Five-Minute Friday: Welcome

I don't remember my mother ever feeding the birds though  all the parsonages had good-size yards.  She wasn't much for outdoor life but her  smile welcomed anybody and everyone to her home.

I'm not as welcoming to people, but then I'm not the preacher's wife, but the preacher's kid who grew up in a fish bowl yearning for privacy.

So I feed the birds instead.  They don't ask any questions or make any judgments; as long as there is food during the cold weather, they are happy.  So I welcome them to my front yard.  However, I can be gracious to humans and at those times, my mother's upbringing kicks in and I am the welcoming lady of the house.

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Five-minute Friday: New

  Newness of life.  The  easy association is the birth of a  baby.  But there are other times when we can feel that it's all new.
 I  remember when I  went back to college at age 39.  It was not only new in terms of my age, but also in terms of technology and the manner in which things were done.  I remember having to email my paper to my biology professor.  I was 41 and totally lost in science.  (I rued that decision made back in freshman year not to take my science courses  -  I was 40 when I took chemistry.)  It seems so easy now, but back then it was new. I had a computer but was 'all thumbs' with it though a friend had set me up on a computer and set up an email account for me. However, I  didn't know how to attach a document and then mail it.  It was a fiasco.
The other day the other English teacher was telling me how the kids taking the dual-college-credit course did not know how to email an attachment and that most did not have an email account.  I could relate although considering their  technological savvy, I  was surprised.
Now we have i-pads at school and the younger teachers are doing all kinds of things on them.  For me though, it is still new.
Five-Minute Friday and 31 Days of Writing

Five-Minute Friday: Hold

lightly folded hands
holding the  rounded belly
feeling the baby thumps

tenderly holding
the sleeping infant
watching her hands
and feet twitch
with innocent dreams

firmly holding the toddler
assuring  she won't fall
keeping her from harm's way
especially those on four wheels
careening too fast
in your 'safe' neighborhood

holding and guiding the adolescent's hands
as she pours the ingredients
into what will soon be
luscious, delicious cookies

 steeling yourself
 not to show emotion
though gratitude
streams through your heart
as the teen-ager reaches out for your hand
holding it close for comfort
as tears of first love
course down her cheeks

lovingly tucking
your mother's hankie
into her bridal arrangement
exchanging
holding on
for a quick hug
that signals letting go

then once more -
tenderly holding
the sleeping infant
your grandchild

Ready for Fall-- Photos of Barns and Countryside and Five-Minute Friday

 The five-minute prompt is "Ready."  My post is at the end of the photos.  I decided to highlight some of my  fall countryside and barn pictures.  The three barns are some of my favorite ones.

 This is my husband's family farm.  It  has long been in other folks' 'hands', but he still refers to it as Grandpa and Grandma Butler's farm.  I use the photo to the right on the back of the photo cards I make with my barn pics.

 The color below is hard to believe but it's real and not due to 'playing with the camera'.

 This was one of the first set of barn photos I made.  It remains one of my top five favorites.

I have not made a card with this one, but may do so the next time I create my note cards.

 This is leaning a bit more towards winter but I love the faded red of the barn.  It's stuck back on a hillside behind a much bigger barn that demands attention but is not as picturesque as this one.

Five-Minute Friday: Go -
I'm ready for fall
for the crisp air,
the vivid reds, oranges, and yellows
of the leaves and plants
as the earth prepares for winter.
I'm ready for the bright pumpkins
and bumpy gourds that
gather in wooden bowls,
mums clustered on
bales of hay
while the scarecrows
buddy up to decorate
the front yard..
It's almost Pumpkin Festival time,
big 'doings' in this small town;
my front yard exhibit
is done
with the  help
of an Irish lass
I call my granddaughter.
I am ready for fall.
Stop.

Go over to Kate's for more five-minute-Friday posts.

