Over

Your protective hand over my fragile one

Makes me remember that I'm loved

and that I can accomplish anything.

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Return

Like a boomerang,

you always return.

I am complete.

My heart full.

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Wishing all of my readers a very Blessed Easter and Passover!

Spring...

Break. Alone. Away.

Food. Wine. Snow.

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Bare...

As I always am with you.

No pretenses, no barriers, no secrets.

Always lovingly accepted with no disguise.

I cannot imagine any other way

to know a lover, kindred spirit

in this masquerade the world holds,

each day of our complicated lives.

Ready to bare all?  Visit Melissa and learn more about Six Word Fridays.

Chat...

Our children busy, wrapped in imagination.

Breakfast dishes littering the kitchen table.

You and I, two coffee cups.

The aroma entices us to awaken;

a truth serum for the weary.

Long forgotten antidotes, reminders of events.

Our past, present and future whispered;

treasured on this rare, quiet morning.

My hopes spoken, worries finally revealed

to my faithful confidant, secret keeper.

Need to chat?  Find out more about Six Word Fridays by visiting Melissa's blog!

Share

A very well deserved getaway, alone.

The last slice of adult pizza.

A stolen moment of longing, silence.

The seemingly insurmountable grief of loss.

The joy of seeing our kids.

The worry of parenting the kids.

The very last crumbs of tiramisu.

With you, sharing is not optional.

That is just fine with me.

There is no one who shares

quite as well as you do

all of life's joys and sorrows,

as well as favorite culinary delights;

the warm comforters on cold nights.

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Lost and found...

Whenever I am seemingly, hopelessly lost,

You are there to find me.

You, inevitably, with a knowing smile;

rescue me; categorically lost; forever grateful;

in my own sea of imperfection.

You still are the shining beacon

that safely lights the way back.

Lost something and found something along the way?  Visit Melissa and find out more about Six Word Fridays.

Heart's Focus

After sixteen years, what was fuzzy

is now clear, without question, unmistakable.

The life we have built together.

Our solid commitment to each other,

the upkeep of our family garden;

the weeding out of what's damaging,

the cultivating of memories that flourish

within our minds, hearts and souls.

You are my heart's sharp lens.

You focus me on the importance

of the legacy we will leave

for the magnificent men they will become.

The lens in which I always

look through to gauge the truth

resides within my ever faithful heart.

And only you hold the key.

What do you focus on?  Visit Melissa and Six Words Fridays to find out more...

The story of us...





Our story: a work in progress.


Once upon a time, long ago.


In the here and now: nonfiction.


A new chapter with every morning.


Happily ever after, befitting of us.

December 2010: 15 years later, the story is getting more interesting...

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Saving myself…

Once upon a time, long ago,

a little girl grew up with

poverty and sadness; a dizzying combination.

She promised herself an ever after

that included copious amounts of happiness

and never having to worry about

how to pay your doctor’s bills.

She worked hard, found Prince Charming,

and her happily ever after that

included a roof over her head,

food on the table, bills paid.

Saving for rainy days became something

that would guarantee a safety net

in case the dream was broken.

When her children arrived, she realized

that saving for rainy days now

meant providing a net for them.

Saving for rainy days today means

putting a little extra money away

to help with surprises: good, bad.

But more importantly, to help me

get myself through those tumultuous days,

my heart’s snapshots always remind me

that the greatest fortune to save

is the love of your family.

Got something worth saving?  Check out Melissa's blog and Six Word Fridays.

Better half...

In the wee hours, impending adversity.

You held my hand, silently praying

for the impossible miracle that came.

Your warm lips on my forehead

were all the strength I needed.

Then and now. Always and forever.

You. My rock. My love. Evermore.

The only one I see across

a crowded room of friends, strangers.

The one who still makes me

catch my breath, still my heart.

In the moments of inevitable weakness,

your strong hands lift me above

whatever clouds my mind, heart, soul.

In the moments of incessant insanity

that life with three boys brings,

our eyes meet, knowing that life;

our life, is full. Of love. Of joy.

Our life: perfect in its imperfection.

Twenty years have not clouded us.

Marriage, parenthood: challenges to strengthen us..

You. The perfection in my imperfection.

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How to... try to have fun (in spite of the kids)

Book a weekend alone, plan outings.

Pack your bags, kiss the kids.

Say goodbye. Wave. Peel rubber, baby!

Make your way to your destination.

Toast your good fortune, your escape.

Beach, restaurants, big plans: movies, dancing.

Reality? These two "fun" people's plans?

Fizzled out with the evening's twilight.

The culprits? Not the usual suspects.

No little boys and their antics...

