BLOGOPHILIA WEEK 23.7 TOPIC: UNRELENTING SPIRIT

Blogophilia Week 23.7 Topic: UNRELENTING SPIRIT
Bonus Points:
(Hard, 2 points) Incorporate a Mary Poppins quote or line (such as "A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down")
(Easy, 1 point)   Include two types of yellow birds in blog

UNRELENTING SPIRIT

"The difference between the optimist and the pessimist is droll, the optimist see the doughnut;
the pessimist...sees the hole!"

I'm sure we've all heard that darling quote?  Perhaps spoken to us at some time in our lives when we were being a lot less than positive in some sort of circumstance that we found ourselves in?
There are others, of course, that have (more of less) the same meanings...namely:

Seeing the glass half full instead of half empty, seeing the rose and not the thorns, the bowl of cherries and NOT the pits?  How about "If life hands you lemons...make lemonade"...I think that's one of my least favorite "be more optimistic" prompts!  Someone on Facebook must agree with me, for they posted a "Grumpy Cat" pic that had the caption: "If life hands you lemons...throw those suckers back!"

Looking on the "bright side" versus "dwelling on the "doom and gloom" and hiding in the shadows...isn't always an easy thing to do.  It is, for instance, much easier to be "positive" when "we" are in good health, as opposed to when we are feeling sickly and ailing.  There is something about "sickness" that just zaps that sunshine right off of our horizon! The clouds start rolling in and before we know it...we are seeing only "gray" through our lenses...with out a touch of "rose color" anywhere to brighten that picture!

Being sick?  It's the PITS!

I'm not really a "whiner" by nature...but when I am sick...I turn into a rather pathetic creature! Toss an ear infection on me, compound it with a sinus infection, a sore throat for good measure and two pink eyes to just "top it off" and yes...I will cry you a "sad song" bluer than any "Song Sung Blue" that even Neil Diamond can croon!  When hearing, speech, breathing and sight are impaired, "we" are, let's face it, simply not "ourselves". We are miserable and looking for comfort anywhere we can find it. Our needs are fairly simple, they range from a soft pillow, to a comfortable (even raggy looking) robe, tissues with aloe, some hot beverages like tea with lemon...and honey...and a few kind words of sympathy...maybe even a hug, from those around us who are not feeling their own health endangered by our "condition".  Me?  I had my daughter backing away from me with a look on her face that said..."Do not come any closer". She could not have made herself more clear if she had grabbed a cross and held it up to keep the "demon" (me) away!

When we're sick...we want to believe that we can get better without having to run to the doctor (at least I do)...which is why we put off, seeking professional advice, till we are just a few levels more miserable than before.  When we do drag our sorry asses to see that Doc...to get yet another antibiotic (that may or may not work) and drops to put in eyes and ears, spray to put in nose and Lord knows what else...that Doc usually thinks he (or she) are being quite humorous...when they say "Damn you look awful...what took you so long getting here?"  Funny...NOT!

Now we are medicated and given instructions that confine us to our homes till we are "better". Though this
quarantine may help us recover and heal...it nearly always ZAPS us in our wallets...those of us who have little to no "sick time" left at work!  Home we stay...where we can bitch and moan and groan to our heart's content and that should make us a bit "happier", right?  Think about it...all those things we wanted to catch up on...reading, writing, laundry, cleaning, TV shows we missed etc.  We are home for at least 3 days...give or take a day or two...while we wait for the fever to break and the ears to hear, eyes to see and speech to sound normal again...and not like someone is raking our vocal chords over the coals!
But the joke is on us...again.

Wrapped in our ratty (but comfortable) robe, tissue box at hand, blanket in one hand and pillow in the other...there IS NO COMFORT...to be found!  We try to move around...but the aches and pains make us groan...we try to sit and watch TV...but it all just blurs into those bleak, gray clouds that obliterate ALL!
SLEEP...sleep is all that will help, we decide.  But sleep...is what we can't do...because we are so uncomfortable, feverish, hot and cold, drippy, and stuffed at the same time...WHAT TO DO? How do we escape (even temporarily) from this physical body that has failed us in such a dismal manner?
We remember, from some unconscious little corner of our brain...a commercial...for Nyquil!
What was that advertising slogan..."Nyquil...The nightime sniffling sneezing coughing aching stuffy head fever so you can rest medicine!"  YES! That is what we need! Do we have any? As we lay there, on the couch contemplating this important question...we realize that it is getting light out...there are birds twittering and singing out there...welcoming the dawn that we do NOT want to see!  WHY...WHY are they singing so LOUD???  How close are they? And then we see one...a yellow bird...a canary? Up on the telephone wire...it is singing for it's mate...STOP!!! You want to scream but it comes out a muffled groan...like everything else.  Another bird flies to the wire...the first one's mate?  At second thought...they were probably Orioles...canaries would not be sitting on the telephone wire! As the singing reaches a frantic pitch...you fantasize about throwing those lemons of life and knocking those birds right off the wire!  But wait...your feverish brain whispers...You like birds...remember? So there will be no lemon throwing today!