Five-Minute Fridays: Begin

To begin again in a new role is tough.  I look at my daughter who is 39 and has two kids, ages 3 and 5 and think: when I was her age, her dad walked out.  At 17, she thought she'd go keep house for him. That left me to raise a 15-year-old boy myself while attending college and working full-time.
  I had not worked for almost 20 years, but my age, clothes, manner, and make-up got me a job for Clinique at Elder Beerman in a near-by mall. Clinique wanted to appeal to the 30s/40s women and what better way to do it than have a 39-year-old who had been using Clinique for 20 years?!  It was a place to begin to put my life back together.  It got me out of our town with different people who didn't know my husband and his girlfriend.  I made new friends both at work and at school.
   I no longer had to feel guilty for loving school and for wanting to get a degree.  I didn't have to worry about my good grades offending my now ex.  He wouldn't pay for them if they were not a D or higher, and I liked presenting him and his new wife with my As. My faith in God and loving support from my parents, son, and friends sustained me.
  I just turned 60 this year and soon I will be beginning again.  I will retire at the end of this school year after 16 years of teaching jr. high and high school students.  I am looking forward to being able to do my artsy stuff again, to plant a garden, have the grandkids over more, and attend the grandkids' games without worrying about getting grading done and getting to bed at a decent time on a weekday. My husband (high school sweethearts reunited) is retired now and it will be wonderful to take off to Gatlinburg for several days  in the fall or go some place smack dab in February--things I cannot do now.  So much is out there, waiting for me to begin.

I recently went to Dallas, Texas to visit my daughter and her family.  Abigail is 3 and Aaron is 5. Something to look forward to is being able to fly out in February or March for their birthdays.  Not having to visit at the hottest time of the year will be wonderful!

Five-Minute Friday: Bloom

This little one blooms in each moment she is awake.

Sleep replenishes her 

and blooming must take a lot of energy 

because she requires 14 hours of sleep per 24.

 She is open to new experiences and greets each one
with the enthusiasm that blesses and makes you wake up
to all around you.

Her imagination is phenomenal and is encouraged every step of the way.

She has a gentle, loving spirit which she freely uses to bless others.

Her fashion sense is all her own.

Her mother takes no credit whether the outfit is cute or a sweet mess

(not matching or on backwards or pjs for grocery shopping).

 She is a lover of music and joyfully plays the piano
and sings with make-believe microphones.

 As she blooms she continually touches others with the love of Christ in the small child. The world is a better place because she is here.  This is my 3-year-old granddaughter Abigail Elizabeth.

For more on the topic of bloom, check out Lisa-Jo's place.

Five-Minute Friday: Lost

He was my rock.

Oh, God was, of course,

but in human terms,

it was my father.

I had a rock-solid husband

for whom I have been blessed

 and continue to be.

But Dad was my first

and always rock.

I knew I'd take it extremely hard 

when the time came for him to pass on

and be with Mom.

But even I underestimated

the excruciating pain

I experienced.

I was lost.

I wondered around blindly

for a long while.

Eventually I got my bearings somewhat,

but I still felt lost

and

rudderless.

I realized that he had also been my church

as he was a Methodist preacher

and the pastor 

I held above all others.

I didn't have a church (I gave up church

after a harsh betrayal by a close Christian friend

and my Christian husband)

and that bothered him tremendously.

I didn't understand why I needed one---

that is, until I lost my rock.

It's been seven years

and I am finally able to go through the photos

and sermons and misc.

I also joined a church;

it had been 'his' years ago

when I was growing up.

I'm back living in that small town now,

so once again that church is my church.

He designed the podium and chairs,

so it's easy to picture him  there.

My rock. . . I didn't lose him;

he's just watching over me from a distance.

The Cliffs of Moor in Ireland

where my husband and I celebrated

 turning 50 together.

I'm joining Five-Minute Friday.

Five-Minute Friday: Messenger

Gut feelings---that's my messenger.  I know what needs to be done and for whom.  Often the message is a surprise and I'm hesitant to obey.  What if they think I'm nuts? What if they really don't like or want or need this?  What if I imagined this? What if; what if; what if?  I can 'what if' myself until the 'moment' has passed.  Then, regret hits and the guilt that I have let God down, because I firmly believe He's the one poking me in the gut.  I've done this countless times with cards.  Cards still are special to a lot of people. Short notes written on the card or on note paper tucked inside it up the 'meanfulness anty' (my made-up term) considerably  They tuck it away with the other special cards and notes to peruse years down the road.  I have ones dating from before junior high and I'm 60.
I'm better at listening when I'm not in school.  I tire easily when teaching and reserve myself for my students.  So friends are sometimes neglected.  I choose to ignore the poke in the gut.  I'm listening now and several cards with small gifts tucked in them as well as notes are making their way to some friends.  Some have already arrived and been gratefully acknowledged.  I don't feel silly now. . . well. . . as silly.

Read more on "Messenger" at Five-Minute-Friday at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog.