168/365 The promise of Tomorrow

Dear faces, bereft

Of their smiles, call to our hearts

For solace and hope.

167/365 Milestones

Our lives expand as

Our children take each new step

Multiplying joy.

 

Congratulations Alison and Tim. 

166/365 Assurances

Gentle words can calm

The heart, quiet the raging

Storm of wave-tossed doubts.

165/365 Early Morning

 

Gilded clouds drift past

The window, high against the

Pale blue morning sky.

 

164/365 Storytelling

The chronicles of

Daily life tell only part

Of each heart’s story.

163/365 Reinventing the Wheel

Open to change while

Asking opinions requires

Strength and optimism.

162/365 Thunder Shower

Great, heavy drops of

Rain cascading against hot

Skin bring cool relief.

161/365 Expectation

The pleasure found in

Planning is but a shadow

Of the achievement.

160/365 Unexpected Loss

The cold sudden touch

Of sorrow intrudes even

In the joys of life.

159/365 Rolling Winds

The strong summer wind

Tumbles sunshine and shadows

Like surf-tossed pebbles.

158/365 Reminiscence

Shivers, unbidden,

Delight the heart as mem’ries

Surge with rueful grace.

157/365 Agenda

Calendars, clocks, lists,

Tracking time and sanity

Through bustling days.

Food! Glorious Food!

So.

The food.

 

This program does include/advocate

a system of six small meals daily,

(taken every 2.5 - 3 hours)

emphasizing proteins and good carbs.

And water.

Lots of water.

 

Palm-sized protein portions.

Fist-sized carbs.

 

 

I'm not hungry.

I'm not bored with my options.

The biggest challenge, so far,

has been to stretch my day to accommodate

an 18-hour period between first

and last meal.

Especially, when my preferred schedule

doesn't see me out of bed 'til around 7:00 am

and I want to stop eating around

7:30 each evening.

Back in bed by 9:30.

It's tough.

 

It makes me laugh to think of the day that I returned from class,

picked my spinach and prepared an egg for my

second breakfast. 

(This is the only meal that I actually take the time to prepare.)

(as opposed to a bowl of bran flakes with strawberries)

(or peanut butter toast)

(or nuking a bowl of rice and beans)

Fresh spinach

onion

red pepper

some cheese

one egg

1/2 a whole grain wrap.

 

Anyway.

By the time I finished my breakfast

cleaned up

took a shower and got ready to

run errands

it was time to eat again!! 

I'll have to learn to move faster...

 

I use my chart and log faithfully.

Starting with a plan for the day is necessary, though

adjustments are often made as I juggle

schedule and intent.

 

For the last few years it has been our habit to

grill enough meat for a week's meals.

Appropriate portions are frozen and

ready-at-hand.

This works well with my new regimen.

 

I've learned to make a

batch of brown rice to keep ready in the 'fridge.

I make it with vegetable stock.

 

Last week it was eaten with black beans,

cheese and fresh salsa.

Sometimes hot, sometimes cold.

Sometimes early in the day.

Sometimes as supper.

 

This week, I sautéed a portion of cabbage, onion, red pepper

and carrots (kept ready for several meals)

which I will add to the rice when needed.

 

I carry a portion of almonds whenever I leave the house.

Water, too, bien sur!

I'm making the effort to save my

greek yogurt closer to bedtime, which I find

a hard habit to cultivate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



156/365 Play Date

Children’s voices sound

Clear, bright in sunshine buffered

By soft, cool breezes.



Sunday

Our project this weekend was to replace

the window in the upstairs bathroom.

 

According to the papers that accompanied it

professional installation

would require approximately

one hour.

 

Whatever else we may be

professional installers

we're not.

 

Some creative problem-solving was required, involving

several additional trips up and

down the ladder.

 

What really slowed us down, though,

was stopping to watch the green beans grow.

 

Seriously.

 

google images

 

Last week Tim planted green beans

in the garden box on the south

side of the house.

The ladder to the window was set

just beside the garden space.

 

When we started the box was empty except for three (3)

fingernail-sized, green nubbins,

just emerging through the black soil. 

 

Over the course of the next 90 minutes

we watched those three nubbins 

turn into stemmed plants with

 leaves unfurled.

By the time we packed up the ladder

four more nubbins had emerged.

 

Amazing.

 

 



155/365 Leonine

Ears alert, watching

Intently through glass, golden

Companion stands guard.



154/365 Wonder

Pushing through the rich

Blackness, green sprouts emerge with

Growth measured hourly.

Week One

Week one is in the books!

Can I get a hallelujah!?

 

Here's what I'm taking away -

besides the sore muscles.

 

When we started I hoped there would be some moves/exercises
 that I would be able to do.

Not do well - but do. 

And there were.

 

There are also some that give me trouble.

I expected that, too.

(it may seem like a fine distinction -
"not do well" and "give me trouble"
- but there is a big difference.)
 

So things didn't get ugly until I ran into one that

I could. not. do.

At all.

Period.

 

That's was when the tears threatened.

Laying on my back I'm thinking

"Don'tcrydon'tcrywaittilyougetotthecar"

And I held it together.

 

I also made it my personal challenge

to master that particular exercise

by the end of my ten weeks.

 

That was day 2.

 

Afterword one of the coaches

stopped to chat and mentioned that she left

during her second day.  Ran (waddled),

 to her car

and swore she'd never come back.

 

Someone else added that she'd cried all the way home.

Another one admitted that she couldn't do sit-ups

when she first started

which got a laugh and they all started naming

their particular wash-out exercise.