You whimper a bit and sigh and rise like a drunk person from the confines of the couch...wrap your (ratty) robe around you and shuffle off  to the bathroom in search of the "magic elixir" called Nyquil.  As you pass by the T.V. you hear someone quoting Vince Lombardi...

"The darkest moments of our lives are not to be buried and forgotten, rather, they are a memory to be called upon for inspiration to remind us of the unrelenting (human) spirit and our capacity to overcome the intolerable."

"Inspiration", you mutter...BAH! "Unrelenting spirit"??? Bet whoever Vince was talking about wasn't sick!
"Intolerable"??? Yeah...ya got that right!!!  As you shuffle into the bathroom and reach (with a shaky hand) into the medicine chest...you find that bottle of Nyquil...but it is rather small.  You hope there is enough left to "knock you out"...a silent prayer that there is!  You sit down (remembering to close the lid) on the toilet...and ponder getting that liquid from bottle to cup without spilling any of those precious...sleep inducing...drops!

The voice inside your head is mocking you again...

"Why do you always complicate things that are quite simple?"  The voice asks you and you find no good answer...except to "Chug a lug" the contents of the bottle...thus eliminating ANY possibility of waste! Then you sit and wait...and wait a little longer...and just about then...the yellow birds start flying around your head...how did they get inside...you wonder?  It's the last conscious thought you have before the Nyquil hammer slams down and you are out for the count!

They found you there, a few hours later...all curled up in your ratty robe on the bathroom rug.  Ollie, the wiener dog tried his best to revive you...his concerned little tongue slobbering all over and his tail beating like a drum against your forehead, while his intrusive wet nose pushed and prodded...but...they tell you later...to no avail. You were, it seems, "out cold".

When I finally came too...a mere 12 hours later...I did indeed feel better!  My bowl of cherries was not completely without "pits",,,but there was a bit of color to be seen...mingled with the "gray-tones" of my outlook on life. The "darkest moments" were gone and I had survived this rampage of infection.
I lived to tell it and mark my words...my mother was right!  She had a plaque, which hung in her bedroom and now hangs in mine...the words on it are written in German:

"Alle Wuensche werden klein,
gegen den gesund zu sein".

[All wishes become small (and unimportant)
  when they are compared to the state of being in good health]

**P.S. For those of you reading this...of course there are ailments far worse that what I battled through and my intent is not to make light of those or exaggerate what I suffered. I am just trying to point out the utterly ridiculous level of discomfort that the common cold (compounded by bacterial infection) can put a human body into. Illness is an equalizer...it brings us to our knees and we ALL pretty much handle being sick...
poorly. We want to be healthy again...and that IS our unrelenting spirit...that will not let us stay down...on the couch, on the bathroom floor...or wherever we land...when we are sick.  We rise again...and again...and again...and that is GOOD!**

Guesses:
Topic: Lika
Pic:  Sallon
Pic guesses:

Mirage
Desert flower
Blown away
Angel in white
Lady in white
woman in white
Whiter shade of pale
nights in white satin
blowing in the wind
wind swept
runaway bride
white rose

BLOGOPHILIA WEEK 12.7 ~ WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY...AGAIN.

BLOGOPHILIA WEEK 12.7 ~ WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY…AGAIN.

BONUS POINTS:

(Hard, 2 points) Include the word “aprosexia”

(Easy, 1 point)   Incorporate a gypsy proverb or saying

 

WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY…

 

It IS something that we do, we human beings, isn’t it? At times of great joy and happiness,

And in times of heartbreaking sorrow, we gather together with others. We are (somehow),

I believe, wired to share our joy and our grief. During times of tragedy, we seek support and

a shoulder (or even a few) to cry on, and in times of great happiness, we want to share

our joy with others, maybe not so much to make them happy, as to amplify our joy

by numbers. I guess that is where that saying comes from, about seeing people in our

our families, or best friends, only at weddings and funerals?

 

I don’t believe humans were meant to be solitary creatures. We are not “pack animals” like

Dogs or wolves, and we don’t herd, like horses and cows…but we “gather” together in

Numbers to celebrate and to grieve, and we are the better for doing so.

 

The last time I heard those words…”we are gathered here today”, was last year, 2013.

I found myself shivering on a cold beach in Chicago, Illinois, on the 27^th of November,

A Wednesday…not just “any” Wednesday but the one right before Thanksgiving Thursday.

