We had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving this year with some very special family members.
And I got to have fun playing with my camera afterwards doing a little family photo shoot.
Little Mason was being a bit of a “stinker,” but oh what fun will this photo be to look back on a few years from now – eh?! (Heck – it’s even pretty funny now!)
It was a gorgeous day at the Lake House, so we took full opportunity to goof around outside and run…
and walk…
and take in views of the glistening lake.
Ella is growing into quite the young lady, and we have such a special relationship.
But nothing can beat riding the tire swing with your brother when you are 8 and 5 years old – right?!
Dancing in the Autumn sunlight
amidst coffee-colored trunks and wispy branches
with marshmallow fluff and smoky gray clouds floating
in an azure blue sky
above a carpet of fading green grass…
A few bright leaves hang on to life
in bold and brilliant bursts
of crimson and honey and marmalade.
Autumn’s Final Act.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Photo taken 11/21/15 from my front porch (my blog cover photo) of the weeping cherry tree that has the only leaves left in the front yard.
After posting my November Clouds photo and post yesterday, a very dear friend sent me this YouTube video early in the morning saying it was a “cloud song to go with my pic.”
So I listened to the words yesterday – – – over and over – – – and I found such deep meaning, such contentment, such freedom and liberation …
Next month, I will turn 53. Still hard to believe, but I also realize I am on the “other side” of life.
I am obviously past “middle age” as I surely don’t expect to see 106!
And it has taken me a while to believe and “accept” this “stage” of life – this “over 50” stage… But somehow, somewhere, at some point, it all became clear. It all became fine. It all became great!
It all became real and wonderful and the best time of life.
I’ve had my teens and twenties and thirties and every wonderful and not-so-wonderful thing that comes with each of those stages. When 50 came, I mourned it a bit.
I can’t pinpoint exactly when or why or how it happened, but I became content – even happy – maybe happier than ever – with this phase of life.
I’ve seen life and love and even clouds – from both sides now.
And life is clearer.
Life has more meaning.
Life is sweeter.
Clouds are “bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air.”
They have also “blocked the sun and rained and snowed on everyone.”
But – “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow it’s cloud illusions I recall. I really don’t know clouds at all.”
And I LOVE that!
I’ve also seen love and life from “both sides now.”
From “give and take”
From “win and lose”
And maybe I don’t have all of the answers….
But I realize that even though “something’s lost…”
there is still….
“something gained in living every day.”
And I am cherishing every single one…
from this side now.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
“I have always thought of myself as a painter derailed by circumstance” – Joni Mitchell (June, 2000)
“A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed.
It feels an impulsion…
this is the place to go now.
But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds,
and you will know, too,
when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond the horizons.”
– Richard Bach – Illusions
(This photo was taken late yesterday afternoon from my work office, which sits on one of the highest spots in Mars, PA. It was close to 70 degrees F again yesterday, which is so crazy unseasonably warm for November. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the blue sky and the puffy clouds and felt so inspired and overwhelmed and empowered by the beauty!)
Do you ever get a song stuck in your head?
A random song you haven’t thought about in a long time?
For days, I have had this one in my head – a classic I never tire of – and that withstands the test of time and ages: The Answer is Blowin’ in the Wind (written by Bob Dylan 1962 – sung by Peter, Paul and Mary).
“How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?
How many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?”
My thoughts today:
Let’s not turn our heads.
Let’s look up and really SEE the sky.
Let’s truly listen to and respond to people’s cries.
Let’s listen.
Let us realize that we can make a difference…
One person at a time
by turning towards instead of away,
by looking at head on.
Let us be present.
Let us not turn our heads and pretend we just don’t see.
The answer lies within each of us.
We can make a difference – one person – one act – at a time.
My favorite shade of blue
is a flower picked
on a brisk Autumn day
by a sweet little girl
who found this gem
amidst the orange and brown and red and yellow.
She picked it
and handed it to me
with a heart of gold
that dreams of rainbows
and finds the beauty
in moments shared.
This is family.
This is love.
This is my favorite shade of blue.
I love you Ella!
You are my favorite shade of love.
the creative life in between 