Too much sun, too many cocktails,

Super early bird dinners sans children,

Make for sleeping parents at 9:00 p.m.

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Another move...

Another fall. Another phone call. Worry.

Another set of plans gone awry.

Another chance to do what's right.

Another mess to efficiently clean up.

A house to box up, sell.

Another move to a new place,

to start over at the end.

Dismantling and rearranging lives already lived

never gets any easier; less heartbreaking.

And yet, when given the options,

moving, starting over at the end

is better than hearing, "They're gone."

Because of love, the move's orchestrated,

the worries lessen a bit more.

Others care and monitor, feed, bathe.

And all that's left to do

is love until the last move.

What moves you? Visit Melissa and find out more about Six Words Fridays.

Love's Threads

Love's taken many forms for me:

My little sister's hand in mine,

her adult shoulder to cry on.

A handsome, green eyed young man

who now likes to disguise himself

as a nearing middle-age, graying father.

Three newborn baby boys, so tiny;

now parade as strapping young men.

I've caught a glimpse of Love,

it's ever changing forms and stories.

And I am grateful for how

Love's silken threads have carefully embroidered

the tapestry of this: my life.

Loved?  In love?  Share with us!  Visit Melissa at Making Things Up for more on Six Word Fridays!

If things had been different...

If we had not met then,

would we have this wondrous life?

Would fate have intervened; righted wrongs?

Set us back onto the path

that led us to one another?

Would I still marvel at us?

Look at your smiling, unchanging face,

and still see you at seventeen,

rather than the crinkles that outline

the storming ocean-colored eyes I love?

Would we have these three boys,

that exhaust our energies, rejuvenate us;

remind of us promises made, kept?

If we had taken different paths,

would they have met here, right now?

Would we know how love's perseverance

has lined every day, every year?

And how truly fortunate we are,

that our "what if's" are reality;

the stuff dreams are made of.

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Near-sighted

I am one in a family.

A family of severely myopic people.

The glasses sit upon my nose;

they've been there over thirty years.

They make the blobs of faraway

become beloved people, places I recognize.

The pair of glasses I most covet

are the ones that would focus

the unrecognizable, unknown days of tomorrow.

I wonder when those mysterious images

will become clear in my own heart.

I wonder how I will move

past the yesterday, through the today,

into that still fuzzy, undefined tomorrow.

Will the family curse of nearsightedness

keep me from looking ahead, anticipating;

from looking back, treasuring while reminiscing?

And will I need my glasses

to see what my heart sees

so clearly today? I hope not.

Near or far?  What makes you squint?  Visit Making Things Up to learn more about Six Word Fridays...

Charmed...

At first glance, it may seem

that the life I lead today

is the one I've always lived.

The moments that caused many tears

are those that now gleam beautifully.

Those charms on my life's bracelet

are the ones I can talk about

and measure how far I've come

from those days of endless sadness.

Those charms on my bracelet gleam,

cleansed from ever being overlooked, disregarded.

My love, my boys, my family.

These exquisite charms; priceless, delicate, breath-taking,

always make me feel as though

this is the enchanted, wonderful life

I was always meant to live.

Charmed?  Want to share?  Check out Melissa at Making Things Up and Six Word Fridays to find out how!

Yesterday's Lessons...

Yesterday, I did not know this:

I am more than the sum

of all my parts. I'm me.

I did not know how quickly

the days pass, one into another,

and how I'd yearn to be

back, reveling in the early days.

I didn't know my own strength,

my own endurance, my own speed.

I did not know I limit myself.

Yesterday, I was lost, map-less, hopeless.

I could not understand, acknowledge, internalize,

the twists and turns that lead

to Today. To a brighter me.

Yesterdays got me here; unscathed, wiser.

And today: tomorrow's yesterday, I am.

What does yesterday mean to you?  Check out Melissa at Making Things Up and Six Word Fridays.

First love

My first love comes home daily,

is greeted by three rambunctious boys.

He writes love letters, folds laundry.

My first love can do anything;

handles any crisis with efficient calm,

packs lunches for his sleepy boys.

His smile awakes his tired wife;

because of him, she is invincible.

His mischievous green eyes still crinkle

in laughter, in amusement, in delight.

Those bewitching green eyes still smile

when I walk into the room.

They still see me as I was,

love me for who I've become.

Got a first you want to talk about?  Want to learn more about Six Word Fridays?  Visit Melissa at Making Things Up.

Again...

Our bodies, enveloped, feverish, loved, embraced:

reminds me, again, that you're mine.

That you love me...Perfectly. Then.

Now. In spite of. Because. Still.

Find out more about Six Words Fridays.  Visit Melissa at Making Things Up!