Fool's Paradise

lost within my tattered memories
time is not my enemy here
for I have nothing but time...
allowing myself the luxury of
remembering, re-living, (re-inventing?)
what really happened
and why
things happened the way they did
(or the way I allowed them to?)
or the way they were meant to be .
some may call me a fool for that part of my life...
I prefer to think of it as a personal paradise...
it's all a matter of perspective,
isn't it?

The poem was written for the prompt "Fool's Paradise" over at OSI. It was inspired by a few books that I have read recently and a post on Facebook referencing someone sifting through her memories because they are all she has left in life.

Seeking

You are always seeking outward~
Looking to others
For approval
and validation
Never finding what you are looking for
and always coming up short-
at least in your eyes...
You wonder why is this so elusive-
Do you need to look somewhere else...
No,
Just look within,
Where all you need
has always been-
waiting...
for you to acknowledge it!

"Seeking" is the prompt at OSI this week.

For all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving this week, have a wonderful celebration and hopefully have time to reflect on all the Blessings in your Life!

V is for Vignettes

I love being walking into a store and being surrounded by Eye Candy in the form of little vignettes. It makes shopping and browsing so much more interesting- even if all the "pieces" aren't for sale. I tend to be drawn to those kind of stores and then am so happy if I happen to have my camera. This happened on Saturday when my friend Mary and I took a road trip up to Spring Green, WI to the store Country Sampler. What a treat for the eyes that was! It is a cross stitch/quilt/primitives store. So much to look at....from the fabrics, to the framed samplers to the quilts, to the seasonal displays- it was overwhelming and TOTALLY worth all the hype my stitching friends gave it! In another Life I would love to be a set designer for the movies or tv- I get so much pleasure thinking of all the details that make up a setting and all the little vignettes!

Sweet November

Ah- November- that wonderful sigh between Halloween and Christmas...the time for me to catch my breath before all the craziness of the holidays are upon us! I love this time of year- the deep bittersweets, and goldens, russets, and scarlets. The sights and smells of late Autumn are ours to drink in and tantalize the senses; cinnamon, spices, bonfires, burning leaves, pumpkins, apples, cornstalks, crows...The temperatures rise and fall from chilly and misty to downright Indian Summerish. from sweaters to boots to jackets to hoodies- November is a potpourri of fashion options- sometimes all the aforementioned can be worn in a single day!

I feel November is highly underrated. Stores and radio stations advertise and start hawking Christmas merchandise and push it all in our faces. To me, November is a delicious secret that is not being shared and passed around. It's a great month to throw open the windows and doors on those Indian Summer evenings, light some candles and just be...To get started in a new craft or hunker down with an old craft as the days grow shorter...A time to crunch through the leaves and watch as the winds make them spin and twirl... Sit with a good book, a worn blanket and a favorite warm beverage and cozy it up!...November is my time to reflect, and revel in all that late Autumn holds.

Happy Accidents

At the moment I home sick today with a self-diagnosed intense sinus infection (that started with a bad cold last weekend) and laryngitis. I should have stayed home Monday, Tuesday, and or Wednesday but my over-inflated sense of Responsibility made me go to school each day even though I felt really awful and had a horrific time talking. Today was the first day that I felt organized enough and the day at school was calm enough to actually stay home and try and get better and it is SO nice to not have to talk to anyone. In my world, my students are not the ones that a teacher can put up an assignment on the board and the kids can complete it on their own. I am pretty much in front of my class and directing them out loud (instruction and behavior) for the full 90 minutes of Language Arts classes. It's daunting on a good day but when I don't feel good it is overwhelming. I am lucky I have some very capable and helpful aides that will do what they can to help out. And in Middle School if the kids see a "crack in the wall" they will do everything in their power to push through that crack and destroy that wall- so it has been a challenging week to say the least.

Anyway, I have been told to "get some rest" via email from my sub this morning- the same lady who, after subbing for me yesterday afternoon so I could attend a staffing and then a district meeting (which I never made it to because I was double booked and ran out of time) and then stay after school for my Newspaper Club until 4- ran home and came back and dropped a care package off on my desk of homemade pumpkin bread, tea bags, and chocolate- is she FABULOUS or what; LOVE her! So I have been working on resting and doing some reading and just finished the book Happy Accidents by Jane Lynch (who currently stars as the cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, on the Fox hit tv show Glee) that my bibliophile friend Laura loaned me. I am usually NOT a fan of anything non-fiction and rarely read biographical books (Rob Lowe- exception), but this one I loved for a bunch of Happy Accidents that I found out about Jane's life while reading the book.

First of all, she and I are about the same age (within a year). She grew up in Dolton, IL which is 2 towns away from where I grew up- Glenwood- and she makes MANY references to localities that really took me back. She attended an area high school -Thornridge- that was a rival of my own, Homewood Flossmoor. As she chronicled her tumultuous journey through high school through theater and choir productions, it brought back many memories of my own- same time period- as I was a part of our school's prestigious Viking Choir and the cultural times of the late 70's. If that were not enough similarities, she then headed to Normal, Illinois to Illinois State at the same time I did and we lived in the same residence hall !!! There the Happy Accidents cease for me but it just nails home one of my personal beliefs- that "everyone has their own stories." Everyone has their own path to take Life and their own Way to make- sometimes intersecting others' on their own journeys, but invariably leading to the Life one is supposed to lead. I enjoyed Jane's book on so many levels- the references I could relate too, as well as the cultural time periods she mentioned and the tenaciousness with which she embraced her own life goals and life style- eventually leading her to the happiness and fame she is experiencing today. We should all be so lucky!

