Seen on Facebook – I borrowed this post from a friend.
Wendy Everard of New York is our host for Day 3 of October’s Open Write, inspiring us to write Bop poems. You can read her full prompt here.
The Process
Here are the basic rules for The Bop:
3 stanzas
Each stanza is followed by a refrain
First stanza is 6 lines long and presents a problem
Second stanza is 8 lines long and explores or expands the problem
Third stanza is 6 lines long and either presents a solution or documents the failed attempt to resolve the problem
My poem is inspired by a friend’s Facebook post. She’d found Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake donuts and thought it would be a good idea to share ~ to tempt her friends, of whom I am surely the most temptable.
Our host for Day 2 of the October Open Write is a group of students at Aquinas College in Michigan, inspiring us today to write odes to change. Stefani Boutelier, an instructor at AC, leads them in their prompt offering today, which you can read in its entirety here.
Ode to Letting Go in Chained Haiku
the leaves show us how on our morning driveway walks straight into the sun
how to let things go bidding the branches goodbye flitting to forest
floor beneath, seeking, stirring, gathering in groups with others who’ve held
onto things for far too long to know weightlessness untethered freedom
to roll on gentle breeze to take to bright blue skies on blustery gusts
to change their small view and see the whole world anew. ~ a new perspective
Scott McCloskey from Michigan is our host today for the first day of our October Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com. He inspires us to write Questionable Products Poems – the kind with a slant of an ode to something that raises our eyebrows in wonder, disgust, or utter surprise. You can read his full prompt here. Be sure to check out the links, too, at the bottom – for those strange things we all need.
The drive took 8 1/2 hours with only one stop to fill up the gas tank and to get an iced mocha and a Rice Krispy treat as a snackish meal to avoid making a time consuming stop. When I blew through Nashville without any significant delays, this should have been the signal flag that I was in traffic trouble in Chattanooga and Atlanta.
Standstill traffic in each of those two cities set me back by two hours – about an hour each with stop and go brake lights and watching the rear view mirror in case I needed to brace myself for a texting driver not paying attention. I finished my audiobook and talked to family on the phone, catching up from the few days I was away.
A return to my own bed and flatter memory foam pillows was bittersweet. I miss my daughter and her fiancé already, but I rest in the comfort that they are continually building their new life together a few states away, while mine is here. There is great blessing in the peace of knowing that she is deeply happy and that so many prayers have been answered.
The day began like any other, only it wasn’t. A bowl of Raisin Bran with a sliced banana and a cup of coffee, the back-hum of morning news and the coming and going of guests all eating breakfast in a Hampton Inn in Western Kentucky – – and I was among them, looking forward to the big surprise awaiting my daughter at the Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens in the afternoon. No, this day was certainly not like any other I’d ever lived.
On August 20, he’d asked for her hand, and I gave my whole-hearted blessing. He’d been there for her on one of the toughest roads of her life. In those moments that held emotional release as I watched them interact in their early days, I saw something different about this young man and the way he’d interacted with my daughter.
First, the love in his eyes. His mother said the same thing: he’s dated before, but I’ve never seen him look at anyone else with such love. Her observation took the words right out of my mouth. Their love for each other is evident. So real you can see it.
Second, the care. I witnessed her tears as she sat at the table searching for a lost item needing to be found, hearing her sniffles at the sense of hopelessness for only a moment before he got up from his chair, rounded the table, took her in his arms, and comforted her in the gentlest way.
I prayed. Lord, please let us find what we need.
Then, in an obscure envelope in the most unlikely place in the box from the attic, it manifested itself like sunlight rising over a crest.
This journey has been one of prayer, one of power seen in the ordinary moments for this couple. And God winked on them – he knows her tender heart, knew it would take a strong and patient man to win her heart and her trust. And the good Lord sent just the right soul mate.
Third, the lighthearted fun and playful side that keeps them laughing – a quick run and boot-bottom slide down the aisle of the store when no one is looking, teasing each other here and there in all the ways that will get them through life without taking it all too seriously to be enjoyed. He asked her what kind of birthday cake she’d wanted, and she jokingly quipped she’d wanted a cake like Aunt Petunia made in one of the Harry Potter movies.
And he made it for her.
And fourth, the commitment. I saw it before, but I saw it in other ways on my visit here on my fall break- the commitment to family, to God, to each other. This family sits down for cooked meals – – talks about what they want to eat, shops for it, slices carrots and mashes four full heads of cauliflower like mashed potatoes and cooks together. Someone makes shortbread and can talk about the balance of sugars and fats and how that’s the science of baking that he knows so well. Another pulls out a special sauce to marinate the chicken for the grill, while one takes it to the flat top for cooking. There is a throng of family present, and they take turns walking and feeding the rescue dogs that are a part of their family. They all pitch in, then they sit down together and thank God for his many blessings. And one takes the plates when everyone is finished, while his mother thanks him. I believe somewhere in the deepest reaches of my heart that they also thank God for their challenges. The mold issue that forced them to gut their home and rebuild it brought a more spacious kitchen – – one where the table is at the heart, filled with chairs for coming together and talking at the end of the day – a place where conversation keeps them connected like the roots of the strongest trees. It keeps them close.
