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joann - September 4, 2010 - 2:18 am

gosh i love your blog. i get excited when I see a new post from you!

Sep 02 2010

1950’s housewife

Hair perfectly coiffed,
nails manicured,
heels and A-lined dress,
apron pressed.
Her smile as plastically perfect,
pressed in place.
She carries the perfect set of cups and saucers,
balanced perfectly in her hands
across her cold, made-for-TV kitchen.

And then,
she finds herself adrift,
airborne.
As porcelain smashes,
she catches her breath and braces for impact.
It’s a reflex.
She hasn’t had time to even wonder what happened,
or to notice the rug,
missing.

*****

Sharing with Emily as I regroup:

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10 comments

Kelly Langner Sauer - September 2, 2010 - 12:38 pm

Isn’t this all of us on any given day? lovely photos, as usual!

brian - September 2, 2010 - 2:54 pm

an intriguing write…you leave us to ponder much…but i know the feeling of something missing causing your world to fall apart…nice.

joann - September 2, 2010 - 3:59 pm

and I’m STILL jealous of her for being so put together!

Right now my kitchen is a bomb, in process, weeding out the mess. I want to cry but instead I ate sushi.

Kara @ Launching Our Life Together - September 2, 2010 - 5:57 pm

HI! I just hopped on over here from Edie’s blog. Love the pictures of the beautiful flowers!

in the hush of the moon - September 2, 2010 - 6:28 pm

oh, friend, this is me, breaking now, too… and here we are, finding each other amongst the mess… and how lovely it is, down here on the floor with you. xo

deb@talk at the table - September 2, 2010 - 8:47 pm

first of all…. this better not be a for real. You’ve had your share of wounded this summer.
nor do I wish it to be a metaphor for the real of you… your spirit or soul. that would crush me.

it is a good analogy Patty. enough cracking and spilling to go with the daily beauty and perfect.

elk - September 2, 2010 - 8:49 pm

i . know . that . floor .

Mrs. Dunbar - September 2, 2010 - 9:34 pm

Hey Lady, It’s been a while. Just now catching up with everyone.

Wow,this post is so true, I totally relate.

Cate - September 3, 2010 - 11:47 am

Loving the flowers and the rug……..

Steve - September 3, 2010 - 4:29 pm

Great shots here! I love your depth of field – it really causes you to focus on the bloom you choose! Great job.

Aug 31 2010

The heart of a Man

A grumpy monotone voice comes from the backseat,
a snappy comment to his brother.
Hush…

Not even halfway there,
another abrasive comment.
Shush… don’t be so mean!

A day that feels like a year later,
he hops back into the car,
no words at all.
Then, without warning,
like lightening in a heat storm
he strikes, words searing hot.
What is wrong with you? What’s going on?
Noth.ing.

He escapes the car, stomps down the driveway.
I’m going to the lake.
I know he has homework,
but I say,
Ok. Love you.

And I worry.

Hours and a soccer practice later,
he gets back in the car,
and begins with cutting words again.
What happened?
He says nothing,
escaping into a digital world.
This isn’t like him.
But I remind myself that,
on the cusp of adulthood,
he might not even know why he feels what he feels.

He throws an empty water bottle across the garage, and seethes,
This world SUCKS,
and I’m gonna change it.

Muffled voices through the wall…
A monotone and aloof young man’s voice
that cracks with the concerns of a child,
and an adult voice filled with the complexities of
someone who knows frustration and aggression,
and disappointment…
a father who wants to comfort and advise,
a man who loves his son.

His father discloses to me,
He’s frustrated that his team lost
and he’s concerned about his math class
but mostly,
he’s upset about the dolphins that get caught in the nets,
and Animal Planet is doing a special on it tonight.

Then, he smiles.

And I do, too.

Those things that lie on the surface,
the ones that he thinks he should be concerned with,
don’t really bother him at all.
It’s those things that really matter,
those things that he can’t yet wrap his ocean-sized heart around,
that bring forth tsunami waves of emotion.

God, thank-you for this child of mine
who loves all your creatures,
who helps his friends,
protects the young,
defends the defenseless…
Thank-you for this young man who, I have no doubt,
will change the world.

****
Sharing this gift of mine with Emily at:

And my sweet shot of that little skink (the blue one, not my son!) with Darcy at:

sweet shot tuesday, tuesdays unwrapped

19 comments

cathy - August 31, 2010 - 6:12 pm

oh, patty! tears! i could have written a similar post last night! thinking our son was being flippant and disrespectful…tears sprang to his eyes when he (brand new to football) confides that he can’t remember the plays…that no one he knows is in his honors class…that if his freshman gpa tanks he can’t go to college…OH MY. may we remember faster that these still waters run so very deep. xoxo

Sharon Cohen - August 31, 2010 - 6:37 pm

I don’t know where to begin – your writing is amazing. Woven in among the words and images of your child were my teenage years, my daughter’s, my brother’s, my step-son’s, my husband’s, my dad’s. You have an amazing gift. You have touched my life today. Thank you.

Sheri - August 31, 2010 - 6:38 pm

Beautiful and oh so true. We are going through a similar routine with my teen son. So many feelings, so much growing up to do, so much right there at the cusp.

