May 12, 2021

How To Love This World

It's easy to get caught up in the news
Easy to feel those Covid-19 Blues 
Too easy to keep scrolling down
Just two muscles needed to frown

When it takes forty-three to actually smile
But who wants to go that extra mile?
So remember to turn off the phone,
Computer, and TV, really just be alone

Notice the wind rustling spring green
Smell the ocean salt in the breeze
Feel the sun on your cheek, be aware of the shade
Squirrels in the shadows, wren eggs are laid 

And explosion of lilac by the Thai lime tree
Orange crocosmia, weeds struggle to be free
The friendly neighbor, chatting over the fence
Succulents packed together, lush and dense 

Having the time to simply unwind and unfurl
The fern's fronds come out of hibernation's curl
Across the street young folks it on the porch
The next generation to hopefully carry the torch

So smile and wave, be a part of the solution
Come on and join in the kindness revolution
Starting with yourself, forgive and forget
Hold on to the sweetness, let go of regret

Remember to be present, to simply be here
Fill your body with hope, dispel the fear
If there's food in the fridge, share your table 
Help your elders when you are able

By paying Scotty to mow Anita's lawn
Pulling back the curtains everyday to greet the dawn
Petting the black cat, give her whiskers a twirl
These are some ways to simply love the world.

May 1, 2021

Grandma's Got Tattoos

  


Yay! My new book Grandma's Got Tattoos is now available! 

Ernesto has been bullied for having a large birthmark on his face. He goes to Grandma for some comfort and words of calm advice.

 

Grandma tells him a story of her own adventures about being different. She sets off on an adventure one day, with her faithful companion, June E. Purr. 




They overcome storms, blockages, and unusual encounters. Along the way she meets a helpful pant, a special animal, and personal guide who all help to build feelings of confidence, resourcefulness, and self-esteem.




April 26, 2021

Day 23 - Crossroads

Here I am, at the crossroads again,
Wondering if I should go left or go right?
Maybe go forward, see what's just  around the bend,
The road behind me is already out of sight.

I can consult a map, turn on my GPS,
Ask at the gas station for direction,
Acknowledge my mistake, take responsibility for the mess,
But sometimes getting lost leads to introspection.

So I sit on a bench and watch traffic fly by,
The lights twinkling red, yellow, and green.
No need to wonder how and when will I die,
Just feeling alive in the moment and quite serene.

Down to the ocean, or up to the redwood trees?
All roads lead to Rome, at least that's what they say.
I'll follow the sunset, the sounds in the spring breeze,
Because I know there's always a roundabout way...



April 14, 2021

Vaccination Vignettes


Biden's healthcare rolls across the nation,
Essential workers all staff their station,
The pandemic certainly has not been any staycation! 
Still I wonder when I'll get my vaccination,
Got them there's no appointment blues ...

Everyday, every morning I go online, 
Hoping for a shot, but none do I find, 
PAMF, Sutter, Kaiser are all in a bind 
Not enough doses for both yours and mine...
Got them lack of resources blues...

Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, even Pfizer,
Will modern medicine make us any wiser?
Trickle down economics reveals the true miser,
I think right now we could all use a tranquilizer.
Got them mRNA blues...

Then there's the anti-vaxxers who refuse to believe,
Add them to the list of my new pet peeves,
Myself, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves,
Rather get a shot then go on sick leaves.
Got them old-fashioned conspiracy blues...

I'm willing to feel ill after a second dose,
Not sure if my first appointment is even close,
My last flu shot left me feeling really gross,
But better than ending up medically comatose.
Got them Corona virus blues...

My husband's had his shots, so has my dad, 
Both of these makes my heart really glad,
Folks who choose not to vaccinate make me feel sad,
If only this pandemic was simply a passing fad,
Got them heard immunity blues...

Because I'm concerned about my health,
It's my biggest investment, my personal wealth,
I get up at midnight to go under stealth,
Maybe it would be easier if I lived in a Commonwealth...
Got them can't seem to get an appointment blues...

April 8, 2021

The Shell

The white conch shell is smooth and cool to the touch. Pale orange striations emphasize the curves and walls, spiraling out the tip moving all the way through the bottom edge. There's a large hole in the center, so you can see an inner spiral, the same pale orange now merged with a hint of salmon pink.

