Weeping Willow Tree, Conneaut Lake, October 2016
When the physical things of this world
blur and fade through the lens of our eyes,
A different kind of vision
grows stronger and clearer…
The ability to see the weeping
in the leaves of the willow tree,
The arms that extend and embrace
in its branches,
The foundation that centers and steadies
in its strong, solid trunk.
The weeping willow
is crystal clear
in our heart
and soul
and mind.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Pink Loose Abstract Watercolor Flower – 9×12
Painting Pink Senses
See the beauty in nature and people
Listen with hearfelt intention
Touch lives in a positive way
Smell the fragrance of life
Taste joy in simple pleasures
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Empty Nest
Today you stretch your wings
and show us how we taught you to fly.
Today you pack up all the things you have and need
to make your own life and home.
Today you say good-bye and I love you when you walk away,
but you don’t come back to stay.
Today you take my love with you
and know it will always be here.
Today you leave the nest.
and memories are sneaking out of my eyes and rolling down my cheeks.
Today and always, I am so very happy for you… so very proud…
but I can’t help feeling a little emptiness in the very core of my soul.
Today you begin creating your own nest
but please don’t forget you will always be a part of mine.
Wishing you the best… today and always
from my full momma’s heart..
and empty nest.
Cheers & Hugs NCM ❤
Love,
Mom
sun dial and hydrangeas, conneaut lake, pa, october 2016
Time…
Can fly or crawl,
is free yet priceless,
is forever or an instant,
can be treasured or wasted.
Can be measured by clocks or by moments,
can be traveled in dreams or books,
can be stopped by a kiss or a look or a touch,
can be managed, but never recovered.
We all have the same
seconds in a minute,
minutes in an hour,
hours in a day.
But none of us know
how many days
or hours or seconds
we will have.
Cherish the moments
not measured by clocks
or sundials or calendars
or schedules.
Cherish the moments well spent
with people you love,
or with yourself,
doing the things you love.
Cherish all the moments…
every single moment…
at life…
in between.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Autumn Glow September Sunset, Mars, PA 9/26/16
Thick, heavy clouds part briefly
revealing glimpses of glimmering gold
and twinkling sapphire skies
above the emerald carpeted lawn
sprinkled with the first fallen leaves
that will soon crunch beneath our feet
as we walk the familiar lane…
on a sweet September sunset.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
First Fall Leaves – The Old Dogwood Tree – Mars, PA – September, 2016
Leaves
Leave time for the people you love and the things you love to do.
Leave your mind free of doubt to welcome new ideas and the opportunity to grow.
Leave disagreements to maintain peace and harmony.
Leave people better than you found them – hug the hurt, kiss the broken, love the lonely.
Leave your past in the past and live for what today has to offer.
Leave a mark – not a scar.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Your feathery fronds
flutter so fluidly,
delicately dancing,
preciously protecting.
You are the graceful
guardians of the garden.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Chrysanthemums in shades of orange and yellow.
Snuggly flannel shirts and cozy hooded sweatshirts.
Snapping and crackling of well-dried wood in the fireplace.
Sipping warm cinnamon apple cider spiked with bourbon.
Spongey pumpkin bread slathered with honey butter.
Crisp, tart apples with slivers of sharp cheddar cheese.
Brightly colored leaves swirling in the breeze.
Gingerbread and gingersnaps and ginger beer in Moscow mules.
High school and College and National and Fantasy football.
Soft socks, comfy crocs, and fuzzy slippers.
Roasted steaming cubes of butternut and acorn squash.
Popcorn munching during binge watching movie marathons.
Fleece blankets, tight hugs, and doggie snuggles.
Foreseeable Fall Frolicking.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Abstract Fern Watercolor 5×7
It’s that time of year
when the colors and smells and heat of summer
with lush greens and fragrant flowers
and thick, heavy air
are making way for
the colors and smells and chill of autumn
with vibrant reds and scorching oranges and deep hues of yellow
and a refreshing “nip” in the air.
It’s that time of year –
a change in seasons
A time for new beginnings
and a time for sweet endings.
It’s that time of year
that wonderful, lovely, sweet time of year.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
It’s that time of year…
that bittersweet time.
You can just feel it…
There’s a nip in the air.
You can hear it…
The crickets croon.
You can smell it…
Drying leaves and withering grass.
There’s that knot in the stomach…
not sure if it’s nervous or excited.
It’s an ending…
but it is also a beginning.
Carefree days are left behind…
Structured schedules begin.
It’s brand new shoes…
and choosing just the right first day outfit.
It’s shiny new binders…
and backpacks with lots of compartments.
It’s one-subject and three-subject and five-subject
multi-colored spiral notebooks.
It’s freshly sharpened pencils…
and pens in red, and blue and black.
It’s fresh new crayons and assorted colored pencils…
and highlighters in neon shades of yellow and pink and green.
It’s the anticipation of seeing old friends
and the hope of meeting new ones.
It’s new teachers, new subjects, new classrooms…
It’s squeaky clean blackboards with fresh sticks of chalk.
It’s time to secretly pass notes
with important messages
like “Do you like me? Yes or No
Circle One”
It’s waiting with the neighbors at the bus stop
and sharing seats times three.
And then growing old enough
to be too cool for the bus.
It’s apples for teachers
and pictures with bus drivers.
It’s back to school time –
Can you feel it in the air?
And even though it’s been
quite a few years
since I sent my boys off
with ambivalent feelings of sadness and pride
and even more since it was me as that little girl
with butterflies of anticipation, fear, and excitement
I still get that feeling
this time of year.
Sweet joyful memories…
sprinkled with a dash of melancholy.
I can’t be the only one
that feels this way.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 