Slice of Life: Late Night Discovery!

It was definitely past my bedtime, but we all know how easy it is to keep scrolling. And then I struck gold with a delightful play advertised on Instagram, to be performed by the North Carolina Theater for Young People at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. I love theater for young people and have fond memories of taking my own children to summer children's theater at the University of Houston. And this production is the world premiere of this particular play. And this particular play features the Lincoln sisters who live on Deckawoo Drive and a certain "porcine wonder" who loves hot buttered toast!

If my clues led you to guess the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo, you are well versed in early chapter books. Our grandsons also love the Tales from Deckawoo Drive series by the same author. These short chapter books with their joyful laugh out loud humor have been favorites of our boys for some time. 

The play did not disappoint. We giggled, we encouraged characters with our applause, and we met the performers after the show. A perfect introduction to children's theater for our three North Carolina grands, ages 4, 6, and 9! We look forward to a long association with the North Carolina Theater for Young People at UNCG, all thanks to my late night scrolling.

Program

 

Mercy Watson and the boys 

 

The Lincoln sisters, Eugenia and Baby

Slice of Life: Wildlife Sightings

I'm fortunate that my next-door neighbor has a large backyard adjacent to our dining room table where I'm often seated eating, reading, or working on the computer. After two weeks of being inside due to ice and snow (and the flu), these wildlife visitors gladdened my heart!

1. The blush (a poetic collective noun for a group of robins, particularly used for flocks of them gathering during winter, often foraging together) of robins gathering in the neighbor's yard as the snow receded bit by bit.

2.  The mama deer advancing slowly through the same neighbor's yard, waiting for her tardy twins to catch up. When I coughed, she heard me and we had a lovely moment of connection.

3. The return of the hawk to our neighbor's backyard. He /she gracefully circled the yard several times before flying away. I'm still trying to figure out if he/she is a Red-shouldered or a Red-tailed Hawk.

This post celebrates 15 years of blogging and marks my 1,500th  blog post. A huge thank you for the groups that have encouraged my writing life through the years (Slice of Life, Spiritual Journey Thursday, Poetry Friday, Celebrate This Week), but especially for my blogging friends. I treasure the connections I share with each and every one of you!

SJT & Poetry Friday: Attitude Musings

 With thanks to Bob Hamera for hosting this month on the theme of "attitude." Check out Bob's post here and the links to posts from other members of our Spiritual Journey Thursday community.

 

When I shared our topic for this month (attitude) with my daughter, she recalled an oft quoted saying of my dad (that I shared often with her and her brother): "You can get glad in the same pants you got mad in."

He also used to tell us that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile. He was an optimist who looked on the bright side of life. He was taken from us far too soon, but I've tried to keep him alive in the stories and sayings I share with my family. It amused me that my daughter thought of the same saying I did in relation to attitude. 

It's been a tough beginning to 2026. Conditions in our world leave me wondering what to do and how to cope. I find myself surrounded by friends and family with severe trials and the deaths of loved ones. My sister is having a slow recovery from her surgery. We've had two weeks without school (well, nine days, we'll see if they have school tomorrow). And to top it off, my husband got the flu and a week after him so did I. The good thing is that we didn't miss much since everything was pretty much cancelled after our ice one week, followed by 8+ inches of snow the next week.

I turn to a small book that I won during the 2014 SOL Writing Challenge. Handmade by fellow blogger Stacie Evans (Girl Griot), I fill it with thoughts and quotes, many of which come from our community of writers. 

I copied these words from Anita (Learning to Be Writers and Readers In the 21st Century) which she shared in her 10/11/2014 post:

"I am grateful for the energy to do what I can

The faith to let go when I can do nothing

The wisdom to know whether to intervene

To wait or to pray." 

And these words from JoAnn Early Macken, posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 to Six Teaching Authors Who Also Teach Writing:

 

 

I like this quote from Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair by Anne Lamott: "A great truth, attributed to Emily Dickinson, is that 'hope inspires the good to reveal itself.' This is almost all I ever need to remember. Gravity and sadness yank us down, and hope gives us a nudge to help one another get back up or to sit with the fallen on the ground, in the abyss, in solidarity."  

 

Finally, I'm sharing my golden shovel poem, "Moving Forward" that I wrote during the pandemic,  Golden shovel poems are inspired by a line of poetry or text, constructed so that the ending word of each line when read top to bottom composes that line. This poem utilizes a sentence opposite Irene Latham's "Compassion" poem on page 15 of  

Dictionary for a Better World.

Moving Forward

When I find myself at loose ends, it
is time to look for my purpose, for it is 
by being intentional that I can often
shake off the doldrums and begin the 
journey toward hope. The smallest 
movements to action can be the moments
of catalyst to move us forward. Drink a glass of 
water, go for a walk, read a book, make connections
with others, think happy thoughts, create something that 
you can share. These are the actions that will carry 
us during times of isolation, that help us 
"hear a humming," the call to muster through
the challenges of the day, to find the 
way to thrive, to "get on with it" in spite of tough 
times, to make today one of the good times. 

- Ramona Behnke, March 2020

"hear a humming" - from the poem "Freedom" by Irene Latham on p. 38 of Dictionary for a Better World

"get on with it" - Charles Waters quoting the landmark Monty Python group, p. 17 of Dictionary for a Better World.  

May you feel moments of connection and hope to carry you through the tough times. May the words I've shared bring solace and inspiration and the impetus to move forward, "to make today one of the good times."

I'm letting this post do double duty for Spiritual Journey Thursday and Poetry Friday. Molly Hogan is hosting Poetry Friday at Nix the Comfort Zone.

Slice of Life: Sometimes It's the Little Things!

Who knew that a good mood was so readily available? It's been a long ten days at my house. The last time I ventured out was to attend the grandsons' Pinewood Derby on Saturday, January 24th. I've cracked open the door a few times to snap pics and even opened the garage to watch son-in-law, Will, and grandson, Jack, clear the ice-covered driveway and then return a few days later to shovel the 8+ inches of snow. No school last week, a snow day on Monday, and then remote learning today. It's been a long haul for the mamas and even for this grandma. 

My husband got the flu at the beginning of our bad weather and I thought I had escaped until the end of last week when I came down with symptoms. That kept me from venturing out with hubby to the grocery store between storms. We're glad he was able to restock our provisions before the snow arrived, but to my dismay, there were no Pepperidge Farm Gingermen available. I'm not usually a fan of store bought cookies, but these crisp molasses ginger men hit the spot. I can even stop at one, especially when I'm on the last package. That crisp crunch of molasses, ginger and cinnamon with a sprinkling of sugar on top hits the spot every time.

Here's my poem celebrating ordinary things (inspired by Kim and Georgia) as I ventured outside for the first time in ten days !

Roll trash can to curb

Inhale crisp, life-giving air 

Spy cookies in bin 

I had no idea that a stroll with our trash can to the end of the driveway could feel so refreshing. I'm planning an outdoor stroll this afternoon on our neighborhood's cleared streets, (as soon as I get out of my pajamas). And then on my return to the house, I spy in our garage, not one, but TWO packages of Pepperidge Farm Gingerman cookies in a plastic bin. Ten days in and I'm an easy girl to please!