- 12/14- Leadership Christmas Potluck at work
- 12/16- Annual Family Christmas Party
- 12/17- Caring Tree gift party at work
- 12/17- Gift Exchange Reunion
- 12/23- Christmas with my kids
- 12/24- Christmas Eve morning breakfast
- 12/24- Late night Wrapping Party
- 12/25- Christmas with the family
- 1/5- KAC Christmas party
- 1/19- Directors Holiday party
Christmas Songs I Hate
- Blue Christmas — specifically Elvis’ version
- Do They Even Know It’s Christmas?
- Christmas Shoes
My Favorite Ornaments on my Christmas Tree (which yes, is already up)
- Sycamore leaf
- Lifeguard
- Bird
- Cubs World Series Champions
- “Hope”
- L made out of pearls
- Shepherd’s crook
- Blue/gold, purple/gold wisemen set
- White teddy bear of buttons (gift from Aunt Edie)
- Wooden shoes (gift from Michelle)
- Blue/silver snowflake set
- Adornments
- Alaska totem pole (the one that started my habit of buying ornaments for places I visit)
Absent from list: All my childhood ornaments and those from Caleb’s childhood, as they have never been found after a move several years ago.
Every Day Heroes
- People who hold the door for people behind them
- Drivers who stop and let pedestrians through crosswalks
- Parents who don’t give in to temper tantrums from their kids
- Strangers who understand why parents aren’t giving in to their kids
- Grade school crossing guards (especially in rotten weather)
- People with beautiful handwriting who create those chalk sign boards
- The folks who “leave a penny”
- Grown children who care for elderly parents
- Teachers, educators, child care workers
- Friends who treat your children like their own
- Soldiers, police officers, firemen, paramedics… all those Heroes who put the good of the many before the good of the few
Things I Actually Said to My Son When He Was a Kid
- (At age 2) “Put down that crowbar”
- “You’re the best kid ever. Except for Jesus.”
- “Don’t be on fire.”
- “Go chainsaw nine more people and see what happens.”
- “Call your dad and tell him he has to come home because I’m stuck to the carpet with a fishing hook.”
- “No, it’s not an umbrella. But it is a raincoat.”
- “Good thing you’ll be filming it when you light your friend on fire. That way they can use it as evidence at the trial.”
My Favorite Survivors So Far (Not counting Jeff Probst since he isn’t a player but is obviously the best Survivor ever)
Things I Love About Late Summer
- Cooler nights
- Fresh sweet corn
- Sleeping with windows open
- The first red leaves
- Late night thunderstorms
- The drone of cicadas in the late afternoon
- Still wearing flip flops
- Boots and sweaters at the stores
- Back to school supplies
- Clearance sales on cute tops
- Grapes
- Planning for fall & winter holidays
- Bonfires
- Going to sleep with bonfire smoke in my hair
- Fields polka-dotted with hay
- Thick green ravines dripping with heavy air
Short Poems I’ve Written
- a place of my own
sunlight settling
dappled on my deck
pale drops puddling
across worn wooden slats
solace and solitude
and peace - ABCDenial
absolutely everybody (except for those who knew)
believed the lie (even when forced to dodge the truth)
choosing to turn an eye (blind, of course)
downcast in humility (however false it is). - Shelter
Do you remember that day
bruised sky and
us with no umbrella?
Splash dashing to the treeline
and huddled laughter
while you reached your jacket over
us like a soggy canvas cover
to shield me from the unlikely event
of a tree branch falling on my head,
and even though
we knew
it was so silly,
for those few moments I honestly believed
that your love
was all I needed. - Solitude
solitude becomes me
it calms my heart
it slows my speedcar thoughts
yellow flag flapping in the wind
telling me to take it easy - Meanwhile
I have intended for some time
to get on with this thing called my life
but meanwhile living
keeps getting in the way. - Dessert
hot sun breathing on my skin
you, the sprinkles on my cone
dripping delicious trails across my fingers
i lick you up - Sentiment
Dry those wasted tears
Shore up your unstable heart
Love’s horizon glows - Happy
Laughter dances in his eyes
Smile plays upon his lips
Joy is heard in every sigh
Happy words and clever quips
He winks, he grins, his heart is light
Just the way he used to be
Loves shines forth and all is right.
Too bad it isn’t still for me. - Red
feasting on tomorrow’s steak
with a gleaming bottle of History at the table
and though it ought to be bitter
it goes down smooth with a
surprising bite
right at the very end
so pop the cork and pour the wine
wrought from my own vineyard
of experience
each grape a drop of pleasure
from a past i should regret
but don’t - Road Trip
in the center of my universe
standing ground
looking round
full tank of gasoline to get me
anywhere
everywhere
away from here and to somewhere
but where is there
and there is where
so many roads snake out from here
i don’t know
where to go
every road untraveled in my life
but for the one
i’ve just been on
how do i know which one to take
greener grass
doesn’t last
i guess the choice is up to me
spin around
moving ground
pop a licorice stick in my mouth
signal on
and i’m gone
My Top Ten Most Viewed Posts of All Time
- Famous People Whose Name Starts With X, Y, or Z (2012)
- Flowers With Difficult Names to Spell (2013)
- Acronyms I Will Be Teaching in the Lifeguard Course That Begins Tonight (2012)
- Animals That Start with the Letter I (2013)
- 19 Reasons to Celebrate My Son’s 19th Birthday Today (2012)
- Favorite Orange Flavored Things (2012)
- Best TV Shows of the 90s (2012)
- Presidents With the Letter Y in Their Names, More or Less (2012)
- Twenty One Reasons to Smile Today (2015)
- Favorite Types of Village Inn Pie, in Order of Preference (2012)
September Shaping Up (The month in movies, music, & literature)
Movies
- Come September
- See You in September
- Septembers of Shiraz
- Until September
Music
- It Might As Well Rain Until September
- A Lonely September
- Blue September
- The Late September Dogs
- Maybe September
- Pale September
- September Morn
- September Song
- September When It Comes
- The 12th of September
- Wake Me Up When September Ends