Monday Morning Musing

Morning light

peeking around perimeter

of bedroom blinds

wakes me

Another night

swiftly gone

and again

I marvel

I am rested

Birds to feed

dog and cat

too

roses to visit

geraniums to prune

porch to sweep

dewy, dirty paws

to brush

before

going inside

to raise dining room blind

Husband's 

soft snore

I go back

to the front porch 

to look in

I praise

the Lord

for a sunny day

and 

a few

tears

slip

down my cheeks

for a son

moving away

I wipe them

on the sleeve

of an inside-out

night shirt

and smile

inwardly

that woods

surround

unseemly dressing

and

selfish tears

I wait

for bedroom blinds

to raise

A bed-headed boy

inside

a man

of six decades

smiles

and signs

I love you

He'll join me

slowly

silently

on the rocker

while I

sway gently

on the swing

my mind

full throttle

his

floating peacefully

along

a river

He's always thankful

for the good

the bad

while I 

petulantly

demand

the good

and

explosively

fight

the bad

Will he

ever

rise up

with fists

and

will I

ever

glide peacefully

along

with what

each day

presents?

Alone,

no, 

but together

yes 

We are one.

Day Trip to Fernandina Beach, Florida (Tuesday, May 6, 2014)

I had been miserable with a cold and thought the salt air would do me a world of good.  Mr. A decided to take the day off and this was our view when we arrived shortly after lunch time.

This is another view of our view.









Not a purse or a rucksack, but my camera bag.  This man loves me.

After we ate lunch, priced for the view, not necessarily the cuisine, Mr. A posed with this cute pink shrimp.  Prior to this moment, he leaned on the chain and almost took a tumble backward.  His caption for this picture is, "'Bout busted my ass!'"  I laughed.  I'm sorry.  But so did some other patrons.  And he still loves me.  There were rockers from this vantage point and jazz played over the speakers, a seaside version of Cracker Barrel. 

Rebellion and living on the edge, AARP style.

Our sons have moved/are moving across the country, so why not, Mr. A?

We met this gentleman in downtown Fernandina.  He sold us a pineapple for twice what we'd pay at Sam's and my sweet husband willingly obliged.  In addition to a very nice pineapple, we were treated to a "Woop, woooop," then a well played song on his harmonica.  I could tell he is a fixture in Fernandina.  The UPS man called to him, "Woop, wooooop!"  Felix the pineapple and mango selling Peanut Man answered with the same call.

He politely accepted my request to take his picture.

 Entrance to another downtown Fernandina business

Requisite selfie

Architecture appreciation, dents and chimneys, Wadsworth's Men's and Women's Apparal.  Nope, didn't shop there, but we did pick up a couple of hats at Wal-Mart, a straw floppy one for me with a raffia bow and a plain khaki weathered one for Mr. A.  Beach businesses surely make a tidy profit on items people forget on impromptu road trips.  

And finally, the real purpose for this trip!

  

Toward the end of the day, there was a little fellow playing nearby and when his parents called him, he dug his cute heels into the sand and stubbornly said, "I want to stay here."  They insisted he go with him and he shot back, "I'm staying here!"

I felt the same way.  

We dined on peanut butter and strawberry preserve sandwiches, mandarin oranges and spring water, then reluctantly folded up the loungers and headed home.  And for what it's worth, I'm much better, healed by the place where the ocean meets the shore.    

An in Your Face Mother's Day

A godly grandmother

a strong mother

and me

I am a good mother

because

my grandmother

taught me

I could be

and my mother

said 

I was

If the boldness

of this

strikes you wrong

I don't care

because

my mothers

would tell me

not to

Reflection, anticipation