Poetry Friday: "Looking at the Sky" by Anne Porter

I missed Poetry Friday last week. If you did too, check it out at Tanita Davis's {fiction, instead of lies}. The Poetry Pals used Jane Hirshfield's "Two Versions" as a mentor poem and crafted their own takes (inspired by Hirshfield's theme, structure, or lines). They created some stunners, so do hop over and read your way through those beauties. 

This week, Carol at The Apples in My Orchard is hosting. Carol has been caring for her aging father, spending 16½ hours on the road (in one day!) and dealing with a lot (I see you, Carol!) Send her some virtual hugs and love today and enjoy all the poetry she's rounded up for us here. 

~~~~~~~~~~

I missed PF last week because we spent Thursday and Friday out of town. My daughter and her husband hosted Thanksgiving. My middle daughter, whom I blog-named "Betsy Ray" (after our beloved Betsy in Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy books) was nine years old when I started this blog in late 2005. She was NINE. And now she and her husband are killing it as Thanksgiving hosts. We had a marvelous day and a marvelous meal. (I told her to marry a man who cooks, and she did. Yay!) The only parts of the meal we provided were the pumpkin pie (my mom's extra-spice recipe), gluten-free/dairy-free biscuits, and gf/df chocolate chip cookies. Anne-with-an-e (who was twelve when I started the blog — TWELVE!) and her fiance brought the dairy-free mashed potatoes, which Ramona (who was THREE when I started the blog) pronounced the best ever. When she was three, she didn't like "mashed-potatoes-with-the-skin-on, eww" but her culinary palate expanded over the years. Sadly for her, a few years back, just as she was perfecting the ultimate pepperjack grilled cheese sandwich with marinara dipping sauce, she needed to go gf/df, as Betsy had to a few years before. We're still working on perfecting the gf/df diet but overall we've made huge progress.

Aaaaaanyway...that's where I was last week. Enjoying the many pleasures of spending time with all my favorite people. Counting gifts and blessings. Giving thanks for beauty seen and unseen. "Looking at the Sky" and getting my thirst for a touch of heaven quenched. (Stealing the imagery of a thirst quenched from the last line of the poem. It's a short and perfect piece.) 

Looking at the Sky
by Anne Porter

I never will have time
I never will have time enough
To say
How beautiful it is
The way the moon
Floats in the air
As easily
And lightly as a bird
Although she is a world
Made all of stone.
....
(Read the second part here.) 

Photo courtesy of AdamNir, Pixabay.

Poetry Friday: Thankful, thankful, thankful (and Joy Harjo)

Thanksgiving is on the horizon and I'm feeling so grateful for my family and for all that has transpired around our kitchen table over the years. 

At our table we have eaten, of course, but our kitchen table has been the heart of so much more. We have laughed there, yes. We have wept. We've discussed books and writing. We've spent time with our babies, our toddlers, our teens, our grown and beautiful daughters. We've considered cancer treatments, health changes, chronic illness, new ways of eating. We've discussed politics and surrealism. We have shared stories of friends, faith, art, history. We have pondered jobs and job changes, school and not-school. We have lived in our kitchen; if our table could speak, it would be overflowing with stories from the lives of the Edmistens. 

I'm so grateful for our kitchen table.  

U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo captures the essence of this core, this beating heart of our shared lives, in "Perhaps the World Ends Here." 

Here's to the kitchen table, and to the happiest of Thanksgivings. May your gratitude be overflowing. 

Perhaps the World Ends Here
by Joy Harjo 

The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.

The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been
    since creation, and it will go on.

We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They 

    scrape their knees under it.

It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. 

    We make men at it, we make women.

(Read the rest here, at Poets.org.) 

