Tag Archives: mom

Let Me Hear

 

Let me hear again your sweet voice

and the subtle sound of your gentle laughter.

Oh, to again see your smiling face would

fill my heart with awe and wonder.

And to once more take a quiet stroll

together along the old field road

while enjoying the quietness of the eve

as blows a soft summer breeze.

Oh, to also sit quietly by your side

while the day peacefully transforms to night.

Soaking in the warmth of your love

as tender moments silently slip by.

How I wish I would have known

that was the last time we would speak on the phone

Chatting away below that silent, watchful moon;

How I regret hanging up too soon.

The only comfort I now have is

a picture in my heart and soul

of you living a wondrous life

tending to the Lord’s beautiful garden

in the realms of God’s heavenly kingdom.

Happy Mother’s Day

to you, Mom,

living in glory and splendor of Heaven

Missing My Mom

mom-at-the-christmas-cabin2

Her smiling face and her voice laced with gentle laughter

 Quiet moments resting in her favorite chair.

 Long walks around the fields to the hidden pond

 Just to hear frogs croak and melodious birdsong.

 Clanging sounds and sweet aromas drifting from the kitchen

 With sourdough bread and pineapple ham baking in the oven

 Busy hands and nimble fingers moving in rhythm

 Crocheting a doll, slippers or perhaps a colorful afghan

 Grand Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations

 With the house full of joyful and elated loved ones.

 Keeping us all together on a thundering, stormy night

 To lessen our cries, our fear and overwhelming fright.

 On a cold wintry day, building a fire in the fireplace

 So we can rest in its’ warm, and comforting embrace.

 Long, peaceful visits on a quiet summer eve

 Such sweet memories that will never leave.

I Never Want to Forget

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I never want to forget my mittens, scarf, and hat.

I never want to forget to feed m y two cats.

I never want to forget my clothes at the laundromat.

And I never want to forget why I am here or where I’m at.

I never want to forget my purse and my car keys.

I never want to forget my bags of groceries.

I never want to forget which day it is of the week.

And I never want to forget my dearest friends and family.

I never want to forget my mom’s soft voice and her smiling face.

I never want to forget my dad’s laughter and warm embrace.

I never want to forget that Jesus is leading me from place to place

And I never want to forget God’s sweet and saving grace.

I never want to forget my Wisconsin childhood home.

I never want to forget the many blessings God has shown.

I never want to forget that although I journey

Through this earthly life so often alone,

Someone in heaven is watching who loves me

And calls me his own.

Oh yes, I never want to forget.

Writing 101 Day 9: Points of View

 

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While continuing in this writing course, I was directed to write about a scene of an older woman making a gift. Perhaps it would have the last gift she would make for someone she loves. We were then to write it from different points of view. However, that scene got me to thinking about the last gift my mom made for me. Therefore, I felt compelled to write about that last gift which I cherish still today:

The Last Gift

I sat here thinking of the last gift my mother gave to me.

It was a monthly calendar with photos of our family.

With great love and joy she delivered the same package

To all her children and to the grandkids.

I sat to look at this last gift that my mother made for me

And turned the pages to gaze at love and familiarity.

Several pictures were of my nephews who once were boys but now men;

They each follow a different path in life. May God in his love forever bless them.

One nephew is pictured as a confident and skillful hunter

Who works hard at all he does, helping others, and being a farmer.

And there’s a smiling photo of my niece featured in the month of her birthday;

My how, she is growing up so fast and becoming a talented and beautiful lady.

My smiling youngest sister is pictured on the February page

Who is very social and witty with the look of laughter on her face.

My other sister is featured in December holding her infant, bright-eyed daughter.

What joy that young girl has brought to our lives with her gentle smile and laughter.

Then there is my brother pictured in May; a modest person who works hard to do

With his gentle smile and his ways what is right and remain ever true.

My sister and brother-in-laws are pictured in different places.

Each one is unique and gifted with different talents and gentle grace.

Featured in September is a picture of me,

Smiling and happy to be seated near my niece.

But my favorite photo is the one of my mother and father

The last one taken of them by my nephew who had joined in their laughter.

That calendar today remains turned to the picture of my mom and dad on my wall

Where they quietly keep watch as I remember the love they shared to us all.

Writing 101 Day Two: A Room with a View

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I Would Zoom to Heaven

If I could go anywhere and see anything then

I would zoom to heaven to see my mom again.

She had left too suddenly and too soon;

Unexpectedly, her life on earth came to an end.

I cannot describe the pain and the void

That sometimes dwells inside my heart

All I can say is that I ache so deeply

As in my mind and thoughts, she is never very far.

I know she is well now with no more pain and

No more heartaches or streaming tears

No more illnesses or hardships and

No more thunderstorms or evilness to fear.

What would she being doing if I

Could fly this moment to her side?

