Slice of Life: A Walk in the Park

After driving by Tanger Center Bicentennial Park many times, I finally stopped yesterday. My visit to Chico's had taken longer than expected, so I missed my afternoon exercise class. However, the park beckoned and I answered. Even though it was two in the afternoon and prime time for sun exposure, most of the park was shaded. I had a wonderful stroll through this garden oasis as you'll see from the pictures I'm sharing. Although I've lived here for almost three years, it was my first visit. I look forward to future walks in these gorgeous gardens.

  

 

Cathedral of green

refreshes heavy hearts

comforts weary souls 

- Ramona Behnke 

Slice of Life: The Three Rees

We used to meet in person, but then I moved clear across the country (WA to NC), so now we meet via a three way FaceTime call. We meet for a variety of reasons: birthdays, after one of us returns from a trip, to talk about good books, but mostly just to chat, see each other's faces and stay up-to-date with each other's lives.

Who exactly are the Three Rees? Three gals of a certain vintage who used to work together. When the third one retired, we formed the "Three Retirees" so we would stay connected. We used to take walks together, attend events together, and lunch together. Now we chat on the phone together. We gathered in Seattle last summer. We had to cancel a planned gathering in North Carolina this spring. We hope to gather in Utah sometime soon. I go there several times a year to visit the grands (and my son and daughter-in-law). 

We generally share a FaceTime call every couple of weeks or so, but currently we're meeting weekly to discuss each new episode of "Call the Midwives." We all have PBS Passport, so why do we ration out the episodes to one a week? When you've waited a year for another season of a favorite show, it's fun to slow down and savor each episode. 

This tradition of discussing a show hearkens back to lunchtime at Islander Middle School. Our entire table of sixth grade teachers loved discussing each week's new episode of Downton Abbey. Sometimes we would wait until Tuesday if someone had missed it on Sunday night, but by Tuesday it was time to discuss and dissect.  

The Three Rees at the Botanical Garden from seven springs ago: 

 "Old friends are the ones you keep forever in your heart. Every moment together is a cherished memory."

Something came up and we had to reschedule our planned gathering for today to discuss the latest episode of "Call the Midwives". Fingers crossed that we can still remember it when we FaceTime on Friday!

Poetry Friday (on Sunday): I dipped my toe in VerseLove last week

As we finished our month of writing slices every day, many of my slicer friends gave encouragement for writing poems each day in April through the Verse Love prompts at Ethical ELA. Sarah Donovan, founding collaborator of Ethical ELA and Verselove, offered the first invitation for Poetry Month: "our lives are landscapes."

I responded to her invitation with this poem: 

 

Inside me is a classroom,
where sixth graders fill my dreams
with crazy, chaotic shenanigans.
The daily frenzy continues.

Inside me is an island,
I walk with friends through
spring blossoms, summer blackberries,
fall splendor, and winter’s quiet comfort.

Inside me is a lake,
a wooden bridge, honking geese,
diamond sparkles, gentle breezes,
my solo walks are never lonely.

 

We'll see what the rest of the month brings. I'm hoping to write at least weekly for VerseLove and post it on my blog for Poetry Friday. 

 Matt Forrest Esenwine is our post for Poetry Friday at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme. 

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Service

Ruth Hersey is hosting on this Maundy Thursday and asked us to write about service. Check out Ruth's post where you can find links to the reflections of other spiritual travelers. Feel free to join us with your own thoughts. We are an open and welcoming group who post on the first Thursday of the month.

 

In honor of National Poetry Month, I'm sharing a favorite poem, "Everyday Grace" by Stella Nesanovich from the Poetry Foundation website. Please stop now, click on the link, and read her poem.

I chose to write an acrostic using the poet's words, "holy ground." You'll recognize ideas from the poem in my Holy Ground acrostic as I wrote about our theme of service. My gratitude to the poet, Stella Nesanovich, for inspiration for today's poem.

 

Holy Ground 

 

He set the example by washing the feet

Of His disciples. Sometimes you 

Lift a friend through prayer, sometimes

You offer the quiet heart that listens.

  

Gentle expressions of caring concern 

Reveal the hope that stitches

Our precarious world together. Simple actions can 

Unleash goodness in a world so in 

Need of solace. Offer a smile, listen, reach out.

Decide now to extend grace everyday. 

                               - Ramona Behnke