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The Poetry Friday roundup is being hosted by the hostess with the mostest, Jama Rattigan. 

(Photo credit: Matthias Cooper, Pexels)

Happy Thanksgiving and Shutterfly Keeps Stopping My Heart

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I didn't mean to leave my sad Sydney post hanging here for the last three weeks. A sweet online friend wrote to me, worried because I hadn't posted since we lost Syd. We're doing okay — we miss her terribly, of course, but life has also just been incredibly busy. As I told my friend, we've been consumed with the following and more: 

• I had the privilege of being on the training team again (I first got the opportunity in mid-2020) for new coaches at Brave Writer. We had an intense couple of weeks in early November, and now we've got a dynamic bunch of new coaches coming on board. I continue to be blown away by my colleagues at Brave Writer. 

• We're finally getting some answers to some health questions/medical conditions for both my mother and one of my daughters. A fair number of appointments and meetings have been part of this month. 

• I finished the final edits for my newest book! They arrived while I was deep into training so it was a busy few days. Whew. The book should be coming out after the first of the year. I don't have all the news yet, but here's a hint: you know I love the liturgical year. 

I'm feeling grateful for so many things right now, not the least of which is that my son-in-law recovered well and quickly this month from a very mild case of Covid and my daughter, whom we worry about a bit more due to her autoimmune disease, did not contract it from him. So grateful for vaccines! 

And I'm grateful for an overabundance of digital photos, even when they take you back and break your heart just a bit. You know when Shutterfly sends those emails? The ones that say, "Remember these memories from 15 years ago?" Then you brace yourself because you know that fifteen years ago your daughters were just wee things who looked something like this: 

When she was actually this age, in 2006, I never posted pictures of Ramona, or any of the girls, on my blog. Her little Flintstone feet were the only thing that made the blog in those days: 

So, thanks, Shutterfly, for breaking my heart about the fact that there are no more tiny people at my house. But thanks, too, for reminding me that I love the women my little girls have become. 

I'm so grateful for so much. 

Happy Thanksgiving. Hug your people. 

Grateful

What, you were expecting a turkey? 

Happy Thanksgiving!

So grateful for so much.

May your day be filled with every good thing (including coffee.)

Poetry Friday: Thankful Anyway

Ramona and I were sick yesterday and thus didn't make it to the family gathering for Thanksgiving. Atticus ran to the store before he, Anne and Betsy took off for the day. He wanted to be sure we had something in the house that resembled feasting, and he came home with a rotisserie chicken, dressing, pumpkin pie, whipped cream, cheese and crackers, tea, and Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk.  Anne-with-an-e said, "I hope someday I find a husband like Dad!"

I found myself feeling both miserably bluzzy and deeply happy at the same time. 


Coughing Our Thanks

No turkey for me.
I was sick yesterday.
So was Ramona.
Life's funny that way.

We'd looked forward to aunts
and a few cousins, too,
the turkey, of course,
And the post-dinner glue

Of family chatting
and napping and plotting
for Black Friday shopping
with lists we'd be jotting.

But we missed it all
thanks to some nasty old
virus that hit us but
truth to be told?

Still I was thankful
for blankets and tea,
my little girl's presence,
my husband, since he

Made sure we were cared for
before he departed
Rotisserie chicken
and chocolate. He carted

Stuff home for the sick girls,
made sure we'd be fed
Since I sure wouldn't cook
("Head's exploding," I'd said.)

Then off went my husband,
my Betsy, my Anne,
leaving me with the youngest,
thankful I can

Say that I am well loved
though I don't deserve any
of the gifts that are mine
the blessings so many.

On the couch then we snuggled,
Ramona and I,
feeling thankful for pillows,
store-bought pumpkin pie,

each other, our family,
the God we can praise
through the coughing and headaches
on Thanksgiving days.

