Missing My Family

I am especially missing my little family this beautiful sunny (first one in a long time) day!
Sometimes I just need to be close; feel a hug; see their smile; hear their voices; look at them. Some days I miss them more than others.
She has a grand sense of humour and an attitude when things don't turn out that says "well, we'll just have to do something about this". Thinking of my beautiful granddaughter with the long red hair, I can hear the bright happy smile in her voice, I can listen to the sparkle of those eyes in her laughter, I can feel the sound of her voice in the giant hugs we share; all imaginary because we are so far apart; all real because of the love we share that keeps us close always. Today I feel like I need to be with you to share even just a few precious minutes together. Across the miles, today as every other day, I am wrapping you with love and spending those few precious minutes with you. I hope your day is blessed with special circumstance. I miss you and I love you!
He has a quiet understanding of many things I would not have thought to be, and after contemplation he discovers answers that sometimes have escaped me. As I think of my special 'little and younger' grandson I miss his attempt to avoid my granny hugs and kisses; notice I said 'attempt' because I always manage to get in at least a couple even though he does his best to avoid them, all the while loving the attention they bring his way (as he grins behind his sleeve). When I am quick enough I can catch your almost patient way as you try to teach me something you have learned but seems to have dodged my grasp; yes, if I am quick enough. Over the mountains I am sending a cloud of love to sprinkle down on you as you are ready to accept it so I can spend little bits of time with you when you are ready. I wish your day be filled with special moments just for you. I miss you and I love you!
His presence in the room cannot be ignored, not just because of his size but because of the 'hello, I'm happy to be here' tone radiating from him. Thoughts of my oldest grandson instill the wish to have him close, bring back the voice that said "I need a granny hug". I always gave the granny hug but received back from him the biggest bear hug ever. It made me feel enclosed and protected. Hearing the openness in the songs he sang as he played his guitar leaked a piece of him into our lives and brought rays of sunshine through our window. As my thoughts wander, I want to be near you, to hear your voice, to see your smile, to feel your hug; just images because we are far apart; real because of the bond we share. Across the distance I am sending sunshine and protecting you with a blanket of love so that I can keep you near. I want for you, a day filled with special substance. I miss you and I love you!
She passes through the day in a flurry; not worrying too much about her needs; trying to be everything to everyone; fitting 26 hours into the usual day; taking charge of everything on her path and some things on other paths. Pausing often to think of my beautiful daughter I miss the times we used to share. I miss the cheery attitude and determination to find a way to make things work; her motto 'where there's a will there's a way'. I admire the way she seems able to pick herself up, get dusted off after an avalanche and move along. If wishes came true just by having them I'd sit with you awhile right now; laugh at something silly; bake a pie; have a chat. On the wind across the miles that separate us I'm sending you special moonbeams and raindrops to shower you with love so we can be close. May your day be filled with beauty. I miss you and I love you!
She has left life as we know it; but with me every minute in my heart. If there was a way I would give anything to hear your laughter just one more time; hear you say "Hi mom, how was your day?"; give the hugs you most needed and never got enough of. It can't be, but I spend time with you in a special way every single day. I send you thoughts and listen closely to yours; even though not so here, I know there are no sad 'tears in heaven'. I miss you and I love you!

Intensely Mushroom (Conclusion)

“Shelby what ever are these mushrooms doing inside my clean underwear I would like to know……..?” (It all started with a mushroom!...............)

