Not So Famous Last Words

Wait!

There's one more thing I need to tell you,

I love you!

Don't go!

Come back!

Wait!

I'm not finished yet...

Don't say goodbye.

This isn't really the end, is it?

I love you...

I'll miss you...

Wait...

Don't go...

This is the last time we will ever...

I'll really miss you...

Let me know when you get there, okay?

Take care...

Have a great time...

See you soon...

But wait...hang on!

Do you really want to leave now?

Don't you have anything else to say?

Is this it?

Where do we go from here?

Are you really saying goodbye?

Is that all I meant to you?

Well, then...I guess we're done here.

Okay, you win.

I guess it's really over.

Roger that.

Over and out.

Whatever...

And they all lived happily ever after!

The end.

(Yeah, right.)

Until we meet again...

Wait...

Thank you.

Amen.

Video of me reading my original poem Not So Famous Last Words

Thanks for reading/watching!

Role Models

Hi all...do you have any role models, someone in your life or maybe someone you don't even know, but whom you aspire to emulate? I do. It's my Aunt Bertha, my mother's only surviving sibling. She has a birthday tomorrow and I want to celebrate her in this blog piece.

Pictured from left to right: My mom (Stella), Aunt Bertha, Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Stanley circa 1940

Of course, I love my aunt because she is my family. But what I love most about her is that she loves people fiercely like you might expect anyone with an Aries Sun to express their love. She loves her family and her friends wholeheartedly. When we are done talking on the phone she tells me she loves me. I want to do more of that...telling people I love them...now.

When I was growing up, my mother, the eldest of her 3 siblings, would tell me that she often envied her sister because of my aunt's ability to make friends easily. My mother was more shy while my aunt was more of a social butterfly or a "gadabout" as she and I often joke now. I love that she maintains strong connections to friends and family. She even goes to card club!

When I had breast cancer in 2007, my dad had just passed and my mother didn't drive so it was my aunt and uncle who took me to the hospital for surgery and brought me home. Granted, they lived close by, but they were always so self-less and caring. When my mother was in failing health, my aunt brought her homemade soup. When I made my Holy Confirmation 50 years ago, my aunt was my sponsor. She is incredibly kind, thoughtful and giving. I want to be more like her...now.

If you want a good recipe for anything, ask my aunt. She and her sisters were all good cooks and bakers (even though my mother did not enjoy either household task and would be the first to let you know) however, I didn't inherit that gene. LOL But even now, my aunt loves to share her recipes and she even printed a cookbook of her favorites and gave them to family members. I am blessed to have one.

Speaking of books, my aunt gathered her most treasured family stories and with the help of her daughter-in-law and granddaughters published the collection a few years ago. Her stories are warm and funny and some are quite tender, but wow...what a keepsake!

Another reason to revere my aunt...she knows how to take care of herself. Her health is important to her. She knows a lot about good nutrition and exercise. She still walks for 30 minutes most days. I want to have that kind of discipline.

I'm also very blessed to know more about my Polish ancestry than I could have dreamed. And that is thanks mostly to my mother and her sisters. More recently, my aunt gave me copies of photos of my great-grandmother whom I never knew. I always heard the stories about "Bubba" but it's wonderful to see what she looked like and who she resembles.

There's definitely lots more that I could write about my dear aunt, but you get the gist. She is my role model for good living in this world. Cheers to you at 92, Aunt Bertha! We love you!

More joy, please...

If you're anything like me, you may be growing weary of all the political banter on social media and the news in general. It's challenging to connect to folks who only want to talk about what is happening in our world and lately, most of it is negative. Believe me, I am well aware of the horrors, the injustices and of course the plain sadness of it all; however, I'm not here to echo anyone else's words nor am I here to express my personal opinion about any of it. I've entered into those conversations many times before and even when I am able to defend my point of view, I still feel rattled, unsettled and misunderstood when all is said and done. It's just not worth it.

I've long believed that what you talk about, post about, even complain about gets amplified. You are giving that person or entity attention and magnification...even if it's something you disdain. Take cancer, for example. If you are constantly creating awareness about cancer, even the prevention of the disease, you're still focusing and attracting that which you don't want in your life. You're essentially giving those things more weight than what you do want in life.

I am pledging that we talk about and post about what we want more of in life. For me, it's travel, good food and drink, art, time spent with friends and family, funny kitten videos - anything and everything that brings me joy.

My painting of a Belted Kingfisher

Look, I'm not a Pollyanna nor do I have my head in the sand, but keeping the faith in turbulent times, while challenging, is necessary for us to continue moving forward.

I recently joined Substack because I believe it's a better place to share my art, poems and other joys with likeminded people.

If you already subscribe to this blog on my website, you may have already received an email from me inviting you to join me on Substack. Check it out by clicking here...if it's not for you, no worries. I'm still trying to figure out how their site works, but meanwhile, I hope we can still connect here as well as on Instagram.

Today is March 4th. This morning in my journal, I wrote that it's a great day to "march forth." Let's march forth together. Let's be a force for good in this world.

Many of us would love to see what you made for dinner last night...maybe you'll share the recipe. We want to applaud your recent crochet project. We want to read your poems and stories. Tell us about your ancestry. Where is your favorite place in the world? Show us pics of the updated kitchen. Tell us one good thing that happened today. I think you get the idea...

Let's march forth together. And maybe we can stop for ice cream along the way.