s been blessed…are there any parents out there who…don’t wish your children grow up to have a better life than you?

And when they do you’re overjoyed…there’s no jealousy…not a trace…

you sit back, proud and cheerful…with a smile on your face.

And if you’re lucky your children are blessed with children…grandchildren whom you adore…knowing when they visit the rules of parenting don’t apply to you anymore.

As a grandparent you don’t often say NO…

“Of course you can have a second piece of cake.”

“Do you want ice cream or pie for breakfast”
“How about another donut with that shake?”

You have nothing to do but enjoy your grandchildren…fill their hearts with love, their minds with fun…and their bellies full of snacks…and when they’re tired, cranky and full of sugar…you simply give them back.

You get to play more…and play often…without rules or regulations…

Grand-parenting, in a way, is like one extended summer vacation.

And though you know your life’s been blessed…is there any grandparent out there who…doesn’t want your grandchildren to become taller, stronger, smarter…and prettier than you?

And when they do you find yourself overjoyed…there’s no jealousy…not a trace…as you and your partner sit back proud and cheerful…with a smile on your face.

Because over the years you’ve been blessed with the wisdom to understand how in your family your children have made you a better person…

and your children’s children have made you grand.

And you begin to wonder as you grow older…if it shall ever be your fate…

That your children’s children will have children…

knowing when that happens…those children will make you great.

A FOUR HOUR TOUR

 Just sit right back…and you’ll hear a tale …a tale of a wonderful trip…

that started from this tropic port aboard a sailing ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man…the skipper brave and sure…

Five passengers set sail with them on a four hour tour…a four hour tour

As part of Deborah’s 70th birthday celebration…her best friends thought it ‘d be fun…

to take us on a four hour cruise…to watch the setting sun..

That this ship was named Miracle is appropriate..as more of this tale I tell

because we weren’t just celebrating the miracle of Deborah’s birth…

but the miracle of friendship as well.

The seas on Saturday were rough enough that our sailing ship would have been tossed…Sunday was chosen instead…so the Miracle wouldn’t be lost.

By Sunday the seas had calmed and the wind billowing our sails was strong.

We celebrated with wine and cheese as our miracle cruised along.

The views on the water were magnificent…there was beauty everywhere…

Everyone aboard the ship felt the magic in the air.

Miracle leisurely cruised us back to port under a moonlit ebony sky…where we all lingered on her a while…not wanting to say goodbye.

Knowing we had just shared something special…

along with the wine…the cheese…the fun…

we had shared a Miracle…on the water…under the setting sun.

So now you’ve heard the tale…the tale of a wonderful trip…

that started and ended from this tropical port…aboard a sailing ship.

I hope you enjoyed the magic of our miracle…the beauty…the allure…

as a lifetime of friendship was celebrated

in the midst of a four hour tour.

THEIR SECRET

THEIR SECRET

People often ask the old couple, who’ve been married for so long, 

What’s the secret to your marriage…the key that’s made it last so long?

The couple look at one another…then with a gleam reflected in their eyes…

They smile, take a deep breath and out pop their replies:

Everyone must find their own paths to happiness once they accept their wedding rings…but, for us, the secret is quite simple…it lies in all the little things.

It’s not only listening when the other person talks…it’s hearing what they have to say.

It’s a note that says ‘I love you’ at the end of a long day.

It’s a little gift that’s given when there’s no reason for a gift…

just to say ‘I’m thinking about you” and to give your day a lift.

It’s a drive out in the country at some random time on some random day…

and stopping by a random stream for a picnic along the way.

It’s reaching something on the top shelf when your short wife is unable…

It’s anytime our family gathers around our dining room table.

It’s sharing our deepest fears…our long range goals…all our hopes and wishes…

while one person does the cooking and the other does the dishes.

It’s a surprise call in the middle of the day just to hear the other’s voice…

It’s being together during sad times…and times when we rejoice.

It’s watching the sunrise hand-in-hand and thinking about the day we met…

It’s still holding hands in the evening while watching the sun set.

They never know what answers will pop out…what simple things they’ll name

but the last words out of their mouths have always been the same.

The secret for us has been living with someone we adore…and all the joy that brings….

joys we are blessed to discover every day…

in all the little things.

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