In November of 1989, I went to my parents beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was cold, snow on the sand drifts, everything closed and shuttered for the winter. Only the movie theater was open, it was showing the first Back to the Future, entertainment for the few locals who rode out the harsh storms and kept the town intact for the summer tourists.

I stopped at a gas station and bought a bunch of junk food - sour cream and onion potato chips, Pepperidge Farm chocolate chip cookies, probably some beer. I'd also brought along a bag of mushrooms which I promptly ate.

I meandered out on the dunes for a long time, sat and looked at the ocean, seeing over and over in my head walking in and not returning. There was a scene in a book I had read as a teenager, I think it was in  The Fog by James Herbert.  where a young lesbian woman starts to commit suicide by walking into the ocean, changes her mind, but then drowns as the hordes of "zombies"  trample her under the waves.

I was 23 years old, recently graduated from Wesleyan, was in a relationship with someone I was deeply in love with, and about to go on a grand adventure - the Global Walk for a Livable World. Yet, I felt depressed and incomplete, lonely, and empty.

Dragging my gaze away from the gray stormy breakers that seem to be whispering my name, I hugged my knees to my chest and glanced down at the frozen sand. There was the conch shell. I picked it up and thought I'd probably find a whole one if I just walked down the beach a little more. As I turned it in my hands, I saw that it was whole. Even in the flaw you could see the inner spiral. Even the word  "whole" has the word "hole" in it.

I walked back to the beach house, turned on MTV and watched a documentary on Aerosmith.  munched chocolate chip cookies and ate my potato chips. I've now had this seashell for 31 years, usually it's in my healing room. I'll hand it to clients and tell them the story. I watch them make the connection in a holistic/wholistic way. They say that is the flaw in the diamond that makes it precious, and  even though sometimes I still I feel broken, I know I have integrity, just like the seashell sitting on my desk.

Blessed be.


March 23, 2021

How to make a Time Capsule

How to make a Time Capsule

Find the blue paisley jewelry pouch, the one that is trimmed in white lace and lined in purple satin, that has all the clever little pockets inside.

Fill it with the ephemera of five decades, starting with your oldest possession: the tiny grey porcelain owl with the bright yellow eyes from when the summer you were five, living in Virginia. Add in the sterling silver heart on it's fine serpentine chain, a gift from Dad when you were nine living in rainy Luxembourg.

Next, the silver cuff bracelets - the thinnest you bought when you were 15 at Tyson's Corner Mall when you moved to Maryland. Then the heavy Celtic knotwork from your first paycheck in Santa Cruz when you were 22. The equally heavy tribal cuff from Herland during your first Saturn return, now in your thirties. Are these accessories to the time? Like the antique locket from your mother's great aunt in Sweden, you have consistently worn these until the wildfires of 2020. Now your wrists look thin and bare, even the spiral tattoos have faded.

Add in the two hearts, one clear crystal, one red jasper with black flecks, from the first time we attended Pantheacon over Presidents Day Weekend in 2008. Since then, these hearts have traveled as far north as the Bonner's Ferry, Idaho, as far south as Maui, and as far east as the West Gambia.

Sprinkle in the "I'm engaged to me" ring, with the triangular lilac sapphire and two diamonds, the opal ritual ring, the thick thumb ring with the dancing goddesses from the Hopland's Women's Music Festival in 2005. 

Slowly blend in the antique gold watch, found cleaning out the shed when you lived at 325 Broadway, time encapsulated on its cracked face. A bone hair pin from your freshman college roommate at Wesleyan. And the tiny silver Tardis for Amber's 21st birthday that somehow never made it to the charm bracelet. 

Wrap with a burgundy cord and knot it three times saying,
In the name of the maiden, the mother and the crone, I'm here by myself but I'm never alone.

You have no idea if it will be lost in a earthquake, or stolen like the time your car got broken into in San Francisco right before going on the Global Walk. Maybe it will be passed on for generations. Maybe it will be sold piecemeal at Pawn Shops, Flea Markets, or online auctions. So just let it go. And experience time release.

Blessed Be.