Shuddering, Shelby was almost afraid to venture off the bed, wondering if what she was hearing was real or still part of her dream………..(or was it a nightmare?) Was she awake or did it just seem that way? Was Brodie really talking or was he still out in the country with a flat tire or was he ever out in the country? Should she flop her feet over the side of the bed, shake herself off and get on with the day, or should she roll over, pull the covers up under her chin, get back to her dream to find out the ending to this torment? She believed there was an answer awaiting her. It would reveal itself in time if she could just hold it together long enough.
She sighed as the gnome smiled at her, this seeming to be the most rational juncture in the entire string of events. Conscious decision to stay or get up was never compelled.
Sitting on the bench outside, Shelby looked across the lush green grass into the flower beds beyond, the property that garden gnome declared for his very own little village. Looking quite innocent and stone-like, she had no way of knowing the predicament this little fellow had placed her in. Still contemplating the proceedings of the day she worried whether she would still have the motivation to prepare the evening meal for the guests she and Brodie had invited; she must; it just wouldn’t be like her to disappoint everyone; but where was Brodie?
Back inside, preliminary preparations for dinner complete, loud chatter was clearly audible from the kitchen/dining room area. Wary, she wondered if she dared investigate. As she entered through the doorway into the kitchen her mouth fell open at the scene awaiting her. Chatter having changed to authoritative booming instruction, the gnome, wearing hat and short green pants with suspenders covering a red plaid shirt, clomping around in hiking boots and no socks, shouted out orders to her in a tone demanding her submission. This was bizarre……….a few minutes ago this gnome was out in the flower beds, very much stone-like. Now he was alive in her kitchen. She fell into a chair with the bewilderment of it all.
From the chair Shelby could see Kevin swimming about in his little bowl and there appeared to be words being formed by the bubbles coming from his mouth. Good grief………….she could make out “feed him” and then “feed him peanut butter and jelly”. This was bizarre! Was her fish talking to her? She watched closely and could again make out “feed him peanut butter and jelly”.
After the events of this day ‘what did she have to lose’ she thought as she rose and began preparing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the gnome (assuming Kevin had been referring to her feeding peanut butter and jelly to the gnome). Shelby couldn’t quite believe she was making a sandwich for a garden gnome. What would be written in her epitaph? Sandwich finished she handed it to the cranky little man in her kitchen who grabbed it away from her like a bear after a fish. It was gone in a few chomps. Momentarily though there was a big cloud of purple smoke filling the kitchen. When it cleared the gnome had disappeared. No one was going to believe her story about this day. This was getting more extraordinary by the minute……………. Could it have been the gnome who had been interfering with her mushrooms but where had he gone..........and Shelby wondered for the hundredth time this day, where was Brodie?
As the last of the purple smoke dissipated and seeming to be void of her usual common sense and intelligence, Shelby could hear the happy music of what sounded like the ice cream truck that frequented her neighborhood. Being drawn by some unknown urgency, without further consideration of the recent events in her kitchen she hurried out to meet the sounds coming down her street. It was like the ice cream truck all right; playing the words loud and clear ‘Come With Me’ in a tune she didn’t recognize; square tires seemed to maneuver the vehicle quite nicely down the street; a steering wheel was outside and at the rear of the vehicle; blueberries in various depiction covered the entire truck; sitting in the driver’s seat up front without a steering wheel was…….yes it was, another garden gnome dressed from head to toe in various shades of purple, extending in invitation, his pudgy little hand towards her. Seemingly unable to resist, Shelby, reaching for the hand offered, took it and climbed inside the blueberry decorated truck. Once aboard, the truck seemed to sprout wings and quickly ascended towards the clouds. Having still not recovered her common sense and intelligence which had dissipated with the purple smoke back at the house, Shelby sat back, watching the houses, the trees, the town, disappear as she sailed over top in the blueberry-covered-ice-cream-truck-turned-flying-machine. She was in awe! How was she ever going to tell Brodie about the strange events of this day…….and again she wondered, where oh where was Brodie?
Soon the blueberry-covered-ice-cream-truck-turned-flying-machine slowed and began descending towards the ground. They were nearing a village of some kind. There was a sign. Welcome to Blueberryville it read. Everything was purple in every shade you could imagine. The houses, the streets, the signs, the clothing worn by………yes………..it appeared all the inhabitants of this place were garden gnomes, but alive! They cheered as the vehicle landed on the street. Soon there was a crowd to greet her, offering their hand to help her out of the truck, bowing with hats off as she walked among them. This all seemed very illusive yet she could reach out and touch them; she could speak with them. They urged her to follow them to their town hall in fact they insisted she come. Inside the town hall she found the Mayor who seemed to be awaiting her arrival. He wasted no time in welcoming her to Blueberryville in fact he presented her with a key to the town, explaining that she was deserving of this honor having aided the gnome in her kitchen to be released from his stone-like existence in her garden by giving him the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Shelby was speechless and before she found her voice who should come walking through the door but Brodie. She ran to him throwing her arms around his neck. She had so many things to say and so many questions to ask him but could only find the words to say “I’m so happy to see you”.
All the gnomes of the town were equally happy that Shelby had finally found her prince charming. They urged them to marry in their little town and if they settled there they would become King and Queen of the entire kingdom surrounding Blueberryville.
Well, there in the land of the gnomes, Shelby did marry her prince charming, Brodie, in a grand 'purple wedding' attended by the entire town, and they seriously considered staying but in the end decided they couldn’t leave behind their friends and family back home. The gnomes were very sad they weren’t going to become their King and Queen but promised they would be welcomed in Blueberryville anytime they wanted to visit and of course the offer of becoming their King and Queen would stand forever.
The gnome who brought Shelby there in the blueberry-covered-ice-cream-truck-turned-flying-machine, took her and Brodie back home. There were cheers as they left and wishes for them to come back some day.
She was sure she could hear cheers. Opening her eyes Shelby rolled over and checked the time, wondering where the sound of cheers was coming from. It was time to get out of bed to meet this day, although she wasn’t quite sure if the day was really just beginning………
She quickly jumped out of bed, ran to Brodies dresser, opened the top drawer to check his underwear.

