Wrapping Gifts With my Kids on the first Snowy Day of the Season.

Gift Wrapping on the First Snowy Day


First of December,
The snow begins falling...
Couple of inches and
Keeps coming down.
Quiet and bright.
Ground soft and white.

Up in my sweet room
There with my offspring,
Colorful wrapping,
Fun job ahead...
Presents galore
Spread on the floor.

We are relaxing,
Music is playing...
Happy old Christmas songs
from long ago.
Complete contentment
One perfect moment.

~klm~
12.2.10

It really was one of those perfect moments that will stay in my memory bank for life. One wonderful son, one precious daughter, and me, all together in the room we have just redecorated with my favorite colors. My work was done, so I curled up with pillows on the day bed while they sat on the floor and we talked.

Somehow all the Christmas wrapping paper in the house had migrated to this room, and the gifts they had chosen were spread on the floor waiting to be wrapped.

Pandora filled the air with its best old Christmas music, the kind you hear on the radio every season: "Silver Bells", "Baby, It's Cold Outside", Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Eartha Kitts, and the room was filled with Christmas happiness and the love of family.

Then it began to snow!

And outside the windows, we watched things change from late autumn's brown to a new, clean, pure white. The first snow! Right there, right at that moment, while we basked in each other's company, surrounded by colorful papers and ribbons, wrapping gifts to the sound of the season, right then the sky shared its own holiday treasures, and the air inside brightened as the air outside filled with tiny white snowflakes and the ground was covered with white, freshened for a new season.

Perfect moments like this can only be the gifts of a perfect heavenly Father who loves us more than we deserve. I am so grateful to be loved so lavishly.

Noone Knew

Noone Knew

Noone knew.

When my heart had broken into shards,

When my heart was aching so very hard

That I could hardly stand it,

And I hurt from the hair down.

Noone knew.

Because I could still walk,

And I could talk,

And I could say, “Fine” when anyone asked.

But they didn't know me well enough to see what was behind my eyes,

So noone knew.

But you knew.

And you cared about me, I could see that in your eyes.

You didn't invade my privacy with questions

Or unnecessary words,

But I bet you prayed for me,

Because you knew.

And you cared for me

As a good friend would do.

You knew.

And you were a good friend.

So I'm telling you now...

Thank you.

~klm~

© 2002

(This is not a new poem, but it is a real poem. I wrote it years ago. I am sharing it here, responding to L.L. Barkat at http://www.thehighcalling.org/ . We are looking at a specific poetic tool, called the catalog technique. Honestly, I am not sure if this is a good example of this. This repetition is something I use a lot, almost automatically sometimes. I use repetition here not only in the repetition of the main phrase throughout the poem, but also with parts of lines repeated in the first two sections. I remember my dad talking this way sometimes, when he was serious and really wanted me to hear what he was telling me. It reminded me of a preacher, this repeating of a part of a phrase, not in poetry, but in speaking. Maybe his using it with me makes this repetition for emphasis or contrast come naturally to me. But I never knew it had a name, and I'm not sure if what I am doing here is exactly what the catalogue technique is about. Regardless, I write to unload my heart, and the styles and techniques just work themselves out, for better or worse. Please hear my heart when you read this. )

long day, short poem

bright half moon
deep black sky
long hard day
good sweet night


(Some days just take more work than others, and it is really good to see them end. Rest looks very inviting!)

Right Here

Right here, I sit and write, and wonder whether I ought to be doing something else.
Like laundry.
Or dishes.
Or at least supervising those types of things...
Out there.
I do have responsibilities after all.
But I remember what I heard today...
that creativity is a thing to be used and nurtured.
So I sit,
Determined to continue sitting,
Right here,
Under the big round mirror,
Where the yellow chair is comfortable sometimes,
Bitingly uncomfortable at other times,
Where the laptop is all mine
And I can write
Or edit pictures.
To my heart's content.
I can create.
And it does make my heart content!
Sitting
Right here
In my yellow room,
Where sunshine comes in softly,
comfortable and inspiring.
Where the antique bed stands ready in case of guests,
But right now empty,
Freeing this room for me to play,
To nurture the creative,
Under its friendly gaze...
In this room,
Right here.