 

These were not canned motivation snippets.

They were sincere.

They came from instructors, coaches,

and the person panting next to you. 

 

Twice during the week it was necessary to attend a different session.

I found the same helpful attitude among

these strangers.

The same variety of ages, shapes and abilities. 

 

Friday was an all-out kickboxing extravaganza!

We worked.  Hard.  Non-stop.

and it felt like it the next day.  Oy.

 

Yesterday was a *slower* day. 

A one-time, two hour session to address form

both on the bag and with the bands.

Just newbies.

No less intense.

 

And tomorrow it starts all over, again.

 

 

 

 

153/365 Remembering When

Yesterday’s voices

Heard anew in memories

Of good times, once shared.

152/365 Interlude

Glistening sidewalks

Reflect skulking clouds hostile

With rainy intent.

151/365 Soft Breeze

The unexpected

 Touch radiates cool relief

To hot, exposed skin.

Whoo-whoo!!

150/365!!

 

That seems like a significant number.

 

Today we have sunshine,

humidity,

and sore muscles.

 

So back to the boxing gloves...

The class I'm involved in uses a combination

of kickboxing and

strength training through resistance bands.

They also emphasize healthy nutrition.

Six days a week.

Alternating KB and ST

and rotating upper and lower body workouts for each.

 

Monday was LB KB.

Tuesday, LB ST.

Today was UB KB

 tomorrow will be UP ST

and Friday should be LB KB again.

 

I was told the class would include a variety of

ages,

shapes and

abilities

and that has proven true.

 

I was also told to expect a

community/camaraderie

among the participants,

which has also proven true.

 

This is so far outside any comfort zone

I've ever imagined.

The schedule/accountability

is just what I needed to get out of my slump.

The people are a good influence

in many ways.

 

I don't quite have the proper technique

for the hook

but I have a killer upper-cut!

 

More soon.

 

 



150/365 Rest

Attention drifts, eyes

Close, thought slows allowing the

Weary to revive.

149/365 Intoxicating

Airborne elixir,

The scent of new-mown grass swirls

Through the still evening.

Appraisal

We all set a variety of goals

throughout our lifetime.

The inchoate daydreams of youth

give way to five-year plans. 

 

 We set our sights on desired

education,

partners,

possessions,

addresses,

fill-in-the-blank,

and we map out the strategies necessary

to get us from point A

to point B.

 

Childhood school lessons 

fostered a desire to live in Pennsylvania

and the years we spent there

are among my favorites.

 

As an young adult I came across

the word "inchoate" for the first time

and I have waited patiently for

the opportunity to use it.

 

 

Never, though, never

was there a time when even my wildest 

dreams included these:

 

google images

 

Yet, I now have a pair

and they will be a primary accessory

for the next ten weeks.

 

Check back and learn more...

 

 

 

 

148/365 Fog

Blankets of deep mist

Dampen even the sounds of

Morning with chill grey.

147/365 Try

New ventures offer

Opportunities to test

Accepted limits.

Saturday Morning

If you only knew how gloriously this day started.

 

google images

 

Picture....

picture....

picture a margarine commercial

because it would require

the combined talents of

Don Draper

and his Madison Avenue cohorts

to script such a perfect day.

 

Fade in...

birds singing in the background

light filtering through still leaves as a

pale sun climbs the

cloudless blue sky.

Pan to

verdant green expanses awash with

sparkling dew

as an earth-mother-type

tiptoes barefoot through the grass

to pick spinach

from the garden for her morning omelet.

 

The two hours that this idyll lasted

is the payoff for all the

extreme weather we deal with

in the Midwest.

 

p.s. the omelet was super, too!



146/365 Saturday Morning

Thick dew sparkles as

The pale morning sun rises

In a calm, blue sky.

145/365

Early morning mists

Are slowly pushed aside as

Sunlight warms the air.

144/365 Lightning Bugs

Bright, strobe-like flashes

Decorate the night hanging

Above the still grass.

143/365 Rainy Night

Misty haloes lend

An otherworldly glow to

Commonplace street lights. 

Tuesday Morning

Yesterday was a glorious spring day.

Soft cool breezes, warm sunshine,

intoxicating fragrance,

 complemented by a melodious soundtrack.

 

 

Today is overcast and rainy.

Spring...



142/365 Shadow Dance

Dappled shadows, cast

By dancing leaves, play across

The waving green grass

141/365 Cotillion

Dancing leaves perform

Graceful lifts and twirls partnered

With Spring’s soft breezes.

140/365 Peek-A-Boo

Sunshine plays behind

Shifting clouds casting patchwork

Shadows as it hides.

Close Shave

I almost broke the thread of haiku

last night.

Not because I was gone,

busy,
or had experienced a breakdown
of technology.

No, I simply lost track of time!

 

Tim was on a field trip.

He'd taken a couple guys to North Platte

 to see the train yard.

They were delighted.

Said it was everything

 - and more -

they could have expected.

 

I had to work this morning which

normally sends me to

bed at a very reasonable hour on a Friday night.

 

I was on the phone with my mother around 8:00.

Finished with her and picked up

the book I've been trying to finish,

intending to read for maybe an hour.

Maybe a little longer...

But the next thing I knew the clock said

11:45!!

My first thought was that the alarm was going

to ring awfully early the next morning.

Then I remembered there had been

no poem posted for the day!!

 

Yikes!!

I put something together - just made it.

The time stamp says 11:56.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



139/365 Welcome

The heart stirs as my

Beloved’s well-known voice sounds

Softly in my ear.