 

I did not stand shivering alone…oh no!  I was in the (good) company of a smattering of family

and close friends, of my niece Catherine and her partner Allyson.  Both women have nicknames

--so from here on in. I shall call them “Cat and Ally” (easy to remember, just think of “Alley Cat” and

reverse it)!

 

“We” who had “gathered” on that day, came by planes, trains, buses, and automobiles…

Those lucky enough to live close by, had walked through the bitter cold, to that beautiful

Beach, on that bitter cold day.  We came (as invited guests) to witness the union of

Cat and Ally and hear them (and see them) pledge their (undying) love to each other.

Most of us present, knew that these two had gone through quite a number of trials and

Tribulations, before coming to this (happier) point in time.

We, who loved and cared for them, were overjoyed that these two had finally found

Happiness together and were “here”, where we were “gathered” to make it “official”.

The young couple could not have chosen a more perfect day, above our heads a blue

Sky stretched endlessly over the ocean before us.  The sun danced upon the water,

Making it appear that an infinite number of diamonds had been tossed in and sparkled

And glittered each time a wave crashed to the shore, ending in white foam on the

Shoreline.

We were serenaded by the cry of seagulls as they flew above and around us, wondering,

perhaps… what such a large number of humans were doing on THEIR beach in the dead

of winter?

 

My niece, Cat, stood slim and tall in her three quarter length (but much too thin), moss green

Double-breasted coat. Her strawberry blonde hair, cur short and stylish, glimmered in the sun,

And the thick black woolen scarf tied around her neck, did nothing to warm her ears.  The ears

were cold and red and probably pretty close to frostbitten…though I doubt, in her state of

happiness, that she noticed at all.

 

Ally, her partner, wore a coat of a different, and brighter green, that ended just above her knees.

Thin silk stockings could not warm her pink and potentially frostbitten legs. Her bright blue shoes,

with tiny heels, gave little warmth, I’m sure…but again…I doubt she noticed the cold.

In one hand Ally clutched a bouquet of beautiful, bright Shasta daisies, and with the other hand

She held onto her wide brimmed black hat. The hat definitely made a fashion statement, even if

It did little to warm Ally’s ears.

 

Meiver, (a good friend the couple had asked to “officiate”), stood wrapped in a her huge down jacket,

With her hood up and her long black hair trying desperately to escape the cold whiplashes of wind.

She spoke beautifully and read words she had written, that brought tears to the eyes and a lump

To the throat…words that described and defined what “love” between two people should be.

Cat and Ally spoke the vows they had written to each other, and the wind suspended them up

In the air, where they stayed private and special between the two lovers.

An attempt was then made, to light a glass sheltered candle, to symbolize their eternal love and

It took quite a few attempts, before the famed “Hawk” of Chicago allowed that flickering flame

To burn steady…but it did…even if only for a very short while…and that was good.

 

“We”, who were gathered, stood with our (not warm enough) woolen and puffy down coats,

With our hats and our hoods pulled down to protect as much of our faces as possible. We held

Scarves and gloved/mittened hands to our mouths, so that it would not hurt so much to breathe

In the frigid air. That “Hawk” of Chicago showed us no mercy, but those who live in that windy city

Know its’ strength and power all too well. I myself, was wearing layers of under armor, tights and

Fleece-lined gloves, and still that wind blew through me like I was standing on the beach

Wearing my birthday suit!

I could tell the others around me were faring the same. I sympathized with those who had been

“chosen” to read bible passages or to deliver some sort of reading…for they stood clutching

Bits of paper in hands clenched and frozen in position…hands that would take some time

To return to normal once they were again gloved and warmed.

 

A kind of “aprosexia” took hold of me, as I tried really hard to focus on the proceeding.

I felt my body succumbing to the cold, just as surely as my mind began drifting into a state

Of “daydream believer”.

An old gypsy proverb came to me then:

 

“We are all wonders on this earth, our hearts are full of wonder and our souls are deep with dreams”.

 

Sometimes, I thought, we find someone special to share all that “wonder” with. Sometimes our

Souls so “deep with dreams” open up to another person and we share our similar dreams. Together…

hand in hand we walk into our futures, following those dreams of ours,

separate and yet combined…hoping that

we can experience the joy of having our dreams come true.

Sometimes we find such a soul mate, and we know we are blessed and pray that our love will last.

We all need someone, and if not a “special someone”, then just each other to warm us and

to put “wood” on our fire…

For “without wood, the fire would die”.

 

We were lined up, after the “ceremony” and photographed…many times over, in many different

Groups and couplings…our smiles did not need to be coaxed, for they were frozen on our faces by

“The Hawk”.  When every possible angle and setting had been explored and forever captured by

The talented photographer (another friend of Cat and Ally), we were “released” and allowed to

Leave the beach and head for some food, spirits and …heat!!!