Just a thought....

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."

~ Emily Bronte

Universal Languages

I have a lot to "say" on the prompt of Language that OSI has going on this week. Here is my first interpretation:

the language of teens~
silent, sullen, stonewalling...
it's like pulling teeth

**************************************************

as Summer stealthily sneaks away
so goes its special Language
a vacation of sorts from the ordinary...
imagined in bold strokes- a cheerful colored bright font-
its many statements in capital letters punctuated by exclamation points!
only to be replaced with the Language of Fall-
an elegant, formal script ~
reminiscent of Golden Days and Harvest Moonlit Nights-
a bounty of treats to delight all of the senses...
it's "stems and roots" seeded and planted across time and place...
this Language is spoken in cadences of red, golden, and amber
the pitch and intensity swelling as the season gets underway...
the Colors of Summer brightness fade a bit
to their more refined synonyms...
crimson, bittersweet, eggplant, olive, topaz, wheat
Summer rains replaced by leaf showers at first
drifting dreamily downward...
then turning into a whirlwind of colors and shapes
kicked into high gear by the chilly autumn gusts whistling down the pike-
as the leaves scurry before they are whisked away in a leafy tornado...
the Language of Fall-
spoken for such a short time
but enjoyed and understood by so many everywhere
***************************************************
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to pack the car with all my weekend "stuff" (movies, cross stitching, books, papers to grade) and one of our dogs and head to Michigan to spend my last weekend there before we close up for the season. Saturday was chilly and rainy but I decided to go for a drive anyway. Without GPS, I just took off into the countryside and basically went where I wanted to. I love finding out of the way places and going down untraveled roads looking for picturesque or unusual things to take pictures of. I was out for about 4 hours doing this and had the best time. Here are some of the pictures I took- more to come later this week.
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Step Right Up (amuse)

Many days I find myself a Ringmaster
in my own 3 Ring Circus
surrounded by a bevy of Clowns-
who provide laughter and amusement
usually for their own enjoyment~
although some even try and call the shots
(until they are escorted out of the ring)
Then there are the animals...
both wild and tame-
with a thin line dividing the two-
sometimes hard to tell which is which...
It takes years of training
to make sure I am not eaten alive
and even then there is no guarantee!
Jumping through hoops
is part of my shtick-
as well as daring balancing acts
(usually without a safety net)
and juggling feats
not intended for the faint of heart
leaving me winded and breathless -
my head spinning-
as I command (or attempt to) Center Ring-
playing to a tough crowd
with 5 shows daily
185 days a year (closed on weekends and holidays)
in The Greatest Show on Earth...

MY CLASSROOM!

This week's prompt at OSI is "amuse." The idea for this poem came about because of the pictures that I took this summer up in Baraboo, Wisconsin near Circus World Museum. I was there many years ago as a kid, but seeing the buildings this summer brought back lots of nostalgia. I love the old buildings and vintage circus posters. Last weekend up in Michigan I saw the Ringling Brothers Circus train parked outside of Grand Rapids; we were driving too fast for me to get a picture :(. The whole circus atmosphere has always intrigued me- even though personally I am not a fan of the circus (go figure). I thought the circus theme fit with my life as a teacher and I am often amused at the juggling that goes on within a 45 minute period; it IS something like a 3 ring circus. Between the schedules and their constant changes, and the curriculum, the disabilities, interruptions, the behavior, the administration, the aides, the other teachers, the related services, and sometimes the parent demands- it is AMAZING and somewhat amusing anything ever gets done and progress is made...but it does!

Betrayal

They say
actions
speak louder than words...
You
are keeping your word-
But-
your actions-
which speak volumes...
are a betrayal
of those words~
If you only knew
what I know...

"Betrayal" is the prompt at OSI this week. Please visit and see the other poems for this prompt! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

September Mornings

september mornings bring with them
a chill where there used to be warmth

as things are beginning to turn..

light into darker

green into gold-

perseverating into living-

experiences into memories-

a bounty of those that were not meant to be...

foggy and eerily ethereal-

golden, yet bittersweet...

these secrets that dance around

the corners of my mind

belonging to only me

as i peruse

the pages of my tear -stained notebooks-

alive with these secrets...

feeling like they belong to someone else

but they don't-

these secrets are mine to keep...

locked in my heart and soul

not only just on these september mornings,

but for always...

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This week's prompt at OSI is "notebook." Please visit and see how others interpreted this prompt.

September is in full swing- one of my favorite months! It brings such a promise of autumn and all of its riches! The darkness is returning, the mornings are cool- the light takes on a more golden hue tinting the wildflowers more brilliant shades of purples and amber. In the mornings, there is often ground fog- which swirls around the world enveloping it in silence and mist and the night is illuminated by the Harvest Moon, as it is as we speak. Here are some glimpses into my September Mornings.