writing

I Choose to Remember

/ Jodi / 88 Comments

foggy-snowy-view-cranberry-township-pa-december-2016

I choose to remember
your tender heart,
your innocent smile,
the carefree days of childhood.

I choose to remember
the boy you were
before life stole your goodness…
before difficult circumstances hardened your heart.

I choose to remember
there was a good soul within
the shell the disease stole
and lied to and hid.

I choose to remember
you tried to care,
even though you struggled
to show it.

I’ll try to forget
the things that hurt both our hearts
that you couldn’t recover from
and found other ways.

I’ll try to forget
the things we were told
that broke our spirits
and shattered our souls.

I’ll try to honor
the boy you once were,
the man you tried to be,
the goodness down deep.

I hope your pain is gone,
your soul is free,
your demons slayed,
and that peace is attained.

 

(written the night I learned my brother died this week)

Let’s Teach our Children

/ Jodi / 62 Comments

clara-10-days-old-2
Let’s teach our children…

to be kind to those who are not kind.
They need love the most.

to offer help to those who struggle.
It is in giving that we receive the most.

to be a friend to the lonely.
They are often the best friends.

to sit with those sitting alone.
They have much to share.

to look for the good in others.
That is when we learn the most about ourselves.

These are the ways we can teach our children
to change the world.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Golden Sparkle

/ Jodi / 23 Comments

frosty-oak-leaf

The golden morning sunlight
on the frosty fallen oak leaf
sparkles more beautifully
than any diamond I’ve ever seen.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Open your Eyes and look with your Heart

/ Jodi / 39 Comments

autumn-path-in-the-woods

When I look at this photo
I snapped along my walk the other day,
I realize how grateful I am
to have such a place of beauty
so close by
to be able to walk by
every day I can.

There is so much beauty…
so much to be grateful for…
if only we open our eyes
and look with our hearts.

Do you see the possibilities?
Do you wonder about the mystery
that is just a few steps further
along the path
and around the bend?

Open your eyes
and look  with your heart.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Painting Pink Senses

/ Jodi / 27 Comments
Pink Loose Abstract Watercolor Flower - 9x12

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

 

 

Two sweet boys… two years apart

/ Jodi / 39 Comments

scan20160925_21071045

Once upon a time…   (isn’t that how all fairy tales begin?)
there was a young woman

whose dreams came true
when she was blessed with the gift

of two sweet boys
two years apart.

The young mom lived next
to another young mom

who had a boy and two girls
a few years older.

The one little girl
came to visit quite often.

She loved the other mom’s babies,
and the mom loved the little girl.

Her name was Stefanie,
but the boys could not say that,

so she became “Bunny”
forever and always.

Time and distance
have a way of dividing

people and lives
even those that are special.

But time and distance
can also be overcome

like it was this past weekend
for that mom and sweet “Bunny”

when the news of another
baby brought them together.

Some special relationships
are simply meant to be

like the mom who will now
soon be a grandmother

and the little girl who now
is the best momma to her own

two sweet boys
two years apart.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

This post is dedicated and written in love to a very special young lady and mom, Stefanie (“Bunny”).  Thank you for reaching out.  Thank you for sharing your time and your heart and your little loves.  You are my hero, sweet Momma.   Keep doing it right! ❤

 

 

 

 

Graceful Guardians of the Garden

/ Jodi / 22 Comments

summer ferns

Your feathery fronds

flutter so fluidly,

delicately dancing,

preciously protecting.

You are the graceful

guardians of the garden.

 

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Foreseeable Fall Frolicking

/ Jodi / 55 Comments

orange-chrysanthanum

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

It’s That Time of Year

/ Jodi / 55 Comments
abstract fern watercolor 5x7

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

 

Sprinkled with a Dash of Melancholoy

/ Jodi / 59 Comments

Morning Ride Home Fog 1

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

 

Daily Prompt:  Learning