~klm~



(in response to the suggestion at
http://seedlingsinstone.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-in-and-around-mondays-room-with-view.html )

By the Campfire

- Star Flower -
Full moon rising over her shoulder
She sits by the fire, her long braids hanging.
Moonlight and firelight shine
On my beautiful daughter.

~klm~
8.30.10

Solace and jazz

Today was busy
almost frantic
and solace was hard to find.
I sat and calmed
but only a minute -
quiet was hard to find.
I took a nap but even then,
peace ran right away.
I wanted solace but couldn't grasp it,
until tonight, when
I found some smooth, sweet jazz, and drank it down
with a cup of hot tea,
a speck of sugar, and milk.


(this post is in response to a suggestion at
http://seedlingsinstone.blogspot.com/
who I only just recently discovered.
You should go visit!)

a haiku

S'mores

Warm marshmallows, soft
Almost crunchy graham crackers,
Rich, dark chocolate.




(I am learning that s'mores are better with crackers that are not too crispy. Let them sit in the cupboard a while before s'moring them for better results: yummier, less messy, easier to eat.)


(copyright klm)

Spring comes

The Wooing

- a Poem of Seasons -

Winter woos us with exquisite beauty:
Lavender landscapes that glitter under the moonlight;
iridescent days when the air shimmers with shards of shattered sunlight thrown through the air by invisible snowflakes;

Blizzard days that cancel everything, leaving us to sit by the fireplace with warm cups of cocoa;

And powerful ice storms the leave the world covered in crystal-plated resplendence...

But then -

Spring comes dancing in and wins our hearts with her warmth and laughter.
She delights us with her sensuous charms:
Sunlight to gladden our souls;
Warmth to thaw the frozen earth, and the ground softens beneath our feet;
The sweet, lusty scent of a thousand newborn flowers;
The exquisite cacophony of morning birdsong;
And tender warm breezes to caress our skin.

We are renewed. And we fall in love with Spring.

~ (c) klm 2.03.04 ~

~~~~~~~
~~~

Winter has been long, and it has sort of worn us out. I felt in February as if I had aged ten years. But winter has also been good: Holidays and Ice Skating,

Good family times, beautiful snow in abundance,

snow days, sparkling days,
and beauty more than we can take in!

Still we are ready for spring. Oh, we are so ready!

Welcome, Spring!! We are so glad to see you!

And sure, there will be a few throwbacks with cold days, maybe a little snow... but it is all a bluff at this point, and I will not take any of that seriously, because Spring is here!! Today was the equinox and who would argue with that?

At our house the equinox has also been known as "stand an egg on its end day". In the past we have had the floors and counters scattered with raw eggs all standing on end, just to prove that we could. I can only say it takes a huge amount of patience and perseverance, and my sons have a lot more of that than I do.

Regardless, it is spring.

Happy Equinox, everybody!

Happy Springtime!!

Joy!



(pics: 1) blue pic, out across our back yard. I played with the picture to make it look more like a real evening lookd in the winter out here; 2) diligent son doing schoolwork by the fire... could there be a better place to study? 3) very cold morning with frost coating every single twig in whiteness; 4) Daffies pushing up, you've seen this image before; 5) Two of the sweetest girls in my life - daughter teaching grandgirl about ants on the sidewalk; 6) Oh, yeah - fantastic, happy January day ice skating with my three daughters! 7) Lots of snow out my back door; 8) More beauty than I can describe, across my back yard into the rising sun; 9) No snow out my back door! Yay! )

Geese, above and below

Hey, Friends -

I'm trying something new... It's Theme Thursday, as invented by the creative mind over at, well... ThemeThursday.

The theme for today is "Animal".

