Archive for hope
May 19, 2013 · Filed under hope, memories, nostalgia, Uncategorized · Tagged 20 Lines or less, blogs, darkness, grief, loneliness, loss, memories, nostalgia, postaday, seperation, sorrow, wordpress
I dream of you-your face,your smile, how I cherished it
how it made my soul feel alive, even in the worst of times
and then I realize you are gone-never NEVER do I have
the slightest hope of seeing you, touching you again.
I wonder how many times I can die-drowning in this pain?
And I dream of those still here, yet so far away
wonder if I have any more chance of touching them, loving them
than I do those who lie among the flowers on the hill…
Hope-sometimes it dies because life has stolen it
and you don’t know why or how to fix it, even though it could be- somehow
and sometimes it dies when hearts stops beating.
There is no breath, no life, what was is frozen in time,
all that is left is night, darkness, dreams…
I wonder, here, alone in the cold and darkness…
which is worse, the death of hope or the death of life
or is there really any difference?
May 18, 2013 · Filed under gardening, hope, memories, prompts, seasons, Uncategorized · Tagged 20 Lines or less, gardening, hope, spring gardens, Write on Edge
With each spring, thoughts of my garden flood my mind. Unfortunately, the picture in my mind is soon destroyed by weeds, negligence, hungry animals and such. Today, as I tried to work the soft wet soil, I saw that the grasses and weeds are already winning the fight. What they haven’t attacked, the wild turkeys and such have begun to take their toll.
I used to have a garden by my uncle’s house, he had a generator running from a creek, which he shared. Not only that, he often plowed for me when my children kept me too busy to even try. Now he is gone. My garden is on a level spot in my son’s yard, not near a creek or uncle. What I get out of my garden is laughable, still, it is part of me to TRY.
Perhaps I should freeze the picture of young plants struggling to take hold and remember that life is much like that. It never turns out the way we wish it would.
April 29, 2013 · Filed under hope, humor, memories, postaday, prompts, struggles, Uncategorized · Tagged 20 Lines or less, a word a week, Big Blog Collection, blogs, dreams, Great Fellow Bloggers, healing, postaday, relaxationprompts, releif, resting, sleep
Often sleep is my only relief. I relish the moments when I dream of my child-alive, myself-young, my world-hopeful. Although I find it discouraging to look at sleep as the best part of my day, it sometimes is. No pain, no real bad news, I don’t have to be afraid, things are the way I wish they had been, should have been, I wake with a smile.
Sleep, even in happy times, refreshes me, gives me energy and determination. In difficult times, it gives me a moment of relief, a moment where pain is not a constant, a moment with a friend or loved one who has been taken.
We sleep about 1/3 of our life. It gives us the energy and courage to live the other 2/3. Being able to relax enough to go to sleep is a blessing in its self. And no, my friends, goodnight.
April 28, 2013 · Filed under awards and prompts, children, grandchildren, hope, integrity, poetry and quotes, postaday, prompts, struggles, Uncategorized · Tagged 20 Lines or less, children, concern, Daily Post, friendship, grandchildren, hope, inspirational, kindness, philanthropy, prompts, saturday NaPoWro
Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.
Richard L. Evans
Although I missed the” Saturday” prompt, my last effort to write was deleted by my computer after much work. I felt discouragement was a good topic to think on.
I thought of all the hard times I have been through, some my own doing, some unthinkably cruel and it made me realize that despite the difficulties that life had thrown at me, I am still, still fighting, even smiling once in a while.
I think of all that would not have been accomplished if I had given up the first time life knocked me down and realized that even having survived the loss of my child, my health, losing so many friends and family members, I still have things to rejoice. I have six beautiful grandchildren, a teen who is my heart and soul, a dad who has struggled, like me through the worst of times and is still her. a family who has always been there for each other.
Life is short, we do not always reach all of our goals, but each life we touch, each tear we dry, each person that decided to give it one more try, is a small victory. We often overestimate what we are capable of doing and underestimate the true effect we have on the lives of others.
Today, I will celebrate the meal I cooked, the baby I fed, the kid I took home in the pouring rain. Today, I will be glad my dad looked up and smiled at me at the exact time I did, took my daughter and her family breakfast, hugged my teen.
I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I accomplished more today than I imagined that i would. I didn’t let the hurt of all the yesterdays stop me from making someone smile today.
April 23, 2013 · Filed under hope, integrity, postaday, prompts, struggles, Uncategorized · Tagged hope, life, living, mothers, postaday, struggles, survival, word a week
A tired, aching mother whose shift is 24/7.
A construction worker shivering in the cold.
A police officer or fireman, ready always, for life or death.
A food server, polite, behind a tired, bored smile.
A lawyer, pacing the courtroom, pleading belief.
A student, studying for a test that seems meaningless.
A teacher wondering if what she is forced to teach really matters.
A minister shouting out his perception of God and man.