I knew why I gave my blessing, but it wasn’t until I visited and became part of the fabric of this amazing family that I fully understood what she shared on her Facebook post:
I’m thrilled for these two young adults with their lives ahead of them – ready for the living, with a family who loves them – and them, ready to love their own family when they welcome their son into the fold in January. And I was blessed to be a part of their big moment yesterday. This young man knew her mama’s heart needed to be there to celebrate, and he made it happen, holding tight to the ring he’s had waiting for two months now, buying a new jacket with big enough pockets to hide the ring for just the right moment, just the right place, just the right timing.
Steadfast prayers of so many have brought the most beautiful blessings!
I made the trip Friday night from Georgia to Tennessee, and on Saturday morning from Tennessee to Kentucky. Although it’s a long and tiring trip, especially driving it alone and at night, it has been worth every second for all the joy and excitement! I’m here in Western Kentucky, just a few minutes from Indiana, to celebrate the forthcoming arrival of my new grandson, Silas Haynes Neal. He’s something of a triple miracle ~ his parents overcame their own personal struggles, and then their best choices led them to each other. They found love. They found blessing. They drew two families together to love this little bud on our family tree who will surely have us all wrapped up in his sweetness and charm before long.
Their first dates were picnics and hikes here in Yellow Creek Park, so this is where they chose to be showered with blessing again. I noticed children swinging, playing on the playground, laughing and stealing with delight as I drove into the entrance of this park. What a fitting place – a place holding the history of their own romance and the future of their son’s play. An outdoorsy place that stamps the love of nature and outdoors right into the imprint of his name’s meaning – Silas Haynes Neal (woodland) – and the theme of the nursery – – woodland friends. A place where the grandmothers embraced wearing jeans and woodland colors, keeping the festivities relaxed and simple, focused on others like two Marys in a Martha world. The very things we hope for our grandson.
But we did do a Martha thing or two. The first gift was a knife and cake server set, engraved with his name, to be used from the baby shower to the birthday cakes to the wedding cake and any other cakes throughout his life. There will always be a memory of the grandmothers at celebrations – – grandmothers who, from before his first breath, prayed and hoped for his happy future with much to celebrate, even when we are no longer here to cut the cake.
gift from his grandmas~
a personalized cake knife
engraved with his name
for celebrations
through all of his lifelong years
to know he belongs
a child loved, wanted
here on the family tree
woven into the
personalities,
yarns of who we are, taking
our bloodlines as his
And I hope, truly hope, that his fun side shines through – – that someday, just like his father, he takes the silver elastic band from a gift and puts it on his head and smiles on – because that’s where the joy is found, in being a little silly and not too rigid and serious.
I’ve extended my stay to be able to enjoy more outdoor experiences and beauty of nature with these two today. We’ll visit the Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens and stroll through the pleasant breezes forecast for the day. The leaves are just beginning to change, and the feel of fall is crisp in the air. It’s a perfect day for all the best that life has to offer!
I made the trip late Friday night, leaving work at 4 p.m. and planning to drive to Chattanooga before stopping to sleep. Even though there have been two major hurricanes in the Southeast in the past week or so, I hadn’t predicted the fully booked impact on hotels. There was no room in the inns for me. Not in Chattanooga, not in Manchester, not in the second exit after Manchester. It wasn’t until Murfreesboro that I found the proverbial “one last room,” and I eagerly and exhaustedly took it, continuing the rest of the trip yesterday morning after a restful sleep.
My worst fears flashed when I got to Owensboro to check in for a few days here, only to be told at the first hotel that they were booked. Thankfully, I found a room on the second attempt at a nearby hotel and checked in after a full day of scouting for fruit and vegetable trays, baby game prize gifts, and the perfect woodland-colored jumper and sweater set to show off the little one growing in my daughter’s cute belly.
This baby is a healing miracle for her and for her love. They found each other, despite all odds of their challenging journeys, and two families come together today to help them prepare to become not only a couple, but also a family.
The grandmothers got together to give our Silas a cake knife and slice server engraved with his name: Silas Haynes Neal. This set will be used at his baby shower and at his birthday parties in years to come, with the hopes that he will also use it as he cuts the groom’s cake at his own wedding someday – and we hope that if we are no longer here to be physically present, then there will at least be some small part of us present in spirit on that day as he celebrates.
For today, we are here and we are anticipating his arrival at the end of 2024. We couldn’t be happier!
Common Threads 