More or Less – A Mantra for 2019.
DREAM more – Worry less.
GIVE more – Take less.
Be BRAVE more – Fearful less.
Be HAPPY with who I am more – Envy others less.
MOVE more – Sit less.
Be CONFIDENT more – Insecure less.
Be Me!
More or Less.
Happy New Year!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Gratitude and Thanksgiving.
Be grateful
for the little things.
Because when you are,
you will be amazed
at how they multiply
into the big things.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Our Neighbor’s Yard – Mars, PA – November 4, 2018
Golden Beauty.
Most all the trees are bare with
their leaves now carpeting the ground.
Except this golden beauty
who decides each Autumn to make a statement.
It’s a standout amidst the others
in their stripped bare dormant state.
It’s like the late bloomer
who was awkward as a child
But is now the greatest beauty
as its come into its own.
It’s like the last crop
of buttery golden sweet corn
that bursts with the most intense flavor
as if it knows it will be the taste that lingers until the next season comes.
It’s like the brightest sunshine
lighting up the Autumn day
that knows the days are growing shorter,
so it must glow brilliantly while it can.
It’s like the golden rings
worn by the elderly couple
that represent the long-lasting commitment
through richer and poorer, sickness and health, good times and bad.
Thank you golden beauty
for reminding me once more
that hanging on or being last
is sometimes worth the wait.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Daybreak – Mars, PA – October, 2018
The Light of Dawn.
They say it is always darkest
just before dawn.
It gives me hope.
It fuels my dreams.
I will not let the darkness
limit my heart and mind
from seeking and seeing
the light of dawn
and the promise of hope
that comes just before dawn.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
October Autumn Leaves, Wexford, PA
Change.
When the fear of change
challenges your thoughts
and stifles your actions,
look to the leaves of Autumn.
Marvel in their bold beauty,
and allow them to ignite your bravery.
Dare to embrace something new.
Confront your experience differently.
Welcome the transformation.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Woman in the Mirror.
Who is she?
Sometimes she finds it hard to recognize the image
reflecting back at her.
She now has more age spots
than sun-kissed tan.
Her eyelids sag to make her look like she is squinting,
especially when she smiles big and laughs hard.
The “round” face she has always had is even fuller,
because she loves food and wine too much.
The lines around her mouth sag like the heavy parentheses
of a ventriloquist’s doll.
Her legs are truly not meant for public display,
and her boat-sized feet just don’t fit in those cute shoes anymore.
Her post-menopausal midsection
can no longer be “sucked” in.
She still tries though…
She puts on make-up
and dyes her hair.
She tries self-tanning lotions
and moisturizing hair products.
She tries to find clothes that suit her age
and full figure.
But there’s no hiding
behind the signs of 55.
She wishes she was as “fat” and “ugly”
as she thought she was when she was 15…
or 25 or 35
or even 45.
And even though that image in the mirror
is not who she feels like inside…
She actually likes herself more
than when she was 15 or 25 or 35 or 45.
She has stronger opinions,
and she is not ashamed to express her own thoughts.
She takes time for herself
and doesn’t feel bad about it.
She supports things
that are important to her.
She believes women who reveal
they have been assaulted,
because she has been
victim to that herself.
She loves her family with a fervor
she never knew possible.
And she loves herself
(something she has to work at every day).
She is a wife and mother
and grandmother.
She is a business woman
and an artist.
She is a woman living in these times,
and she is glad for that.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
What’s Stopping You?
The best built,
longest lasting,
chained and locked gate
can’t block
the sun
from shining brightly through.
What’s
stopping
you?
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Cherish the Moments.
Crispness in the air.
Leaves turning colors and falling.
Front porch sitting.
Taking time to breathe.
And relax.
And snuggle.
Neighbor dog visits.
Grandbabies giggle.
Swinging the heaviness of the day away.
Cherish the moments.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
After two very heavy-hearted days being riveted to the hearing of Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford and Brett Kavanaugh, a late Friday afternoon on the front porch swinging with one grandbaby while hubby held the other was just what was needed. The air turned crisp, Charlie rolled in the grass, the neighbor’s dog visited. And for just a moment….. the world was perfect. Cherish the moments!
Morning Glory and Thistle – Mars, PA – September, 2018
Tangled.
So often
our lives
get tangled.
Tangled up
in the
thistly thorns
That prick
and poke
and jab.
That sting
and hurt
and try to defeat.
But doesn’t
the morning glory’s bloom
outshine the thistle?
You
can
too!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Make your own kind of beauty.
Create your own special art.
Make your own kind of happy.
Even if nobody else smiles along.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
This work of reused, repurposed, recycled building materials is proudly and prominently displayed outside of Construction Junction – one of my favorite shopping spots in Pittsburgh. Construction Junction is a non-profit warehouse that supports and promotes conservation through the sale and reuse of donated used and surplus building materials. I visited this past Saturday with a friend when I snapped this photo. Then…. as so often happens, a favorite song came to mind. The song “Make Your Own Kind of Music” came into my head, and I made my own “Make Your Own Kind of Beauty/Art/Happy” lyrics.
the creative life in between 