Category Archives: Health

Health, Poetry, Writing

Strong Suffering

Leave a comment

(Poem 16 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

“When we insulate ourselves from the possibility of harm, we also deprive ourselves of the beauty that our brokenness can display.” -Jay Wolf in Suffer Strong

https://www.amazon.com/Suffer-Strong-Anything-Redefining-Everything/dp/0310344573/ref=sr_1_1?crid=200BYI7CT82UN&keywords=suffer+strong&qid=1705459325&sprefix=suffer+stron%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-1

Strong suffering
bears little resemblance
to gritting of teeth,
white-knuckled grip,
muffled cries to spare
sensibilities ill-suited to pain.

No, strong suffering
is the unfurling of a
closed heart to her lover,
a ripening of self,
splitting apart of shell
to reveal the vulnerable
underbelly of fear.

Strong suffering
does not batten
down the hatches and
bolt the doors
against all possible
atrocities, real or imagined.

No, she flings open
the shutters to welcome
the wind and invites
the intruders to break
bread at her table,
her only intention
to pay attention.

@Home Studio after finishing the book Suffer Strong by Katherine and Jay Wolf – 16th poem of the year

Wolf, Katherine and Jay, Suffer Strong – How to Survive Anything by
  Redefining Everything, Zondervan, Michigan, 2020.

Health, Poetry, Writing

The New Year

Leave a comment

(Poem 8 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

https://gencraft.ai/p/83AG9Q
https://gencraft.ai/p/dNyE2M

(AI Generated images I prompted on Gencraft.com)

The new year arrived without
much ado while I slept.
Then the proverbial fan spluttered.
Five hours later, I drove my
husband home from the emergency room
a little doped up, but thankful
for temporary relief from a kidney stone.
Two days later I propped up his ass
so he wouldn’t fall off the porch
after a root canal and more meds
than his delicate constitution
could withstand on a weekday.
We’re only a few days in to 2024,
but it needs to slow its roll,
pace itself, it’s doing too much.

@Home Studio – 8th poem of the year

(Some more images playing around with AI…one of my favorite is this dragon representing 2024 doing WAY TOO MUCH!)

https://gencraft.ai/p/oppF54

(And this poor little guy in the bottom left about to get eaten by 2024…)

https://gencraft.ai/p/WwY5Sc

(Here are some more because I was having trouble coming up with an image to represent what I wanted. We’ve got bleak city streets, Dickensonian dental surgery, and the after Christmas blues in this collage.)

Health, Poetry, Writing

Candles Lit

Leave a comment

(Poem 5 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/hyBGfL

Candles lit
Cleared space
Tea at the ready
Blank page
Dogs asleep
at my feet
Husband in a
snuggie so
the air can be
comfortable
for the furnace
that is me
Perfect evening
to sit and write
Melt my soul
back to the night
Quiet peace
Edge of dream
Twinkle lights
add softness
Husband’s touch
subtle as a battle cry
but welcome
and enough
Nice to share
a relaxing day
alone together
Our secret foreplay
And when he
switches the laundry
my heart melts
a little bit more
softening edges
I forget are rough,
angry and wounded
in need of love

@Home Studio – 5th poem of the year

Health, Poetry, Writing

The First Time Salting

Leave a comment

(Poem 3 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

<a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos”>Free Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>

The first time salting
my window sills, I waited
until everyone in the house
was asleep.

No one could question
the protective measures
taken on their behalf
nor doubt their
efficacy.

Burning sage for the first time
took place behind closed doors,
any scent detected probably
thought to be a strange new
candle, since those are
understood.

My rock collection
continues to grow,
new shades of polished
gems and crystals join
dinosaur excrement and
fossilized wood,
each has its place.

@Genuine Joe’s mid-day – 3rd poem of the year

Health, Poetry, Writing

Will My Awakening

Leave a comment

(Poem 2 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

<a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos”>Free Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>

Will my awakening
shock me like a lightning strike
send sizzling energy
bolting from my fingertips
and announce to all in
earshot that I am alive?

Will my awakening
descend gentle as
falling snow and land
on my eyelashes
spinning a new reality
forever in a moment?

Or will my awakening
happen in my sleep
while I dream, a bit of
saliva drooled onto my pillow
and I have no idea it
even happened?

@Genuine Joe’s mid-day – 2nd poem of the year

Health, Writing

Skip the Exercise

Leave a comment

What part of my routine am I tempted to skip? That is the journal topic of the day suggested by WordPress. I am tempted to skip the truth and say cleaning or something less incriminating, but I hate exercising. I don’t like sweating, moving, hurting, aching, exerting, breathing heavily, pumping my heart, flexing my muscles, or anything of the sort.

