Dr. Martin Luther King

16 syllables just one off from a haiku – but still my mantra always.

Injustice any
where is a threat to justice
every where.
-Martin Luther King – Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Haiku for the Insomniac

There is this night thief -
stealing my most precious sleep-
meeting dawn. again.

There must be something about the stars on this day . . .

Because today, I’m feeling exactly the same way I was feeling last year when I wrote this –

I mean exactly – to an almost tee- and it is too weird for me to even fathom. That this day and that day that I would feel. . .  Is it the lack of light that has me wishing for other things, is it the cold that infects the floorboards of the house?  Is it the lack of sleep, or the too much to do? I’m not sure how, how or why, but this feeling, at this time of year, it permeates who I am.

 

Advent Haiku

Caught between bah
humbug and light – today I’m
choosing Christmas cheer.

some words –

Since 2009 I have given three eulogies.  Some people will never have to give one – and me, I’ve stood up three times in the last two and a half years to deliver words of longing and grief.  It is a task that I have, unfortunately, nearly gotten used to.

So it was with great honor and with  feeling like things might be changing – that I gladly accepted the Pro-Merito’s invitation to speak at their induction last week.

It is so much more fun to be able to stand up and say words of encouragement, as opposed to telling stories that make people cry.

Pushing a shopping cart on Route 9 – in morning- rushhour traffic- for a good cause.

Outside of the work I do for MotherWoman, the Western Mass Food bank is my favorite, local non-profit.  I think that regardless of one’s position in life, no one should ever go hungry. Unfortunately,  according to the Western Mass Food Bank, 20 percent of households with children in Massachusetts (1 in 5) said they were unable to afford enough food. The food hardship rate for households without children was 14.4 percent. It was with that in mind that I volunteered to walk for an hour Thursday morning with Monte Belmonte of WRSI to raise money and awareness for the Food Bank. Yes, yes, I will be shopping a souped up shopping cart on Rt. 9 – Yes, yes  you should honk your horn and wave wildly as you pass me by on the way to school. 

My goal is to raise $200 by Thursday afternoon.  If you can help in any way, that would be greatly appreciated.  I will be collecting donations tonight and tomorrow.  If you would like to send the funds electronically, drop me a line.  

For more information please check out Monte’s page on the walk here or the Food Bank Site here. 

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

All Growns up and you’re all growns up.

All Growns up and your all growns up., a photo by Tara’n'Russ on Flickr.

I’ve known most of these folks, you know besides the little ones, for more than ten years now. A couple for way longer than that. And now, these people who used to be my roommates – now we’re all sitting around with babes in arms – and man how the time flies. The thing that never changes though – is how much I freakin’ love everyone in this picture.

Day is done, gone the sun . . .

It is because of my two nephews, two uncles, two cousins and father-in-law-  because of both my grampas, my gram and of course my father who loved a good Army story, that I celebrate the work of veterans.  It is for the great-grandfather I never met, and the great, great, great, great-uncle, and for the great, great, great, great, great, great-grandfather, who served this county, even before its inception that I take the time to write.  My family members have served in all branches of the military save the Coast Guard, and have served in nearly every major war and police action since the Revolution.  My father-in-law used his time in the Navy, after Korea, but long before Vietnam, as his path to citizenship.  One grandfather left high school to join the Navy during WWII, and the other was in the Navy for WWII, but would reenlist in the Army for Korea.  My father believed the world was ending once, but it was only a test. And my grandmother, she joined during the War because “somebody from the family had to”.

For Gram service to country was as easy as that, barely a second thought.  I don’t know that in the entirety of my life I have ever met a person with more patriotism than her.  When at her funeral, the service members played taps, folded her flag, and handed it to my grandfather with the thanks of a grateful Nation, I couldn’t help but think that more than the eulogies said by me, or my aunt, or any one of the three ministers who officiated my gram’s service, that this this gesture, this was the most fitting and touching of all the tributes paid to her.

. . .All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Blog-In For Democracy!

* Today, across the web, bloggers will be simultaneously posting this letter as a new form of democratic protest called the Blog-In. I am just one of many. Click here to see a full list of the writers participating. (Our hashtag on Twitter is #BlogIn2011.)

You are invited to join, too. Simply copy & paste this letter on your blog, Facebook or Google+ page—and let your voice be heard.

Many Thanks to TheMotherhoodBlog and TheMamaFesto for doing all the writing and the leg work to make this happen. Much love to you both. 

Dear 2012 Presidential Candidates,

We are your future constituents and we are parents. We are American mothers and fathers and grandparents and guardians. Our families might be the most diverse in the world. Blended and combined in endless permutations, we represent every major religion, political ideology and ethnic culture that exists. We are made from equal parts biology and choice. Our children come to us in every way possible—including fertility miracles, adoption, and remarriage.

Monday Night Haiku

There isn’t enough
time- no matter how hard. . .
For all that I love.