Today is a milestone in my beautiful daughter’s life. She has officially stepped onto the first rung of the teenage ladder. It is bittersweet for me, as it is just one more step closer to her adulthood. But for now, while I have her close, I will continue to guide her, to love her and to appreciate every moment, good or bad.
Happy birthday, to my sweet girl.
I am looking out the window at a blue, blue sky at this moment and seeing some tall white clouds looming to the south. It has been snowing on and off all day long, lake effect snow bands causing havoc with the strong, cold winds. I am loving it, though the chill is starting to seep into my bones! That is what winter in Michigan is supposed to be all about after all! I braved the bitter wind today to get these stripes, a sign that is nestled at foot of a bridge not too far from home.
Snow anyone? Bring it on!!!!
I have been tired today. Bone tired. After a week of fitful and little sleep, a nap on the couch while the boys watched football was in order. The only problem with the nap? It just wasn’t enough! And it has left me groggy and at a creative low.
And so today I am left with that good old stand-by: Bokeh. The bokeh today is outlined with a stroke and dissolved drop shadow. And that is a good as it gets!
I pray the new week brings blessings to all.
Little penny in the water, can I wish on you?
O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon.
For my girl…
Cometh like a fleeting ghost
From some distant eerie coast;
Never footfall can you hear
As that spirit fareth near –
Never whisper, never word
From that shadow-queen is heard.
In ethereal raiment dight,
From the realm of fay and sprite
In the depth of yonder skies
Cometh Lady Button-Eyes.
Layeth she her hands upon
My dear weary little one,
And those white hands overspread
Like a veil the curly head,
Seem to fondle and caress
Every little silken tress;
Then she smooths the eyelids down
Over those two eyes of brown –
In such soothing, tender wise
Cometh Lady Button-Eyes.
Dearest, feel upon your brow
That caressing magic now;
For the crickets in the glen
Chirp and chirp and chirp again,
While upon the haunted green
Fairies dance around their queen,
And the moonbeams hover o’er
Playthings sleeping on the floor –
Hush, my sweet! from yonder skies
Cometh Lady Button-Eyes!
Death is not the final word.
Without ears, my father still listens,
still shrugs his shoulders
whenever I ask a question he doesn’t want to answer.
I stand at the closet door, my hand on the knob,
my hip leaning against the frame and ask him
what does he think about the war in Iraq
and how does he feel about his oldest daughter
getting married to a man she met on the Internet.
Without eyes, my father still looks around.
He sees what I am trying to do, sees that I
have grown less passive with his passing,
understands my need for answers only he can provide.
I imagine him drawing a breath, sensing
his lungs once again filling with air, his thoughts ballooning.
•••
First off, my apologies for not visiting anyone’s posts as I would wish to; my free internet time is consumed, at this point, with A365. Each night I try to look at every single photo posted – the average is 100 people joining each photo event – and giving words of encouragement to every one of them. It is a joy. It is a challenge. It is rewarding.
Second, today’s theme was Things in Your Closet. After a long day at work and what seemed to be an even longer time at the movie theater to see Le Mis (hated it and left at the mid-way point), my quiet house did not invite rummaging through the closets. The handle of my skirt/slacks closet presented itself, gleaming brightly and, if I might say so, almost preening as if to say, “Look at me! Look at me!” And so I did!
Appearing Closer 