Tag: One Word Sunday

Mother’s Day – What I See

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Mother’s Day is odd at this stage in my life. I think of my two adult children…my 2 adventures in motherhood. They live 500 miles away, so an in-person celebration rarely happens…pandemic or no pandemic. A quiet day at home with phone calls will be what I look forward to. Having children of my own made this a holiday to enjoy. Now it’s a long distance joy.

These beautiful flowers arrived from my daughter and her family with a sweet message of love and gratitude. Their lovely card arrived yesterday. I am very happy with that…along with memories of so many Mother’s Days gone by. I can see in my mind’s eye all the hugs, handmade cards, thoughtful gifts, breakfast in bed (complete with a printed menu one year), traditional photos in front of the forsythia (if it was blooming!) in the side yard. My in-laws, who only lived 30 minutes away, would come over to share in the celebration. “Here’s your Mother’s Day!” my mother-in-law once announced upon arrival…handing me a gorgeous hanging fuchsia plant to display on our deck. I always got a kick out of her – she got right to the point. I smile thinking back on it.

I noticed this flower arrangement includes my favorite “fun flowers” – snapdragons! Even now, I just can’t resist pinching one and seeing it “talk.” Smiles there too.

Happy Mother’s Day!

One Word Sunday: See or Sea
Cee’s Flower of the Day

Lost

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One Word Sunday: Lost

Lost. Now here’s a topic I am intimately familiar with. My claim to fame, such as it were. Spatially challenged? Don’t try to follow me to the elevator when I leave a hotel room. It will take a couple of tries before I get there. Those doors all look the same. They do!

My earliest dreams – probably at the age of 6 or 7 – were nightmarish…riding the bus home from school and being dropped off in a neighborhood that at first looked like mine. I’d walk from house to house looking for My House. The familiar ranch with the brick front porch. I became hopelessly lost in those dreams and woke up in a panic. Funny how those memories stay intact.

It didn’t improve with age. I needed a map or written directions for (many) months when driving to a new job 20 minutes away – this was back in 1995. One family joke is…what would happen to some poor soul who asked ME for directions? It’s happened and I freeze.

So, imagine my eternal gratitude and celebration when the Garmin navigator device was invented – replacing the ever reliable AAA Trip-tick with its booklet full of detailed maps. And then miracle of miracles…GPS google maps! Live action and an insistent voice that keeps Recalculating! At least I don’t have to do it.

My email spam folder often provides comic relief – begging me to click on links and apply to work for a major ride sharing company. Can you imagine? They obviously did very little research – if any – as to who they target for advertising. Even with a GPS chirping away, it would be risky business hiring me as a driver.

No matter…I still have a stash of street maps jammed in the seat pocket of my car…just in case. And they always work.

In Reverse

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One Word Sunday: Reverse

On this day of rain and wind as tropical storm Henri (not a hurricane, phew!) passes overhead, I thought I’d share a photo of a warm sunny day…featuring the reverse side of a sunflower.

The “face” of the mighty sunflower usually gets all the attention, but not this time.

Handy for a Hammock

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One Word Sunday: Handy
BeckyB’s July Squares: Treesquare

Father & 3 year old daughter – 1985

What is a tree (or two) handy for? Besides climbing that is.

Trees can be perfect for hanging a hammock!

A place to settle on a hot August afternoon, when a little girl says…let’s read a book daddy!

Hide and Seek

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One Word Sunday: Light
Weekend Sky

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It’s been one of those weeks. You know, one you’d like to forget…pretend it’s a dream.

However…today brought with it the promise of longer days with the beginning of daylight savings time where I live. I know the days aren’t really longer, but the hours of daylight will begin to stretch well past dinnertime. I’ll take more light however I can get it.

The sun kept teasing me this morning as I sat at my computer. It would shine through my window…and then disappear…shining…disappearing. It got me out of my chair. I stepped outside and was greeted by a cloud parade playing hide and seek. Or was it the sun playing hide and seek? I watched and waited and clicked.

In capturing the action – and probably staring into the sun too long – I began noticing the clouds making faces. Or something. Whatever was going on, I got it.

Seasonal

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One Word Sunday: Seasonal

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You have to look down and step carefully during a walk in the woods…after a much needed rain. Otherwise your shoes get soaked.

During one such walk in mid October, I was greeted by a mirror image of the view from above. Trees – pelted by the previous day’s storm – still dropping their leaves on the path. It reminded me of those accidental (or not) double exposures from back in the days of film.

The last of Autumn’s colors…briefly preserved.

Night

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One Word Sunday: Night

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Petworth Neighborhood – Washington, DC
February 21, 2020
6:26 PM

The last time I was able to visit my family in Washington DC was this past February. Four days with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson. A dinner out with my son. Memories made.

It was right before the pandemic exploded onto the scene here in the United States.

Little did I know on this beautiful moonlit night that I wouldn’t be able to see my kids again for many months to come.