 

As we (all) trudged back from the beach, frozen and windblown, we headed to one of Chicago’s famous

“stuffed pizza” eateries. We arrived about 15 minutes later, a surprisingly joyful group, pink cheeked and

teary eyed from the wind, chattering and singing away. The restaurant was warm and cozy and filled with

delicious and mouthwatering aromas…not to mention they had an excellent selection of wines as well!

After we (gratefully) peeled layer upon layer of winter clothing off, we sat down to a delicious

dinner and the wine flowed freely as we laughed and sang songs …”bad people don’t sing songs”—

another gypsy proverb says-- was that true, I wondered?  But then again, the gypsies didn’t know

everything, now did they?  Their advice to “stay where there are songs” we took to heart and

partied and sang till the streetlights had long come on…we stayed where there was music, and laughter

and love.

 

Love?  It was all around us that day, and we ALL felt the magic…for it was very real!

It continued the following day, as we were all invited to partake in a Thanksgiving feast.

The first “feast” prepared by the new couple, in their apartment…turkey with all the trimmings

and houseguests crammed in every nook and cranny of the newly joined couple’s apartment.

But no one minded…no one at all. The meal was a delicious success, right down to the dessert pies!!!

 

“A tear in the eye is a wound in the heart”?—There go those damn gypsies again…

There are such things as ‘fake truths and honest lies’…and I suppose there are also exceptions to

to every rule that exists. BUT…there is NO wound in the heart… when that “tear” is one of joy!

Then that tear multiplies and fills the heart to overflowing with love.

 

Miracles? They DO happen every single day! Some people don’t believe that, but if you keep your

Eyes open and focused to see them and your heart tuned in to believe…then you TOO will be blessed

With an abundance of (small and large, special and everyday) wonderful miracles!

 

“We” were “gathered” together, on that freezing cold day in November, and we (all of us) witnessed a miracle…

A bond between two people, who, against all odds had found each other, who loved each other and who

Were determined to make their union last.

“We” who were “there” were forever changed by the beauty and honesty shared by

these two soul-mates, beneath a canopy of blue, highlighted

by a dazzling sun, accompanied by an orchestra of crashing waves, a choir of happy seagulls and

joined by friends and family who echoed every beat of Cat & Ally’s love, inside their own hearts.

 

Miracles? They just don’t get any better than that.

 

 

 

The sight of you

The sight
of you
is all I require
to fill my heart
with the
sweetest desire...
All I ask
is your name?
And if  you
feel the same ...
Help me
to quench
this thirst
and to
feed this fire...
For the sight
of you
is all I require!

Cosmic Days & Stellar Nights

Blogophilia week 8.5 - "Stellar Nights"

Bonus Points: (Hard, 2pts): mention a type of perfume (Easy, 1pt): include burning bridges   ...

COSMIC DAYS & STELLAR NIGHTS

Cosmic days 
f my youth

still dance 
in my head ~

Long lazy
summers spent
hanging out 
with good friends.

Hot, 
sticky days
spent on cool 
breezy beaches ~

Building castles
so tall in the sand...

Laughing 
and splashing

in crashing 
white surf ~

No plans 
had we beyond 
just the moment 
at hand.

The smell of 
Coppertone hung

in the air 
like perfume ~

Transistor radios 
pumped out 

our favorite 
Rock n' roll tunes ~

Our spirits 
soared free 

like seagulls
in the sky ~

We had hopes ~ 

We had dreams  ~

We had stars 
in our eyes!

Stellar nights 
I recall ~

Spent around 
open fires ~

Almost 
combustible 
were we 
With our
teenage desires !

Innocent kisses 
that became

hot and heavy 
too quick ~

Filled with passion 
and lust ~

Breath came 
heavy and thick!

Our bodies 
took lead ~

While we 
helplessly followed ~

We mustn't ~ 
We shouldn't ~

Our protests 
so shallow!

We burnt 
all our bridges

taking leap 
after leap ~

Before we came 
to our senses ~

Once more 
able to speak ~

Whispering 
promises 
to each other ~

We knew ~ 
we would 
never keep.

How could 
we have known 

time would fly 
by so fast?

That those 
carefree 
summer days ~

Would not...
could not last?

No clue
had we 
of all that lay

waiting ahead ~

That life would 
change forever ~

Such different 
paths we 
would tread.

Cosmic days 
and
Stellar nights?

Weren't they
simply divine?
But now 
only memories 
linger adrift 
in our minds...

Of summers 
so special ~

Words simply 
cannot define ~

The echoes of 
laughter 
and joy

rippling 
back now 
through time!

Now and then 
when I stop ~

and just 
close my eyes ~

I can see 
that free 
spirit again 
If I try...

That carefree 
girl of my youth~

That warm circle 
of friends ~

And all those 
wonderful summers

that long ago... 
came to an end.

.

 

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