~~~~~~~~~~

Check out the Poetry Friday round up at Check It Out.

Bits and Pieces of Our Post-Thanksgiving Days

The turkey was eaten, the oyster dressing relished (by Atticus, anyway ... urgh), the bonfire blazed.

Atticus rediscovered cigars and gave them up again (all in the same night), the Black Friday deals were had, the children slept in, the Super Sister-in-Law did all the driving (thanks, Super Sister-in-Law!)

I ate three kinds of pie, read Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire, did oodles of laundry, decked out the house for Advent (in true No-Panic fashion), told Ramona -- roughly seventeen times -- that the chocolate Advent calendar starts on December 1st.

We played Scattergories, and I laughed out loud at Ramona's answer to Things You Save Up to Buy That Start with the Letter F: "Faux Fur Lined Coats."  (And, yes, she spelled faux correctly.)   I laughed again when Betsy's "H" answer to Kitchen Utensils was, "Hey! Who took my spatula?!"  and yet again at Anne-with-an-e's response to Things (that begin with F) That You Keep Hidden: "Feral Squirrels."

And we went to Mass and thanked God for Him, and our family, Sabbath rest and work to get up for on Monday.

How was your Thanksgiving?

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a blessed day.

I'm busy eating, but I'll be back soon.

"Thanks" seems like such a feeble word

(a quick rerun from the first autumn -- 2005 -- in which I was blogging. It's all still true....) 

I have so much to be thankful for, and so few words to express it.

Thanks.

I'm grateful.

Thank You, God.

Thanks a lot.

No, I mean it. Thanks a LOT.

Really, I can't thank You enough.

I really appreciate it.

I credit You with everything.

Did I mention that I'm grateful?

Thank You. All praise, glory and honor are Yours, Almighty Father. So ... um, thank You.

See what I mean?

It sounds so feeble, so piddly, so inadequate.

What I really want to say is that I can't believe that the God of the universe cares that my soul was once headed straight for hell and now I am, at least, looking in the right direction. How does He manage not only to care, but to make me believe that He cares? To feel His love? To know that He is with me, faithful to me, every moment of every day, even when I am not faithful to Him? How does He do that? And how do I thank Him?

I can't. I can only pray, and gaze upon Him, and cling to Him in all that I do.

And, in my feeble ways, tell Him "thank you" as often as possible.


A prayer of St. Bonaventure

Pierce,
O most sweet Lord Jesus,
my inmost soul with the
most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love,
and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity,
that my soul may ever languish and melt
with entire love and longing for Thee,
may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be
dissolved and to be with Thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee,
the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls,
our daily and supersubstantial bread,
having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.

May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee,
Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may
my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor;
may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life,
the fountain of widsom and knowledge,
the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure,
the fulness of the house of God; may it ever
compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee,
come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee,
and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with
umility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease
and affection, with perseverence to the end; and be Thou
alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches,
my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility,
my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment,
my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion,
my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind
and my heartbe ever fixed and firm
and rooted immovably.

Amen.

Have you started your Thanksgiving Tree?

You don't know what I'm talking about?

Time to check out the past posts on Thanksgiving Trees:

Here.

And here.

Have fun being grateful!

Ramona's Pumpkin Turkey

wishes you and yours a happy and blessed Thanks- giving Day!

The grateful journey of Diane's heart

Margaret and Kristen beat me to the linkage, but if you haven't read it yet, run over now to see Diane at The Journey of a Mother's Heart for this these Thanksgiving thoughts.

They are so real, so heartfelt and so close to home.

Off to do a turkey craft with Ramona ....

Thanks, Diane.

What part of Thanksgiving are you?

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

This, of course, makes no sense at all, but I'm throwing it in here because I haven't had time to think about that kindness post. (If you stopped by yesterday, you saw that I got one sentence written and then got interrupted ... then, I accidentally hit "Publish" instead of "Save." That post will be back when I've actually had time to write it....)

Thanksgiving Treasures

Last year, we were the recipients of a lovely honor. Our friends, Les and Leisa, sent us a letter announcing that we were among their "Thanksgiving Treasures."

Every year, each member of the family (mom, dad, and the four kids) chooses someone to be a "Thanksgiving Treasure." They send a letter to their treasure, explaining that they are grateful for that person's presence in their lives. They take the time to detail the things that make their friend special, and let the chosen treasure know that he or she will be prayed for nightly, as a candle is lit in the Les-and-Leisa home each night until Christmas.

Leisa explained that they came up with "Our Thanksgiving Treasures" to teach their children to hold onto that Thanksgiving gratitude and not let it get lost in the holiday rush. (And can I just say right now that I cried when I read their letter?)

I'd love to say that I followed up on this idea so completely that we have established our own Thanksgiving Treasure tradition. We haven't. Yet.

But, the beauty of this idea is that it's not too late. Les and Leisa's goal -- to carry the gratitude of Thanksgiving well beyond Turkey Day -- means that we can be reminded of our blessings all through Advent, too.

So, leave those Thanksgiving Trees up and get started on those letters!

A Centerpiece of Gratitude

This is a quick rerun of a post from last November -- sharing another idea for a fun and meaningful autumn/Thanksgiving display.

