we looked
you drove
I rode
we talked
we offered
they rejected
we walked
and just like that:
decisions are made
Decisions
Day 20 of #VerseLove with Susan Ahlbrand
Susan Ahlbrand of Indiana is our host today for the 20th day of #VerseLove. She inspires us to write Noteworthy poems. You can read her full prompt here.
She shares the process for writing these poems: reflect on communications you’ve had in the past . . . notes like mine, phone calls, letters, texts, Facetimes, and then work them into a poem. Feel free to tinker with an inventive form.
Getting the Picture
there was this picture
this picture of a watermelon
A WATERMELON!
a watermelon sliced
sliced like cries
cries of a mother
a mother with cancer
cancer that consumed
consumed her, piece by piece
piece by piece, like a watermelon
like a watermelon, there was
there was this picture
picture a mother
a mother crying for mercy
for mercy denied
denied until the end
the end, after the pain
the pain of loss
loss of a body, loss of a family
a family broken, a shattered picture
picture a mother
a mother who mattered
mattered to her sons
her sons who loved her
loved her and listened
listened and heard
heard her pleas
her pleas for mercy
for mercy denied
denied by others
others who refused
refused to believe
believe she felt pain
pain that consumed, piece by piece
piece by piece consumed their mother
a mother who mattered
Word Box
I’m a sucker for wooden blocks that will fit words on them, so when I found miniature Jenga blocks in the Dollar Tree for $1.25 per set, I bought 3 boxes of them. Each game set has 72 blocks. I also purchased a sturdy Christmas giftbox I’d planned to use for recipe cards, but I got a better idea once I saw the blocks.
Three sets fit perfectly into the recipe box. 
What if I wrote positive action verbs on them and gave them as a gift to someone who needs positive words every day? Instead of having One Little Word, what if I came up with 72 x 3 = 216 words and wrote them on the box, encouraging this person to pull one daily and meditate on it or use it as a journaling challenge to not only meditate, but to write a quip about how the word played into the day?
Wait, what if I used both sides, like 216 x 2 = 432 and said, “take your choice, front or back, and start all over when you get to 217 so you can have one for every day of the year?” 
So that is what I worked on all day yesterday. 
My Christmas Day post will be my word list you might choose to print and write on your own Dollar Tree miniature Jenga blocks, and place in your own container for journaling throughout the year. Perhaps one of these words will be your One Little Word for 2024, or perhaps…..just perhaps……you might even use these words as the diopter lens on the choice word, to give it an added focus and perspective. 
Christmas Eve – – a time for reflecting, for renewing, for thinking back and looking ahead. A time for silent introspection, for all the wonder of lights and magic. A time for the sacredness of the Nativity, and the blessings of peace and everlasting life for all who believe. 
My May Goal Update
Any good goal system has to be periodically updated, which is why I revisit my goals at the end of each month. Sometimes I feel myself slipping, and sometimes I reach goals and then move away from them and have to re-establish them and strive to reach them again. Keeping them in my sight throughout the year is a dance – – whether two steps forward and one step back or one step forward and two steps back, I keep the momentum when I devote some time each month to thinking about making things happen. Because a goal without a plan, as they say, is just a dream.
Here’s what is happening this month:
| Category | Goals | My Progress |
| Literature | Shift from Read Around the USA to reading with Sarah Donovan’s Ethicalela book group, which begins in August – My goal is to co-host April with Fran Haley and host next July alone, unless someone wants to join in and be a partner. Continue to Blog Daily – I’m considering moving to a weekly blog, but I’m undecided as yet. | Signed up to host the book groups – Ada Limon’s The Hurting Kind poetry for April 2024and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart for July 2024. Ordered the first two books in the yearly reading series. I have blogged daily this month. |
| Creativity | Improve blog photos Indulge in photo excursions | I’ve been reading tips on improving photography from websites like Audubon, and using the tips to apply to my photos. I’ve been taking my camera on my outings, and I always keep it handy on the way up or down the driveway, since so much wildlife lives right there. |
| Spirituality | Tune in to church Pray! Keep OLW priority | We have tuned in to the First Baptist Church of YouTube through the month and listened to Dad as he has preached in different locations as pulpit supply. I’ve prayed my way to work most days, and I’m keeping prayer as my priority – we have so many blessings that can never be thanked for enough. |
| Reflection | Write family stories Spend time tracking goals each month | I haven’t been writing as many family stories as I should be writing. I have been tracking my goals, though. |
| Self-Improvement | Reach top of weight range Maintain Weight | I reached the top of my goal weight range and tried maintaining, but I failed to maintain. Now I’m back to needing to lose 10 pounds, and I’m going to try it with Weight Watchers instead of Optavia this time, since I find it more sustainable. Plus, I need a banana every day of my life for potassium – – not allowed on Optavia. Thankfully, a lot of weight has not been gained. I just need to reel it in. Maintenance is the harder goal of losing and keeping it off. |
| Gratitude | Devote blog days to counting blessings | I still devote blog days to counting my blessings. It helps to look ahead on the calendar and anticipate days like birthdays and other celebrations, like Marshall and Selena’s anniversary at the end of May and Beckham’s birthday at the beginning. |
| Experience | Embrace Slow Travel Focus on the Outdoors Add birding in at least three new counties for June – I currently have official counts for four Georgia counties. | We are indeed embracing slow travel as we take more camper trips. Instead of planning a cruise or a trip overseas this summer, we are opting to drive Route 66 (half of it) at an enjoyable pace, stopping to see the sights. We leave at the end of June for this with Briar’s brother and his wife, so we can share the driving and go at our own pace. We’ve been spending more time outdoors at home and away – spiffing up the yard, savoring campsites. Spring is the ultimate time to get outdoors! I’m even trying a few new plants to see if I can keep them alive. I have officially posted birding counts for Pike, Harris, Washington, and Cherokee counties in Georgia. My goal is to stop along the way home when we are at campsites and get at least three new counties by the end of June. |

Common Threads 