1589. perfect day to smile

 

it’s a special day

kev and hillary smile wide

our hearts do too 🦊❤️

Yesterday my son Kevin and his lovely girlfriend Hillary became engaged. It was the perfect way to bring the year to an end. It will be a perfect way for them to start the new year.  It was a day of joy and excitement.  It was the perfect day for lips and hearts to smile.  🦊❤️

1588. “do you hear what i hear?”

 

from somewhere out there

her ears pick up the faint honks

we look up… and wait 🦊❤️

This is the time of year that Yulan’s superior hearing becomes all too obvious to me. We will be walking along and suddenly she will stop, tilt her ear to the sky and slowly adjust the angle of her head so that her ears are in just the correct alignment with the honking that I cannot yet hear.  It is then that a smile appears on her face and she looks up and waits for the grand flyover to materialize.  I look up and wait too! 🦊❤️ 

1587. rainy daze

 

from my dry, warm car

i stare at the crumbling shack

in every raindrop 🦊❤️

There is nothing better than being early for an appointment on a chilly and rainy morning,  sitting in my nice warm car looking out of the window. A calming daze descends and everything outside becomes interesting. It brings back memories of being picked up by the school bus as a kid and looking out of the window watching familiar sites pass before my eyes all the while hoping the ride to school would go on forever. 🦊❤️

1586. little things

 

small things do matter

they create a little space

to feel something nice 🦊❤️

Yulan and I decided to go out for breakfast at the spur of the moment.  Our first choice was totally full of customers with people waiting. We drove around  in circles until we found a little diner.  It had lots of open seats. By that time we were both a little hungry and frustrated. It amazed me how much a simple napkin with “Have a Nice Day” and a rose embroidered on it helped to reset the morning to a relaxed mood.  By the way the food was very good! Have a nice day!!! 🦊❤️

1585. “the wind blows as it wishes…”

 

when i want to know

which way the wind’s a blowin’

i just peek outside 🦊❤️ 

 I have a weather vane of sorts in plain view of my apartment balcony. It is the tall brick smoke stack of the boiler at Chestnut Hill College.  It is a classic structure. The thick plumes of steam that billow sometimes rise undisturbed high into the sky. Other times the plume careens at the wind’s direction the moment it leaves the stack’s opening. The image is one of power and grace. It is also a reminder of the biblical verse, “The wind blows where it wishes…” That’s a good mini lesson in life to start each day off with. 🦊❤️

1584. running on empty

 

the galavantors 

coasting to a screeching stop

all our “get up” gone. 🦊❤️ 

This has been a crazy Christmas time for Yulan and I.  Too much to explain so I will not attempt to.  Last evening we enjoyed our annual Christmas/Hannukah celebration with our dear friends Gloria and Rick.  It was a great time as always.  Lots of great food, conversation and laughs.  Here we are taking a selfie, wearing our tin crowns while waiting for dessert, our tanks nearly on empty!! 🦊❤️

1583. christmas heroes

 

weather’s raw and cold

traveling their appointed route

like santa’s reindeer 🦊❤️

I’m always on the lookout for everyday heroes. It was a snowy, damp and raw Christmas Eve.  My current selection for hero designation are our local Springfield Twp Sanitation Workers who cling onto the back of the trucks regardless of the weather to pick up our trash. I was touched watching them to go about their appointed rounds yesterday morning - reliable as Santa’s reindeer.  Merry Christmas to everyone.  🦊❤️