I know I need to. I know it is important for my health, aging, bone density, healing processes, blah…blah…blah. I am not stupid or uninformed. I make myself do some exercise sometimes. But it hurts my joints, my nerves, my muscles, my bones. No matter what I do, be it stretching, swimming, biking, walking, dancing, yoga, you name it. It hurts and I am miserable before, during, and after. A good work out will leave me suffering for days.

Others say exercise is a good pain for them. That does not exist for me. I was an athlete as a child (a gymnast) and even enjoyed swimming, dancing, and ice skating into my late 30’s. By my 40’s, everything hurt too badly. Oh, well. There you have it. I am tempted to skip the exercise most days. A nice cup of tea and a good book, or better yet, a nap is much more inviting than pain.

Health, Writing

The Wand Chooses the Wizard

1 Comment

I have always wondered why Hermione was placed in Gryffindor. She is clearly a Ravenclaw. Then I started thinking about the fact that I am Ravenclaw despite wishing to be Hufflepuff. The sorting hat must have known she needed Harry and Ron more than other smarty-pants people surrounding her. There are the people we are, the people we want to be, and the people we can become given the right influences and circumstances.

I let this blogsite get cancelled a while back because I did not have available funds to pay for it. Thankfully, when I was able to return, my information and domain name were still available. I was not so lucky with my other publishing website. I have to start over from scratch on that one.

But I feel okay about it all. A fresh start might give me a fresh perspective and kick me into gear with my self-publishing journey once again. It is NanoWrimo time and I have a great novel idea. I have moved to a a multi-generational home and quit teaching. I am focusing on my health and now have more time and energy to devote to my passions.

Would I have expected to be here if anyone had asked me a decade ago? Absolutely not. I could not have planned to be sorted into the family or house I am currently enjoying. Nor could I have foreseen the two ladies with whom I would be sitting here watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I found them through a chain of events I did not orchestrate.

Perhaps things come to us when and if the time is right if we are open to their arrival. We have to put in the footwork and be willing to accept the call, but maybe forces beyond our control are working on our behalf. I know it sounds a little woo-woo, especially when things are not going smoothly in life. And I may not feel this way when the next storm hits. However, it feels nice to think my wand has chosen me, that great things are in store, and just the right friends and family are by my side to battle the darkness.

Health, Writing

A Year Has Passed

1 Comment

Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-sitting-on-the-couch-wiping-her-sweat-with-tissue-7195033/

It has been a year to the day since my last post and I am in a very different place emotionally. Last year, I was much more hopeful and excited about healing, beginning a new school year, finishing my Master’s, and the restful summer I had experienced. Today, I am tired…tired of the Texas heat, tired of dealing with the nonsense required in the teaching field, tired of living paycheck to paycheck, tired of being unable to afford the medical care I need to be healthy and thrive, tired of not having the time or energy to write.

I have decided that I do not like the road I am traveling and need to make some changes. I have wished and dreamed of making change but kept my focus on priorities that are not in line with the reality of the new adventures I want to pursue. I hereby declare that I am no longer putting energy into goals that line up with my previous pursuits. I am going to do what is required of me day to day to meet my obligations, but I am going to reserve the purist, most energetic, liveliest parts of myself for my creative pursuits and begin in earnest to create the reality I yearn for.

All I know is that I want to work remotely, write, be creative, and make enough money to be comfortable and pay for my medical needs. I’m putting it out there and beginning my journey. I’m tired of being tired.

Fiction, Health, Writing

Last Day of Summer Break

Leave a comment

(Photo by David Mao on Unsplash)

I have had a wonderful summer of healing from hip replacement surgery, finishing my Master’s degree in English and Creative Writing, taking long restful naps, and sipping tea while I immerse myself in story.

Tomorrow I return to work sharing my passion for the written word with others as an English Literary Arts and Reading teacher to secondary students (grades 6-12.) My goal this school year is to foster a classroom that encourages both reading and writing as methods of discovery, escape, healing, and growth. Whether the students decide to join me on this journey is another story. I will share weekly moments of triumph and failure as the year unfolds. This will be my 23rd year in education, but my first year of approaching the subject matter in this way. I am excited about the opportunity to try something new.

Wish my students and me luck! It should be quite the adventure.

Health, Writing

Celebrations!

Leave a comment
Photo by Zoran Nikolic from FreeImages

I am happy to announce that great progress has been made in the last year. I have earned my Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing, my grandchildren have been reunited with their parents, I finally had hip surgery, and I made it through the year teaching despite COVID. It has been a wild ride, but things are looking up. I see the glimmers of feeling better and stronger on the horizon. I am certainly more confident about my passion for writing and my commitment to making a career for myself in the literary field. 

Here’s to constant improvement, even if it looks like barely any progress is being made. It is okay to tiptoe out of comfort zones, take teeny tiny baby steps toward goals, and spend tons of time researching options before picking the next right thing. This journey is not a race.