To Love and Be Loved

 Here is a story from earlier this year. Something that Jordyn had said to me out of innocence that gave me pause. 

She saw something in me that I could not see. 

A part of my soul, the eyes are the windows, or so I've been told. 

Inner beauty, nothing makes a better gift. 

Why do you suppose people give flowers? 

To give our spirits a lift. 

 So as we embark on our journeys and start a new year 

I send you every blessing and a heart with no fear.

 Love and Be Loved "2014"

It was a good year, It was a sad year.
It was a year full of gripes, and a year full of strife.
I've traveled, I've seen, I've tried.
I've fought, I've failed, I've cried.
It Was a year full of growth as I learned how to share. ..
My feelings, my time, the good and the bad, 

My life with others even when I felt sad. 

But I learned from this walk that some simply can't conceive, 

That it is much more valuable to give than it is to receive.
Love & be loved "2014"

 ~jenny

You Don't Bring Me Tomatoes Anymore

Mr. Russ Gibb this is for you.

I recall a story from my youth about one of my neighbors. A divorcee who's only son had grown up and moved away. Her name was Helen. 

You see, before my Mother had died she grew a garden with an array of fruits, flowers, and vegetables. And in our harvest, I fondly reminisce visiting each neighbor and sharing the bounty for we always had too much and too many.

Years had gone by and one day as I had passed the old neighbor's house I had caught her peering at me from out of the corner of my eye with a somber sorrowful gaze that had pierced my innermost being. I could not bear to turn away. I promptly approached her and said "What seems to be the matter?” (I'm not really sure I talked so properly at such a tender age, but let's go with it.) "What seems to be the matter?" I asked. And with no hesitation she replied, "You don't bring me tomatoes anymore! Your Mother used to bring me tomatoes!" And without really knowing what to say, I woefully walked away. 

There was nothing that I could do. I did not have any tomatoes to give; because, you see, when my Mother had died the garden had died along with her. And I often had wondered was it truly the tomatoes that Helen had desired, or was it the company, the interaction, the love?

So I think of Helen and many others like her today and the words that she had said to me...

"You don’t bring me tomatoes anymore."

You Don't Bring Me Flowers by Liberace with Geri's Game

 

THE BOOGEY-MAN

"You Can not fight fear just by pretending everything that scares you isn't there." ~ Michael Marshall

Lately Jordyn's been a little leery about what awaits her in every looming shadow or darkened room. The tiniest of objects casting out from off of a minuscule flickering light only to overshadow her reasoning of what it is, what it will do, and what will become of her if she goes it alone. But what she doesn't know is that her fear-her monster in the dark, is only a distorted truth. 

Usually our greatest fears are mere obscurities that we let get in the way of our destinations and goals. For fear is a preconceived notion that we can all overcome, a barrier that can be torn away...all we have to do is 

Turn On the Light!

 

 "Here Comes The Boogeyman" ~Henry Hall

 

"The Struggle"

“Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time!
 It's abominable! When! When! One day, is that not enough 
for you, one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, 
one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we 
shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough 
for you? They give birth astride of a grave, the light
 gleams an instant, then it's night once more.”
 
― Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

 

 Two things are guaranteed to us in life, a day that we are born and a day when we shall pass and all of the other stuff in between...well let's just say that everything else is the meat in the sandwich, the lesson, the nutrients that we need in order to grow.

I was reminded of this one day by a gentleman seated on a bench outside of the local shopping mall. I greeted him with a kindly salutation as I would greet any other while strolling by, but the rarity of his retort threw me off of my regular hello, goodbye, and move on with your day chatter. Hearing the man's lamented plea, as though he had spent the day in wait for someone or something to recognize his dire situation and all that I could do, while watching my family walk towards the car, is walk away. I didn't take the time!

Later I had realized that Life is not just about what we learn in school; Math, History, Grammar, ect... Life is about what we learn while living it. While waiting for better things to happen. The in between times of trial and error thrown in with a bit of success. The things that make us smile and the things that make us cry. Life is sometimes sitting on the bench while we try to figure it out.

Many have wondered what this thing is that we call life, and I am no exception. I too lie in wait until that day comes, the day that I am cured of my clamorous condition, but until then I guess that I will just...resume the struggle.

JEOPARDY~ Dan Mangan

New Cover Art

This is the new book cover that I have been working on for my book. My art has evolved since I began this  journey, so I was determined to change the cover of "Jenny's Day" as well. I hope that all of you can define its special meaning, as I put my heart and soul into the design that tells a special story. Thank you

The Valley of Unrest ~Edgar Alan Poe

Once it smiled a silent dell

Where the people did not dwell;

They had gone unto the wars,

Trusting to the mild-eyed stars,

Nightly, from their azure towers,

To keep watch above the flowers,

In the midst of which all day

The red sun-light lazily lay.