I am sure she’d be wandering through

Heaven’s garden and pause with a contented sigh.

Eagerly, she might follow a sandy path

Lined with tall grass and daisies of every hue

To the rim of a lake just to hear the choir

Of the frogs and the chirping crickets, too.

How she loved flowers, the birds, and

Droopy weeping willow trees.

Perhaps she’d relax in a patio chair

Watching, gazing ever so peacefully.

Just like at home, she’d sit just outside

Near a bubbling fountain pond

With the water glistening beneath

The sun’s warm, extending arms.

She’d watch for hummingbirds and

Perhaps an oriole would fly near

Their colorful wings would flutter while

They daintily sipped from the feeders.

Tulips would be in bloom in a

Nearby, carefully planted flowerbed

Some pink, some yellow,

And some vividly red.

Another flowerbed would lay

Across a grassy, shallow hill

Blooming with sunny

Yellow daffodils.

Cedar and oak trees would

Stand flanking the road

Concealing the yard and

Maintaining the quietness of

our century old country home.

Perhaps, a giant pine tree would tower nearby

As if guarding this new peaceful paradise;

This new home in the heavenly blue sky.

Then mom would reach to hug me so tenderly

Saying, “I know you are sad and so alone but

You mustn’t worry so much about me.

For I am well with Jesus always at my side

And here everything is as it was meant to be.”

I would sit a while longer feeling her

Arms gently and lovingly hold me;

Not wanting her to let go but knowing that

I must return where I am meant to be.

For whatever is my work and my purpose

On earth, it is not done; not yet complete.

So reluctantly I would return to finish

The special tasks, God has in mind for me.

Tasks of kindness and caring, and

Of sharing God’s never-ending love.

Tasks also of helping others

So they may have relief and hope.

For God has a purpose for us all

And a perfect, everlasting plan

I must choose to believe and trust him

Even when I don’t understand.

Knowing also that my mom is watching

And Jesus always helps me ever so faithfully

I’ll willingly return and quietly finish the

Special work God has in mind for me.

Poetry 201 Assignment 8: Drawer, Ode and Apostrophe

 

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I am running a bit late but here is my assignment 8. Today I needed to write about a drawer in my house as if it were speaking to me. I needed to include apostrophes which, as I understand, are expressions and exclamations which can allude to a range of emotions. So after much thought I gave it a try and here is my latest poetic creation from the heart of my memories and my silly imagination. I hope you enjoy reading this and perhaps you will to go find your very own memory drawer.

Ode to a Drawer of Memories

As I pondered what to write about and which drawer should I peek in and see,

My eyes became glued to a certain small dresser that seemed to speak and beckon me:

“I am the most interesting drawer you’ll find for deep inside I keep many memories.

And they are not just your memories as you will soon see

That you will discover and find hiding inside of me.

Come, be brave and take a look now; Come and you shall see.”

So I wandered over while knocking over a pile of books

And yes I dared to even chance to indulge a hesitant look.

The first find was my baby book kept inside of a fading pink box

And inside it were cards, photos and many notes written by mom.

“Look on this page! You were born at 6:55 pm

And your mother thought you were such a precious gem.

Here it says you only weighed four pounds;

You may have been little but you sure could make a loud sound.”

You were baptized in February The following year

And both your grandmothers thought you were such a dear.

Oh look here, your mother thought you looked like your dad.

Hey! Perhaps instead of lass, you should have been a lad?

You lived in a town called Friendship at the age of two

And soon you had a sister to always love you.

Of course that was followed by a few more;

A brother, another sister and together that made four.”

Laying down the baby book I dug further to explore

Wondering what else was hiding in my memory drawer.

I found a red Webster’s New World Dictionary copyrighted in 1990,

“You don’t even remember having that; I can tell, I can see.”

I then found several colorful art prints;

One still kept in a frame but the other wasn’t.

One picture of a girl pushing her sister in an old buggy

And the other of two girls sitting on a bench like young ladies.

“You remember that day you found these treasured items

In that store downtown; in the Arts and Crafts Emporium.

Ah! I see the glint in your eye, you enjoyed visiting that place.

It is a shame another business took that space.”

Going deeper into the drawer, I found an old pair of glasses tinted in light rose,

“I can see in your eyes that you remember wearing those

As well as the painful headache you had one night

Because the prescription in them was not right.”

Going still further I discovered crayon drawings and sheets of construction paper,

“Pink, white, or purple, which was your favorite color?

Do you remember how you tried to color so fine

And stay so meticulously inside the lines?”

Next was a cassette tape of children’s hymns,

“You tried so hard to sing but often were out of tune.

Remember coaxing the children to sing, God is so Good;

A favorite melody from your own childhood?

And you still have your old boom box that you bought with pride

Which is in your kitchen now sitting up high.