Remembering Two Special MOMS

Happy Mother's Day

Again this year, I want to share this poem I wrote for Mother's Day. Happy Mothers Day to all the MOMS !!!!

What is a Mom?

A mom never tells you about the pain she felt while she carried you
the number of times she was sick
or unable to eat certain foods
No……instead she tells of the love that flooded her whole being
when the nurse placed you in her arms
her eyes first set upon your tiny little face
A mom never tells you of the tears with every disappointment
along your journey to accomplishment
even just taking that very first little step
No……instead she tells of the excitement and absolute joy
at hearing the sound of your first word
listening to your first contagious giggle
A mom never tells you how very very tired she was sometimes
when there was no one else to drive you
to brownies or your evening music lesson
No……instead she tells you how her heart swelled with pride
at the beautiful sounds of the school choir
and she listened to you sing your first solo
A mom never stops loving you or being there for you ever
when you push her away in frustration
even the times you say you hate her
No……instead she circles you with love from a distance away
the distance you allow her to have
distance she never lets grow any larger
A mom never gives up fighting to make this life better for you
even though she is exhausted from trying
when it seems her efforts are all in vain
No……instead she keeps pushing you forward as much as she dare
listening to you in later years tell her
how she should have pushed harder
A mom never turns her back when you decide to marry
someone unworthy of your love
one she feels certain will hurt you
No……instead she watches as you head into such a big step
stands by to catch you when you fall
holds you as the bruises are healing
A mom never stops trying; learning new steps in the dance
even if she can’t hear the music play
even when the music stops playing
No……instead she tries her very hardest to figure out the steps
when the music changes in the middle
of the dance you are doing at the time
A mom never stops looking for answers to the pieces of life
that seem the hardest to fit together
even when it seems no answer is
No……instead she keeps right on looking; trying all the angles
worrying; digging deep down inside
searching for the one solution to it all

She isn’t perfect; we’ll never define her; but she’s your mom
Forgive her for the mistakes she made along the way
Hold her, cherish her as much as she does you
Sing with her, love her and tell her you do

Intensely Mushroom (Part II……)

Mouth agape, Shelby dropped the phone...................

