Family Portrait

Family Portrait

I wonder why it is that:

Roger has to sneeze;

Grandpa starts to wheeze;

Mary closes her eyes;

The baby screams and cries;

Jillian makes a face

at Francine (who stole her space!);

Mom's upset 

because her hair is mussed;

while Aunt Sally 

has primped and fussed;

and Randy and Ryan squabble

over who sits in the chair with a wobble...

Just as the photographer says,

"Now everyone look at me, please."

"Smile pretty and say, 'Cheese!'"
"One, two, three..."

SNAP!

And then there we are, in all our glory,

one small piece of our family's story.

Preserved so future generations can see

just how many nuts are in the family tree.

Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet?

Summer's here!

Time to take a trip.

Pile all the family in the car.
"Are we there yet?"
"Don't start asking that already!
We haven't even gone very far!"

"Mom, he's looking at me!"
"He looked at me first!"
"Would you two please try to get along?"
"We're bored! What can we do?"
"Play the alphabet game or twenty questions,
or maybe you can sing a song."

I'm not sure who first thought 
that family vacations were a good idea.
"Hey, let's drive for hours together in a cramped space."
It doesn't take long 
until we get on each other's nerves,
and  in each other's face.

I guess it never occurred to us
that contempt 
is bred by familiarity.
After this vacation,
maybe next summer, 
we'll plan to get away together...separately!

Family Tree

Family Tree

Take a look at your Christmas tree.
Is yours, like ours, a family history?
Bits of our lives adorn each limb,
scattered among the lights and trim.

Here's an ornament celebrating 
our first Christmas together.
It was such a cold day, with snowy, wintry weather,
but we were warm and cozy inside,
secure in the knowledge that our love would abide.

It wasn't long until our family grew.
We added baby's first Christmas ball in little boy blue.
In a few short years, we added another.
Another blue ornament for a little brother.

Next came handmade treasures
that were made at church and at school.
Bits of ribbon, paper, and glitter
became happy art marking each new yule.

Our hobbies and sports are there on the tree too,
along with the things we love and the things we do.
There are baubles to honor anniversaries and vacations 
that we fondly remember,
and all of these memories come back to us
when the tree goes up each December.

Fragile bits of blown glass from the old five and dime
remind us of another place and another time.
These were left to us by the previous generation. 
They give us reason for reminiscing and contemplation.

Symbols of our faith, are, of course, represented too.
Angels, shepherds, and stars remind us to give proper due
to the real reason for the season, 
the reason we gather around that family tree:
to celebrate the light and love given to us 
that began with the birth of the blessed Baby.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

My poetry book, Rainbow Chaser, is now available in ebook format for those who prefer reading on a Kindle, Nook, or other electronic device. It can be ordered from the sources below. Click on a bookstore name to be taken to that site. Thank you for ordering, and if any of you have the time and would like to leave a review of my book at the site where you purchased it, I would be extremely grateful. 

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

BOOKLOCKER

ITUNES

KOBO

To Write a Book

To Write a Book

It takes courage to write a book,
to accept the challenge, if you dare.
You open your soul, share your heart,
and reveal your thoughts--exposed and bare.
You hope others will understand
what you are trying to say.
That they will nod their heads, cry, or smile
and see life in a new way.
When that book is finally published,
you dance around in a fit of glee,
because your words are there in print 
for all the world to see.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

I have exciting news to share! As you might guess from the poem and photo above, I have written a book! The title of the book is Rainbow Chaser, and it is a collection of my poems. The poems in this book were inspired by: nature and its changing seasons; the gratitude I feel for home and family life; and other observations I have had about the world around us. 

For those who are interested, Rainbow Chaser is now available to order online from the publisher, Booklocker.com, at this link. If you prefer, it is also available to order at Amazon and at Barnes and Noble, as well as at bookstores and other online sites. 

I am thrilled to have this book published and am grateful to Angela Hoy from Booklocker and Todd Engel, who designed the cover, for making this dream of mine come true. If you decide to buy it for yourself or as a gift for a friend, I hope you come back and tell me what you think of it. I appreciate you, my blog readers, for all of the encouragement and support you have given me over the years. Thank you!

Sunday at Luigi's

I went to Luigi's, an Italian restaurant here, with my husband and in-laws last night.  They have great food, and we had a nice time visiting with family and making memories while there.  Montoni's, the pizza parlor featured in the comic strip, "Funky Winkerbean," is said to be based on Luigi's restaurant.  I wrote this poem trying to capture the evening.


Sunday at Luigi's

Sunday night finds me
in the spot made famous by Luigi.
Lush, green vineyards on rolling hillsides,
are painted on the walls all around me.

For one small instant in my mind,
I am in Sicily 
sitting with family 
at a picnic table next to an olive tree.
We are laughing and talking,
sharing a basket of garlic bread and dining on ravioli.

Then, a gust of cold air that is so wintry
invades the restaurant,
bursting through an open door to remind me
that my here and now is not a summer's day in Italy,
but cold Ohio in the middle of January, so blustery.

Luckily, the warmth of good food,
fellowship, and camaraderie
takes my mind from the cold temporarily
and fills my heart with gratitude summarily.

For the seasons will taunt us, (changing constantly)
and we ourselves may flit about here and there, 
(with so many sights to see)
but the love of family will be our most steadfast company,
and THAT will be what we treasure the most in our memory.