On my window sill

which is my altar of favorite things

are goose egg shells

broken open into halves.

A friend brought two.

The beautiful gift,

shaped to hold in my hands

offered some

delicious scrambled eggs.

Yolks a deep gold

Savored as my husband and I

delighted in the beautiful

unexpected delight.

The shells too, even broken

were too striking to

put in the trash,

have rested in a

blue ceramic dish

meant to hold chicken eggs.

Each morning

while my water boils for tea,

I touch them,

one nestled into the other,

each with uneven cracks.

I realize

that they mean something

special to me.

First the gift, the delicious

meal the yolk and whites became

and now

the lingering reminder

of the range of challenges

of these pandemic years,

the personal health

weeks of healing and particular caring

for each other.

Even at 80 years old,

I feel like

I have been

cracked open.

So much still to learn

to be grateful for

and the invitation to live

moment by moment,

even when I am not aware

that it is

in the cracking open of

the lifelong shields

consciously

and unconsciously

I have put up,

defenses of the emotions

of living life.

I am coming to

accept that

Bitter and Sweet

Bittersweet

Living both and at the same time

is the reality

of the moment.

Joy comes

in the poignancy

of the happy and the sad.

Peace and beauty

in practicing accepting

Pausing,

welcoming the snow

of this late february day

covering the bursts of

nature

the snowdrops that are

beginning to invite

Hope

Rebirth

Beauty

LOVE

A Friend NEEDS

The song in your heart

And can sing it

back to you

when You

NEED it!

In some ways

friends are mirrors

to us,

and at times,

we can be mirrors to them.

Friends can know

how to sing words of

encouragement

and love-

music to our hearts

when we need them.

I think

one of the signs

of real friendship

is reciprocity of

keeping in touch.

Living Lines Reflections by Missy Carter

p. 120

Around and Around

Remember

This time last year

Same old, same old

or is it?

Vaccinations

are a game changer!

It would be

a huge game changer

a solution

if everyone

Everyone!

would get their shots.

Freedom

does not mean

any of us

can do

anything we please or choose.

So why not

make it possible

for us all

to really enjoy the holidays

and Every Day.

Wise words

Be grateful

when there is something

that can be done

about It,

Whatever It is.

Wearing a mask

fogging my glasses

makes everything

more tiring.

Our guard is up,

we can’t see someone’s

Whole face.

Read my lips,

I am smiling

or not.

Gift to us all

Please take care,

of yourself,

your family,

friends,

co-workers,

classmates,

teachers.

Medical caregivers

are burned out.

Suppressed anger at those

who get sick

Unvaccinated,

sometimes defiant

and yet are cared for

with dignity.

Be

the Game Changer,

Please.

This is a period of time

different than

any other

defined times

in my life.

Live the Questions

Rilkes’

Oft quoted line

Offers

many opportunities

many questions

of this time.

What does it mean?

Being aware

the Answers

will not

be a part

of this  unique time.

The only thing I know

is that

Opportunity

is Here and Now.

Now to BE

Here Now.

Uncharted paths-

do those words

go together?

It’s as if

our eyes must need to be in the

back of our heads

so we can see

where we’re going.

If we walked

backward,

would we then

see the

path ahead?

Life-

looked at

in reverse-

may show us

what we need

to find the place

where we are now.

Those steps

that seemed like

zigs and zags

at the time

can,

in retrospect,

reveal

that we took

the most direct

path after all.

Or are we?

Each of us

is experiencing

the Pandemic

individually.

Yet

it is becoming

clearer that

we are so interrelated

beyond

what could have been

imagined.

Years,

Decades,

Maybe

centuries

may

only give

glimmers

of what is

happening.

And,

did we do

the best we can.

Will it be enough?

 

How are YOU?

How are you getting through this?

I remember

when you ask

A Mantra

from another time.

I

no longer

make

a plan

for myself

But

respond to the things

in my life

that are part of a

pattern or a

plan

I cannot see.

Always

Kindness and Patience

for myself

and You

and You

and You.

Bread

can be precious.

Counting out

each piece,

how long will

it last

to provide

sustenance?

Every culture

has some form.

This recipe

uses

5 ingredients.

I think there

might be all

tucked into

the back of my

refrigerator.

Probably

past their

USE BY

Dates.

Saving

for a rainy day.

Or whenever.

NOW.

Bread Shortage? This is the easiest kind of bread you can make

March 18, 2020

Smiles are free,

there can be

an endless supply.

Scientists

tell us

smiling

can improve

our mood.

There is a chemistry

which changes.

Smiling

spontaneously

can make us

feel well.

Smiling deliberately

can improve our mood.

This morning,

I realized

that the myriad

of photographs

in unmatched frames

on every shelf

in my bedroom,

my office,

my kitchen,

living room,

in no particular order

are each framing

a smiling face.

Grandchildren

at every age,

first smiles,

toothless grins,

a first bath in the kitchen sink.

Every stage

school photos,

life events.

Some capture one face smiling.

Others are one, two, three, four

Together.

Their parents,

our children

remembered too.

A granddaughter

in a ballet tutu,

next to a picture

of her mother,

my daughter

in a tutu.

Our wedding,

family weddings,

graduations.

Different ones

catch my eye

as I pass by

or stop to spend

a moment.

Each smiles

I smile.

Blessings

Each One.