This couldn’t be happening she thought when she had recovered slightly and picked up the phone that was crackling and making all kinds of noises from (she assumed) being dropped. “Hello…..Hello…..”she said into the mouthpiece, trying to resume her conversation with Brodie. No reply reached her ear as she tried again and again. The phone just continued to make strange noises. Had she really just received a phone call from Brodie? Did he really tell her he was stranded in the countryside and had been gone the entire day? After several attempts to get Brodie to talk to her she reluctantly replaced the receiver in its cradle.
A cup of tea is what she needed to calm her. Cautiously, slowly, Shelby walked to the kitchen to start the water boiling, glancing towards the refrigerator as she passed through the doorway. Relieved, it was clear; nothing lay on the floor, not a crumb, not a scrap, not a mushroom.
Tea in hand Shelby returned to the living room, sat back in the big recliner, sipped and thought. The events of this day kept playing over and over in her mind. She couldn’t shake the images nor did they make any sense. Picking up her Koontz novel she hoped to engage herself in the latest adventures of ‘Brother Odd’.
Cup now devoid of any liquid, Koontz unable to maintain her attention, she picked up the telephone to call Brodie’s cell. She dialed but got only the annoying response that the person she was trying to reach was unavailable. There seemed no point in leaving a message if his phone was dead so again she hung up her phone. There seemed nothing to do but wait.
Reviewing the dinner menu in her mind Shelby remembered she needed to pick up some creamer for coffee so, grabbing her keys from the drawer, finding an all-clear as she glanced quickly towards the floor in front of the refrigerator, she headed out the door to her car. This would take only about half an hour. Then she could come home, have a shower, hopefully by then Brodie would be back and everything would be back on track, mushroom excepted (they could solve that mystery together after their guests left).
Once in the store she couldn’t resist the aroma of fresh bread so she decided to pick up some dinner buns from the deli. Taking a quick look-around she grabbed the creamer, a bag of chips and was out the door before she decided she needed to buy anything else. Back at the car she unlocked the door, placed the bag in the back seat, climbed in, started the engine and stared in shock. There they were in plain view. She was beside herself. Three mushrooms sitting up on the dash. Rolling down the window she grabbed those mushrooms and flung them outside as hard as she could pitch them. Now in tears she had to try to calm herself so she could drive home. She went back inside the store to grab a coffee from Starbucks. After a few gulps of coffee she was ready, put the car in gear and motored home to hop in a hot shower, which she hoped, would soothe her being. This day was becoming altogether too strange and dreadful. She shivered.
Pulling into the drive Shelby noticed to her relief that Brodie’s truck was home. Most anxious to talk she jumped out and ran to the house. Thinking to just burst inside she was almost knocked down when the door, locked, resisted her like a brick wall. God he must have locked it after he got home. Fighting with her keys she finally found the right one and unlocked the door. Running inside calling his name she was once more on this day, stopped dead in her tracks as she ran into the kitchen. Four of them now lay on the floor in front of the refrigerator. She screamed, ran over to those mushrooms and started jumping on them and crushing them into the floor as hard as she could stomp. She stomped, she screamed, she cried but Brodie didn’t come.
Spent Shelby finally fell to the floor. She must get to her bed and lie down or she believed she would explode with the fear, frustration and bewilderment of this day. Tears still streaming down her face she made her way to the bedroom. Not bothering to even take off her shoes she fell across the bed. It was there she opened her eyes to the sound of her alarm and felt Brodie brush her cheek softly. “Hey wake up; you were crying out, where you having a bad dream? It’s time to get up; we have a big day today and company coming for dinner.”
Shelby rubbed the sleep from her eyes as it took her a moment to wake with the realization this had all been a bad dream. She was about ready to roll out but was stopped cold when she heard a growling roar from Brodie as he made his discovery and shouted to her “Shelby what ever are these mushrooms doing inside my clean underwear I would like to know……..?”
……….It all started with a mushroom!
This may have to be continued.............
(Writing Prompt - Write Well University April 23, 2011)

Brunch and Tulips

Stay tuned for Part II of Intensely Mushroom……..
In the meantime I will tell you that it was a grand May 1st with Sunday brunch at Newlands (for Easter/Mother’s Day) where the food choices were many and the desserts very yummmmy then an afternoon in Skagit Valley to walk among the tulips.
Skagit Valley (in Washington) is the home of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival each year.
It was a beautiful sunny day to ‘tiptoe thru the tulips’ so that’s just what we did and it was a wonderful day! Couldn't have asked for anything better!