And I was thinking about those geese I mentioned last time. The ones who fly beautifully over us, spreading the good news of spring to come.



The same ones my friend chases out of her yard, because... well, because "Yuck", that's why!

Geese confound our aesthetic sense, and pull us in two directions.

Like this:

Geese

The grace of geese in lofty flight

Is contradicted by the sight

Of slimy muck they leave behind,

Apparently just to remind

The populace that they were there

When they have taken to the air.



~klm~
(c) June 2, 2003

Yep, it's true. Kind of like the rest of life, there are two sides to everything. Aesthetic, intellectual, and emotional contradictions pull at us everywhere . We know it, and we choose to revel in the beauty while we try not to step in the slimy mess.

Happy Thursday!

"Enjoy something wonderful today."

Revel in the beauty.

~~~~~

(The quote at the end is from my precious daughter in law who knows how to savor life. And no, I did not take today's' pics - they are randomly grabbed off the internet because it's hard for me to focus on a moving target. And yes, I did write the one-sentence poem about geese.)

Full Moon

The moon rose shining huge and golden in front of me as I was on my way home tonight. She was rising from - but still resting on - a soft bed of low clouds along the horizon. I was awestruck. The moon has so many moods, but is always elegant. Tonight her beauty was rich and full.

Dancing With the Moon

The moon and I danced together tonight
In honor of the One who created us both.
She danced up high in a silver-blue sky
While I danced here below.
The grass was soft beneath my feet
And cool, and wet with dew,
While she smiled down with her face full bright
From her dance hall draped in blue.
We danced together, the moon and I
And our hearts overspilled with delight -
As she smiled down, and I smiled up at her
On this wonderful, worshipful night.

(c) ~klm~ 7/20/2005

I am thrilled by:
60. The beauty of the full moon as it rises clear and bright
61. The way all nature shows the sweetness of God

(pic: The moon as taken from our back yard tonight by my daughter who is more clever with my camera than I am)

January

Here's a poem for you... ( I wrote it a week or two ago)

January Cold

January's moody - first the blizzards and the snow,
Then the bitterest, coldest days you ever saw.
Then when you are tired and you think you're nearly frozen,
Comes to tempt you, "January Thaw".

It's cruel.

You're fully insulated to protect you from the cold
But your skin, then, never sees the light of day.
Vita D's in short supply
And you feel like a good cry
Or a warm and sunny place to get away.

It's true.

Winter wears on people's nerves, which start to fray
From insufficient bits of light of day.
We have sensory deprivation
'Cause of all that insulation
That we wear to keep the sting of cold at bay.

It's depressing.

I miss the sensuality of warmth,
When breezes brush your skin and it feels good.
Whereas now you hardly feel the air at all -
In fact we'd all avoid it if we could.

And we do.

But we try to bear it bravely with a smile
When all we really want to do is sleep.
Because the senses are in hibernation
When the deep midwinter is so deep.

But it'll pass.

~ (C) klm ~
1/15/09

Winter is getting to me. I am trying to have a good attitude, but it takes more effort all the time. To help keep a right perspective, I keep adding to my list of things I am thankful for. Thankfulness rocks! It helps with slumps. But still...

Sigh...

I am going to get through this winter, even though we have to sell land and maybe even move. I am going to get through it with Joy. The joy may be buried under some other stuff, but it will be there somewhere. (-:

I have a good friend who reminded me once that even if we were to lose everything we have and everyone we loved, we would still have God. And really... what else matters? We would still have God and all that He is... His incredible love for us, His character, His faithfulness, His unchangeableness.... We would still have God!

Wow, How cool is that? How COOL is that!!

So -- Though the earth be covered in a blanket of white (which is incredibly beautiful but just plain cold) and though my brain cells falter, and I can't spell or think of the right word, though my days drag with me finding it hard to do anything because I have no energy ........

.............Yet I will praise Him.


I will praise Him!



How about you? Do you have anything to add?