Grandsons!

What a wonderful thing Grandsons! Having Samuel and Christian here for 6 weeks was a true delight. I forgot how adolescent boys smell. Whew! Not that it is bad just so full of masculine testosterone.

I remember when they lived here and were so small. Sam is now a couple of inches taller than my 5"3" frame. Christian is getting there. We used to spend time up at Lucky Peak with the whole family. The boys always found delight in jumping off the boat into the water. Their Dad Jason was always right along with them. As you have no doubt looked at the pictures of our boat it is impressive that they would jump from the fly bridge. I was always awed by their lack of fear.

Our friends Larry and Patti Rose have spent a good number of years at the lake also. One particular weekend Jason and his family were there playing in the water and having a good time. Larry and Patti have an old Chocolate Lab named Max. Max is an icon unto himself. He was a mighty swimmer at one time and loved to spend hours in the water. On this particular occasion when the boys were there and we were sharing a dock with the Rose's, Max took a particular liking to Christian. Christian wears glasses and with out them seeing is not very easy. Swimming without them is difficult be he manages just fine. Max must have sensed Christians difficulty because every time Christian got into the water Max went after him. Sometimes it was okay with Christian but other times he was not ready to go to shore. Max would gently grab an arm in his mouth and try to drag Christian to shore with him. It was amazing to see the gentleness in that dog. He was quite the life saver, even when the life didn't need saving. Sad to say Max is showing his age. He no longer can come to the lake and play. Arthritis has taken a toll on his ability to get around. I will alway remember Max as a young go get um dog.

I wrote this poem for Max back in August of 2008!

AN ODE TO MAX

To be ninety three we do aspire

with grace and dignity and hearts all afire.

you faced your life with courage not strife.

To Larry, Patti, and Brenna you came

a loving home was never the same.

The care you received you never deceived,

a tribute to life and love you received.

THE REST OF MY LIFE

Being born you begin only to age

each and every day a brand new page.

Filled with hope, filled with love,

just like all the stars up above.

A baby, a girl, a teen, a wife,

a mom, and a grandma

wow what a life!

Through good times and bad

through happy and sad

it's life in a nut shell

with so many stories yet to tell.

How do you say how you feel?

When some of it doesn't seem real!

The love, the care, the tender touch,

all worth while when in love so much!

EVERY DAY

To wake in the morning

look it square in the face

good to be alive

not just taking up space

to thrive and strive

in every way

live, laugh, face the day!

PEACE

To find the place of peacefulness

you must dig deep into emptiness

put a face, a color, a shape

onto the feeling, the only escape

go back to do what you can do

to make it right to make it through

a whisper of hope tried and true

hands of love, make white which is blue!

WHY I WRITE

To take a pen to paper

and write my every thought

I have to be inspired

but sometimes not a lot

I write about the people

who grace my very life

I write about a happening

or about being a wife

I jot down a yearning

or a place I want to go

but mostly what moves me

to my very soul.