A drug dealer strolling the backstreets of town.
We work, just as we breathe, because we are driven to,
Whether man or animal, we work to live, to eat, exist.
All the while wondering if it is worth it, if it will mean anything.
Stop. Close your eyes. Let 10 workers march through your soul.
April 17, 2013 · Filed under fiction, genealogy, hope, memories, nostalgia, paranormal, Uncategorized · Tagged 20 Lines or less. weddings, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, postaday, proposals, wedding rings
He chased her down the beach laughing, catching her as she ran. He panted, then laughed, “I didn’t think I was going to catch you after all my planning!”
She looked down , suddenly realizing what was happening and gasped..
“You make me feel like the wild winds of the ocean.” he smiled as he put the ring on her hand. “I have no doubt that I want to spend every minute of my life with you., will you marry me?”
With the ring safely on her finger, they danced in the waves.
“Oh, my God!” “Oh my God!” She cried. The ring was gone.
Suddenly a wave washed up between her searching hands. Something sparkling amidst the shells. She grabbed the ring and smiled up at him, “I forgot to say, ‘I will, she laughed.”
April 8, 2013 · Filed under fiction, hope, integrity, memories, prompts, Uncategorized, youth · Tagged 100WCGU, 20 Lines or less, abuse. spousal abuse, anger, arguements, courage, fear, hope, strength
He stood at the end of the trailer’s living room, yelling, cussing, throwing things, like he always did when he was angry.
She, of course, was in the hall by the washer, crying, her face speckled. red streaks, tears dripping onto her shirt.
“I’m so sick of your bitchin, woman!” he shouted from the doorway, ready to run out, after he had yelled his final insult, stomped and delivered his final accusation.
“Just step over the line and see what happens.” he yelled as he went for the door. As the line was crossed, he stared in silence.
March 31, 2013 · Filed under awards and prompts, children, gardening, grandchildren, history, hope, nature studies, nostalgia, seasons, struggles, Uncategorized · Tagged 20 Lines or less, Big Blog Collection, forests, Great Fellow Bloggers, memories, nostalgia, Poplar trees, postaday, sadness, Sycamore Trees, the daily post, trees
Fifteen years ago, my dad had to cut down a Sycamore, giant and majestic, that he had planted when he built the house in the 1950′s. He left a very high stump, which soon sprouted and the new branches, themselves became a problem. They got in the way of power lines, blocked the view of ‘ and the mountains. Everyone fussed at dad, but he continued to just “trim” back the limbs.
Now my son has built a house next to my father and has become concerned that a tall poplar that dad also planted nearly 60 years ago could fall onto the house or damage property if we don’t cut it down. Not only is dad’s heart broken, I find myself grieving it too. I now understand dad’s feelings. It isn’t just a tree, even a majestic tree, it is a collection of memories, a diary of sorts. They are two trees, one ruined, one soon to be that deserved to be giants in some preserved forest. I see both myself and my children gathering sycamore balls, poplar blossoms, the trees were part of what “home” meant”
I have no answer, I have thought of ways to donate the wood and such but have found no affordable options. When I see a tall tree, still safe in the forest, I smile. And, as with the Sycamore tree, I can’t help but hope that sprouts will appear from that immense root system and at least be a reminder of what was and what should be.
March 19, 2013 · Filed under awards and prompts, fiction, gardening, hope, memories, nature studies, postaday, prompts, Uncategorized · Tagged 100 word prompts, 100WCGU, 20 Lines or less, Big Blog Collection, disappointment, dogwoodwinter, flowers, Great Fellow Bloggers, hope, prompts, spring
It happens every March here in the mountains. Right after a cold spell, the sun will come out. It will warm the earth, causing flowers to bud and bloom. Those of us who love to garden will rush to the hardware store. We buy top soil and seeds. We dig up dead grasses, sprouting weeds.
Spring is here at last! A few glorious days of warmth. Fragile lilacs burst forth. We want so badly to forget what the unseasonal weather meant. It is not spring, not really, not yet. Grandpa called it Dogwood winter. I just sigh and call it disappointment.
March 14, 2013 · Filed under fiction, fiction/poetry, hope, nature studies, postaday, Uncategorized · Tagged 20 Lines or less, blig blog collection, bloodroot, Flash Fiction, forests, Great Fellow Bloggers, hope, spring, sunshine, winter
She walked along the well traveled path, only mosses and a shy fern dared to decorate the ground. Underneath the aging oaks, she sat on a stone, wiping a cold tear from her cheek.
“Winter,” she thought. “I hate it,”. She found a lidless acorn and threw it down the bank. She watched as the acorn landed and rolled until it hit a log.
A blur of white peeked out from the edge of the bark. Struggling against the cold, she slid down the bank to see what it was.
“Bloodroot.” she smiled, spring would be here soon. She walked back down the path with a little more vigor. Her hands warmed by a ray of sun as she emerged from the woods.