(from 11/21/06):


I took this idea from a parish function we attended last week. We were given a cornucopia to take home, with the suggestion that it be filled with symbols or favorite objects for each family member. We added a candle, a cornhusk doll and our scarecrow to complete our centerpiece.

Symbols chosen?

For all of us: A holy card with a picture of Jesus, the center of our lives
Atticus: Red pen (he's a high school teacher, you know) and tea
Me: A picture of the Blessed Mother, to represent being a Catholic mom, and a pen for writing
Anne-with-an-e: A ceramic puppy (she's an animal lover)
Betsy: A small, knotted one-decade Rosary
Ramona: A picture of me, because I'm her "favorite thing"

I love the way this simple but meaningful centerpiece turned out!

Time for that Thanksgiving Tree

Last year, I mentioned our Thanksgiving Tree.

Then, myriad moms joined me and created their own unique trees. I put them all together in this post, "A Forest of Gratitude."

It's not too late to make one -- lots of ideas in that forest, so meander through it and get started!

A Forest of Gratitude: Thanksgiving Trees

Many thanks to all who contributed pictures of their Thanksgiving Trees for this post. I began to assemble links, but then couldn't resist the idea of seeing all the trees on one page.





Jennifer and the gang at As Cozy as Spring made this beautiful tree, using felt instead of construction paper. I love the felt idea, as well as the shape of these leaves.







Another fun and creative idea from Katherine, at A Living Education, was to use the family's hands for the leaves on her tree.





Dawn, of By Sun and Candlelight, has a tree that is happily sprawling over an entire window.





Minnesota Mom's kids each made their own gorgeous trees.






Donna's beautiful tree has a great array of colors and leaves of many different shapes.





K, at Cirque de Moi, started her tree close to Thanksgiving, but plans to begin November 1st next year. It appears loaded with blessings anyway, K!





And Jennifer, from Family in Feast and Feria got the extended family in on the project. Her mother-in-law loves the tree and its "falling blessings" so much that she wants to keep it up year-round.






Meredith has had her own unique take on a Thanksgiving Tree for years, and I love the way she uses real branches and lovely, delicate, watercolor leaves.







One more to add! Tracy and her family made this terrific tree. Thanks, Tracy!









And, here's the final picture of our tree, filled with blessings, from November, and from every day of our lives:



Thanks again, to all of you for participating. It was a delight to see the individuality, the creativity, and the joy that went into your trees. As I said at this time last year, "thanks" seems like a feeble word for all that God gives us, but sometimes it's all we've got.

And often, it's just right.

Thank you.

A symbolic centerpiece

I took this idea from a parish function we attended last week. We were given a cornucopia to take home, with the suggestion that it be filled with symbols or favorite objects for each family member. We added a candle, a cornhusk doll and our scarecrow to complete our centerpiece.

Symbols chosen?

For all of us: A holy card with a picture of Jesus, the center of our lives
Atticus: Red pen (he's a high school teacher, you know) and tea
Me: A picture of the Blessed Mother, to represent being a Catholic mom, and a pen
Anne-with-an-e: A ceramic puppy (she's an animal lover)
Betsy: A small, knotted one-decade Rosary
Ramona: A picture of me, because I'm her "favorite thing"

I love the way this simple but meaningful centerpiece turned out!

Pumpkin turkeys

The credit for this idea goes to my great friend, Heather.

Heather led a perfect, relaxed, amazing little Girl Scout troop a couple of years ago, and my girls and I loved every idea she threw our way. We knew that if Heather thought of it, it was sure to be creative and fun.

These turkeys were so cute and very easy. The head and feathers were glued to craft sticks, then stuck into the turkey (I think we used some pumpkin cutting tools and paring knives to help the girls accomplish that part.) The "bow tie" for Mr. Turkey on the right is raffia and was attached with hot glue. I don't remember for certain (don't you love that kind of confidence in craft instructions?) but I'm sure we had patterns for the head, feathers and hats. And, as always, the kids were free to make up their own patterns.

Here are a few pumpkin turkeys that I found on the web:

This one is at Kaboose, has patterns and is very easy.

This one, at Family Fun, is a little more involved.

Here's another easy one.

Quaker Oatmeal gets in on the fun and suggest using leaves for feathers.

And, if you have a lot of brush fringe trim lying around, you can use it in this way.

Have fun!