Speaking of music, remember how your grandmother was pleased

To see you play her piano but not always striking the right keys?

She was as delighted as she could be

To hear you strum, Consider the Lilies.

Lastly I found some pens and other odds and ends,

“When did all this cluttering begin? And when will it end?”

So tired now, I quietly closed my overwhelming memory drawer,

“Please come back for I am not done! I have so much more.”

What a late night of mixed and blessed memories was in store

All due to this assigned poem and my memory drawer.

Poetry 201 Assignment 5: Fog, Elegy, and Metaphors

 

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In this latest poetry assignment, we were asked write about fog in an elegy which is often about an irreversible loss; like something you can never get back. And we’re to include metaphors in our writing. In contemplating this, I felt compelled to write about one of my deepest losses which often feels like a fresh wound that never heals. Just reliving this in my mind brought new and uncontrollable tears but I I felt some relief in writing about it and in that I am finally sharing this story. I have no doubt that it is God who comforts and gently helps me to remember even the most secret memories that are buried the deepest inside of me. I do have the comfort of knowing that she is safe and happy with Jesus in heaven. 

Trying to Remember

Has it really been almost five years?

Sometimes it seems longer

And yet in my moments of anguished tears

It seems yesterday, I did hear her

These past recent years have been so

Painfully empty and void

Of her sweet presence, her cheerful face

And her laughing voice.

Oh what did she last say? I sadly forgot

I am searching through the fog

Of my many memories of my childhood home

Where I was never all alone.

My blurred memories are like the many rooms

Of our two-story, century old house

Where in the years of clutter, a recollection is hidden

 like a treasure of precious gems.

She was always there spreading her love so

that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Like the scent of the freshest flowers, our house permeated

of her nurturing spirit and her gentle, soft voice.

Oh how I yearn to remember her comforting words,

Can’t I have that that wish, that one choice?

How I dream to hear her laughter and see her smiling

Once again. Oh, just one more time.

The foggy haze is still sticking and lingering in me

Not letting me remember or to see

And it won’t let me grasp what I long to know;

The last words she said on the phone.

Oh I do remember, soon Easter was coming

And I told her on the phone,

“In a few days I will see you, Mom.

In a few days I will come home.”

As we gaily chatted away, I continued,

“Mom, we’ll have a splendid Easter.

Work has granted me extra time off so

We’ll have four days together.”

But before Easter came and before

I could journey home

My mother suddenly passed away

In that big old house all alone.

She was so happy to talk to me on the phone

And joyful that I was coming to see her

Now the fog like a weakened storm has cleared

And in my mind her voice I could hear.

With an aching heart I remember my mother’s joyous tone,

 “I love you and I will see you soon.”

Thinking about My Mom on her Birthday

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Today, February 13th, 2015 would have been my mom’s 70th birthday. How I miss her and so wish I could see her smiling face and hear her voice with quiet laughter once again. It was a busy day at work today, but she was in my mind and heart through all the day. She is in heaven now where there is no more tears, sickness, or pain. And she can walk and rest in heaven’s garden to her heart’s content with Jesus always at her side. On this special day, I am re-posting a poem in honor of her and all the memories and her sweet love which she planted inside of me:

Missing My Mom

Her smiling face and her voice laced with gentle laughter

 Quiet moments resting in her favorite chair.

 Long walks around the fields to the hidden pond

 Just to hear frogs croak and melodious birdsong.

 Clanging sounds and sweet aromas drifting from the kitchen

 With sourdough bread and pineapple ham baking in the oven

 Busy hands and nimble fingers moving in rhythm

 Crocheting a doll, slippers or perhaps a colorful afghan

 Grand Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations

 With the house full of joyful and elated loved ones.

 Keeping us all together on a thundering, stormy night

 To lessen our cries, our fear and overwhelming fright.

 On a cold wintry day, building a fire in the fireplace

 So we can rest in its’ warm, and comforting embrace.

 Long, peaceful visits on a quiet summer eve

 Such sweet memories that will never leave.

Missing My Mom

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Her smiling face and her voice laced with gentle laughter

Quiet moments resting in her favorite chair.

Long walks around the fields to the hidden pond

Just to hear frogs croak and melodious birdsong.

Clanging sounds and sweet aromas drifting from the kitchen

With sourdough bread and pineapple ham baking in the oven

Busy hands and nimble fingers moving in rhythm

Crocheting a doll, slippers or perhaps a colorful afghan

Grand Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations

With the house full of joyful and elated loved ones.

Keeping us all together on a thundering, stormy night

To lessen our cries, our fear and overwhelming fright.

On a cold wintry day, building a fire in the fireplace

So we can rest in its’ warm, and comforting embrace.

Long, peaceful visits on a quiet summer eve

Such sweet memories that will never leave.