Now each visitor shall confess

The sad valley’s restlessness.

Nothing there is motionless—

Nothing save the airs that brood

Over the magic solitude.

Ah, by no wind are stirred those trees

That palpitate like the chill seas

Around the misty Hebrides!

Ah, by no wind those clouds are driven

That rustle through the unquiet Heaven

Uneasily, from morn till even,

Over the violets there that lie

In myriad types of the human eye—

Over the lilies there that wave

And weep above a nameless grave!

They wave:—from out their fragrant tops

External dews come down in drops.

They weep:—from off their delicate stems

Perennial tears descend in gems.

"Transformations"

Sometimes your only form of transportation is a leap of Faith.

~ Margaret Shepard

 "Decision is only wishful thinking

until you take that first irreversible step

You can tell yourself that you have already

decided, that nothing now can stop you,

but if that step backwards is so much

safer than the step forward, what will

hold you true to your path when the going

gets tough? 

Sometimes the right thing to do is to take

that first irreversible step, the one after

which you can never go back."

~Unknown

Kansas- Carry On Wayward Son

THE HEART IS SACRED

People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Above all else, guard your heart, 

for everything you do flows from it!

  ~ Proverbs 4:23

"Let It Be" ~The Beatles

 

Happy Mother's Day

This was my Mother's Day. 

How was yours?

A Mother's Work is Never Done!

Not even on MOTHER'S DAY!

On Second Thought.......

 

Life Is But a Dream

As the mother of a rower, there are a few things that I have learned about rowing. A true oarsman has to get up early and train hard,  one rower isn't any better than his or her rowing counter-parts, and that you may as well do it merrily, because with each passing moment life is but a dream.

Isaiah, (Riverview Pirates Crew)

Row Your Boat!

SAY WHAT???

Jordyn has been discovering her world as of late, listening to every sound, wondering how things work, and questioning it all the while and I must say that all of her observations have been quite simply correct.  

Out of the mouth of babes....Psalms 8:2

 On a Tree by a River a Little Tom Tit   

- The Mikado

Spring "Brake"!

As a mother of four kids I definitely have had my shares of

 ups and downs. Some days are perfect while others

are the tests of spirit that come along with life. The most 

important thing to remember is to appreciate the people 

around you. And even though you may be 

experiencing some difficult times...learn from it, 

hold on to your seat, and soon enough 

you will rise above it!

Just enjoy the ride!

Sticks and Stones

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." Isn't that the way the old saying goes? Kids are under so much pressure today and I feel that it is our responsibility as parents to teach them that there are more positive ways to react to a negative situation. Take a look.

"When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them,

 "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone..."

 -John 8:7

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; 

Only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate; 

Only love can do that.

~Martin Luther King Jr.

BOB MARLEY-COULD YOU BE LOVED

ONE WAY?

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what this world needs are people who have come alive.” –Howard Thurman

Read more at: http://fractalenlightenment.com/32267/life/seven-ways-to-practice-crazy-wisdom | FractalEnlightenment.com

"Don't ask what the world needs. Asks what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what this world needs are people who have come alive."
-Howard Thurman

 

What Friends Are For

Russ Gibb & Blackout the Fifth

We are pulling for you Blackout #5! Get well soon.
Love,
Jenny and Family

It's a little surprising to me just how comforting a companion can be

 To wake up to and to share a meal

Or someone to talk to when you need a good spiel

To scratch their back or to maybe scratch yours

And have a good play with when you're done with your chores

But when it gets quiet in the wee hours of the night

 knowing they're waiting

That just always seems right

A being to share your space with until the very end

Non-judging, just loving

Now that...is a friend

-Jenny

   I Love My Dog 

 ~Cat Stevens

                                                       

Valentine, My Sweet Valentine

Whether it be crayon markings on the wall, cookie crumbs on my bed, or finding Jordyn plowing through my Valentine's Day Chocolate  

I realize...that no day would be sweeter without her in it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Ten tiny fingers, that always want to play,
That never stop exploring that wonder of today,
Ten tiny fingers, that from the very start,
Will reach out for tomorrow yet always hold [my] heart."

~Author Unknown

The Butterfly Effect

In Chaos Theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence 

on initial conditions, where a small change at one place 

in a deterministic Non-Linear system can result in large

 differences to a later state.

In more simplified terms, the little things we do today,

can have a massive effect on our tomorrow! 

We Delight In The Beauty of the Butterfly,

 But Rarely Admit the Changes It Has Gone Through 

To Achieve That Beauty.

~Maya Angelou