on this crisp, cold morn
I take the dogs on a walk
into the sunrise
just the beginning
of the changing of the leaves
brings joy to my heart!
a country sunrise ~
its beauty is breathtaking
On Our Walk
Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens Surprise!
they’re tying the knot!
he proposed – and she said yes!
so many blessings!
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!
It all screams fall!
crisp feel in the air
decorations, breezes, temps
on the cusp of fall
The candles say it, the decorations declare it, the large stone fireplaces sing out, and it all screams fall. Everywhere I looked, there were signs: wildlife scurrying in a cool-temperature kind of way, people milling about with jackets, and food servers arriving at tables with bowls of soup and chicken pot pie.
There’s nothing like the welcoming in-between seasons of spring and fall for those of us who love the bridges from one phase to the next. The cool-not cold, and the warm-not-hot of the outdoor comforts that allow us to be outdoors in the fresh air, taking in the slight changes that are happening all around ~ these are the best times of all.
Book Talk Continued, an Illustrated Reverse Haibun
I shared, they listened
we engaged in the need for
more writing to heal
My haibun today is in reverse – my haiku is first, my narrative is second, but I’m also adding pictures to make it an illustrated haibun.
The evening kicked off with Craig Logan’s welcome to TUAC and introduction, and then I was honored to share the journey of my writing group’s most recent books after the publication of Bridge the Distance and Rhyme and Rhythm: Sports Poems for Athletes. I printed these notes and placed a copy on the podium to guide me through the evening.
Book Talk Agenda and Talking Points – October 3, 2025 6:30 p.m. TUAC – Thomaston, GA
Agenda Timeline
6:30 – Welcome/introduction/talk
7:00 – Stop talking and take Q and A, Drawing for free books from David’s Bust Vase
7:30 – Reception, Meet and Greet, Book signing
Talking Points
Thank you for coming!
Land Honorarium of Place, Native Tribes, People, Our Stories (keyword for the evening)
In The Beginning:
Write before Read – – the photograph of Dad’s stacks of books/me as a baby seated among them/ him studying/ firm roots in books and language
Crayons – writing in the books, or how I to read and write using Crayola names of colors
Childcraft – Harold Monro “Overheard on a Salt Marsh” Poem fixation, and….
a Child’s Garden of Verses – two copies by age 6
Checklist Book: Memoir, my first book – Father, Forgive Me: Confessions of a Southern Baptist Preacher’s Kid
The Middle:
Mother’s death, NCTE Convention, and Sarah Donovan with The Groups at www.ethicalela.com that emerged ~
Bridge the Distance (Oral History Project through Oklahoma State University)
Rhyme and Rhythm (an invitation to an anthology – read Golden Shovel)
And then……we coded prompts since 2016. Predominant themes emerged: Healing, Assessment, Community Spirit, Technology uses, and Teachers’ needs for shorter texts and stories
Who wants to work on which books? We made groups.
- 90 Ways of Community by Sarah Donovan, Maureen Ingram, and Mo Daley (Read poems from here) – Mo Daley’s poem – “She Told Me Many Months Later”
- Just YA an anthology of over 15 writers
- Words that Mend: The Transformative Power of Writing Poetry for Students, Teachers, and Community Wellbeing and The Authors
- ePoetry by Sarah Donovan and Stefani Boutelier was picked up by a a major education publisher and will come out in 2025
- Assessing Students with Poetry Writing Across Content Areas: Humanizing Formative Assessment for Grades 6-12 by Sarah Donovan, Barb Edler, Kim Johnson, Anna Roseboro, and Gayle Sands is under contract with Routledge and will come out in 2025
The Conclusion:
Keep writing – set a timer – tell your story. Write it down. SHARE it. Your story matters.
Q&A
*Photos shared with me by Bethany Johnson and Briar Johnson, and I am ever appreciative of my sister-in-law and my husband for their outpouring of love and support!
Night Blooming Cereus
I watched it happen:
this night-blooming cereus
popped open and bloomed!
Open Write September Day 5
Barb Edler of Iowa is our host today at http://www.ethicalela.com for the final day of our September Open Write. She encourages us to celebrate our writing group through poetry of any form today. You can read her full prompt here and read the poems of others. On the heels of a celebration of the Labor Day launch of our books Words that Mend and 90 Ways of Community earlier this week, I can’t think of a better way to write today than in thanksgiving and heartfelt gratitude for a group of writers who make a difference in how we live and how we think.
If you don’t have a writing group, I encourage you to find one ~ and you can use this one as a great model for a face to face group in your own corner of the world after spending a few hours looking back at the prompts and the feedback. Get the books, read them, and feel the deep need to fix places you never knew were broken. Too many of us have lost our footing and found ourselves floundering and then discovered the power of writing and what it can do. Today is a day to celebrate the power of the pen and the ways it connects us with others. Anna Roseboro said it best at our celebration: if poetry can do this for us, imagine what it can do for our students. We all need poetry and writing in our lives.
Belonging
we step from shadows
into glowing candlelight
from our scars
we discover soothing balm
from mourning and grief
into reassurance there is
reason to go on
we come from loneliness
to take a hand of belonging
from disconnectedness
to welcoming acceptance
we leave our fears
step into the fold of peace
we leave disappointments
find spiritual hope
we feel our hearts
pulled at the words
someone else’s
shadows
scars
mourning
grief
loneliness
disconnectedness
fears
disappointments
are our own moments
our own memories
and we know
we know
we know
this is no ordinary
writing group
these are
our lifelines
our people
our friends
our family
Open Write September Day 4
Our host today at http://www.ethicalela.com for the September Open Write is Larin of Oklahoma. She inspires us to write “I Thought You Should Know” poems in any form of our choice. You can read her full prompt here, along with the poems of others.
To the Craftsman in Kentucky Who Made the Secretariat
I thought you should know
this piece has been in my family
since 1966, and we won’t give it up~
it sits in the dining room by the table
here in the heat of Georgia
with a fake plant on top since I
can’t keep real ones alive
like the matriarchs did
and I only wish I could rewind
time through all its days and
relive some of the simplest
moments next to it
through the years
as hash browns fried,
cinnamon toast browned,
bacon sizzled,
teaspoons swirled in steaming mugs
and family talked
~ really talked ~
in those hours like they’d have forever
only they didn’t
and we don’t
which is why, Craftsman, your
work of art is safe with us
turning back the years
in ghostly oak
memories
Headache Hoodoo Nonet
folks say a black cherry candle will
stop a pounding headache in its
tracks (and only witch doctors
prescribe such regimens)
but if you’ve ever
burned a candle
(believers
know): it
works!
A Moment
they took my breath away, this moment
when Kona jumped up in Dad’s lap
to show him she understands
her master isn’t well
his gentle hand of
reassurance ~
I’m going
to be
fine.
From Where I Sit
sheers in the window
sun streaked shadows
morning slants
ever-changing
golden eggshell glimmers
radiant shimmers
streaming in
to greet the day
in slow-paced
weekend rays
I savor this
tempting taste
Common Threads 