Birthday Poem from my Daughter

October 11, 2015

Dear Mom,

You're our hope, our shining light,
Way up high, bright in the night.
You illuminate the sky, bright as day,
So that we come back, one day, you pray.
Your efforts don't go unnoticed, even if we may be unfocused.
We'll try hard, as long as you do,
And that's how we'll all make it through.
We love you to the stars and back, so please don't have a heart attack.
You're loved so much and on this day, it just so happens to be your birthday!
Have a wonderful day. xoxo

Love Gracie and Parker

Genie in the Sandbox

   Reflection.  Something I am doing daily, but with more contemplation.  Leave it to summer yard work to bring it out of me!
   I am on a 60-day challenge through work and part of our weekly tasks are reflections not only of gratitude, but of ourselves. Though I teach many yoga sessions per week I often run short of time to dedicate my practice or meditate.          Everyone and everything is always timed and sometimes I just want to "Be"!  I pray during yoga or in the morning since I know I will often fall asleep before my ethereal conversation comes to a close if I try at night.
  So what occurred today was a memory jogger, a thought provoker and tonic of wilderness, just like Thoreau states. We removed an old play structure in our yard which left a sand pit in the middle of the grass.  I began to remove the excess sand and dirt with a wheelbarrow to arrive at the barrier that separated the earth from the once childlike fortress.  After digging up small sand toys I cam upon a genie with a lamp.  Well, it was a Disney character, but he was holding a lamp nonetheless!  It did not strike me as something my step-sons now 25 and 21 would have played with, but it mattered not.  What mattered is that I found a genie in the sandbox, with a lamp!
  I felt strongly compelled to make three wishes and without much thought, Bam!  My mind was made up and I had already wished!  I briefly recalled a commercial where a man wished for one hundred thousand bucks and he received just that, one hundred four-legged bucks! I didn't want to be selfish so I immediately made my first wish for a family member, and then one for myself (professionally) and then one for a friend with cancer.  I felt rushed.  It was not unlike I had to quickly decide or I would lose the chance.
 Interesting where ones mind will go in a spontaneous moment.  A moment in extreme heat even when shaded.  I reflected back to when we added more sand to the box and the cost of what I was now dumping in the woods.  I noticed the different texture of the soft, smooth sand verses the dirt and pine needles on top. The years of playing that will soon be covered with seeded lawn and only memories remain. Nostalgia at it's finest, indeed!
  As I moved the sand away in the wheelbarrow my mind went back to my childhood.  My father would run around the backyard with me inside the wheelbarrow; he was strong and still is at two months shy of seventy. I even used to hang on his bicep with two hands, too! It's things like that we forget about as we move through our busy lives and focus on our own lives and family.  What a pleasant memory! Love you Dad!
  Now that I reflect on the activity that stirred my mind, I know I don't need to make any wishes on a genie's lamp.  Maybe it was finding the lamp that warmed my heart and brought my moment of reflection to a moment of gratitude.  The tonic of wilderness is just that, a tonic.  The air, the sun, the commune with nature.  With my devoted canine at my side and feathered friends feeding delightfully on the seed I shared the labor and sweat were downplayed.

Mom says this is a female woodpecker.

I promised my grandmother I would never stop writing and I took a long break from it other than brief journal entries.  I will find my way back and perhaps the tonic of the wilderness is just what I needed!

After note...just saw a small buck in our yard! Ha!

Namaste ~ MJ