Katie - August 31, 2010 - 6:56 pm

This is so precious. I couldn’t but smile when I read this!

Wendy @ Almota Roses - August 31, 2010 - 7:22 pm

Patti, so well put…it’s as if you’ve read my mind (although my oldest is much younger). How I dread these teenage years…. but at the same time I look forward to them in anticipation of the glimpses of the men that my boys will become. Lovely photos and words.

Christy - August 31, 2010 - 8:14 pm

wow, what a sweet post dedicated to your son!

Cate - August 31, 2010 - 8:21 pm

Beautiful Patty – and a stunning young man too. It’s so easy to snap at the surface behaviour, and not go deeper with our boys isn’t it?

joann - September 1, 2010 - 2:53 am

Sniffle. Tearing up and crying because AH…boys. Boys are wonderful.

Kim - September 1, 2010 - 10:43 am

Love it.

Kim - September 1, 2010 - 10:49 am

Love it. Please ignore the previous link, autocorrect is not so correct sometimes:).
This post really hit home for me, too. My son is 20 now, and figuring out what’s bugging him is like pulling teeth sometimes. Those father-son talks are precious.

Polly - September 1, 2010 - 10:59 am

what a beautiful, heart filled post

lara - September 1, 2010 - 5:16 pm

So precious. Such insight. Thank you. Truly our kids are designed with purpose.

Susan - September 1, 2010 - 5:37 pm

Ok, I am teary eyed with the others! There are days when mama bear just needs to step back and bite her tongue–like this morning!!! Love your words, sweet friend, and your pics (and the picture of the tree!!!)

I am going to attempt your oatmeal cookies tomorrow. We have a pasta pump-up on Friday, and I need to take a dessert! Keep your fingers crossed that they turn out to be edible!
Hugs!
Susan

julie - September 1, 2010 - 6:11 pm

Goose bumps…beautiful

in the hush of the moon - September 1, 2010 - 9:02 pm

wow, what an incredible boy-heart… such love for the world… beautiful, friend. you mother well. xo

ps. i hope you can join me for imperfect prose.

Kellee - September 1, 2010 - 10:24 pm

This is so sweet. What a special boy you have there. It’s wonderful that, if one of you isn’t able to get through, that the other one is. Tag-team.. the perfect partnership.

Life Is Like A Box of Chocolates - September 2, 2010 - 1:56 am

It’s a difficult age to be, right? I was also a “deep thinking” teenager. Luckily, over time I lightened up a little bit. LOL. He seems to be a really great kid!

Ashley @ Ramblings and Photos - September 2, 2010 - 3:20 am

These photos are simply beautiful – they tell such a story.

elk - September 2, 2010 - 8:47 pm

patty . such a gift you have to tell a very special story..you have a really wonderful son..he is the lucky one to have you such caring..such insights

Aug 28 2010

dear ashley: a tree!

This is my tree,
my favorite tree.
It sits there, right in my line of view
as I make that turn,
every day.

On this particular morning,
we had quite a mist.
The sun had just broken over the mountain tops,
and lit up the mist
like a veil.

My settings to my camera were off,
over-exposing my image.
Not sure what I did wrong,
and I almost deleted this.
So glad I didn’t.

I think it’s a perfect example of how even mistakes can sometimes be beautiful.

*****

Dear Ashley:

I stumbled upon your blog late one night, and think I spent hours ‘leafing’ back through posts, admiring, ooo-ing and ahhh-ing over your photos. I promised myself I would join one of your photo challenges, but alas… life pushes me on, faster than I’d like to go most days. It’s been a bit of a trial, readjusting to new schedules, remembering where to be when, packing the right clothes/uniforms/shoes for whichever activity, dealing with teenage and pre-teen problems, remembering to be patient with others when they are being downright ugly… I keep thinking I’m going to get a hold of it, but it just isn’t happening.

I saw your tree challenge… perfect, because I have a thing for trees. Seven days later, less than an hour before the deadline, here I am posting. Nothing profound, just my photo… joining your challenge.

Thanks for being patient with me.

Love,
patty

{whoops!}

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6 comments

Ashley @ Ramblings and Photos - August 28, 2010 - 11:44 pm

Oh Patty…you are wonderful and so sweet to write me a note on top of providing such a lovely photo. And so good to be able to submit it right as the last minute. Life certainly does keep us busy so I understand. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!

Cate - August 29, 2010 - 11:27 am

Your tree is stunning Patty!

Life is Like A Box of Chocolates - August 29, 2010 - 11:37 am

Wonderful! I just wanted to let you know; in case you didn’t find it on my blog. I’m from South Africa!

Kellee - August 29, 2010 - 3:38 pm

I love that. I have a favorite tree as well. And this is gorgeous. No mistake about it.

Diane Fit to the Finish - August 30, 2010 - 1:37 am

Beautiful tree photo and beautiful blog!

elk - August 31, 2010 - 1:23 am

SO happy you did not delete this stunning image..oh goodness you are a very special person…swirling schedules and all..hang in there!!

Aug 27 2010

diptych {up close}

Cathy’s image is on the left; mine is on the right

*****

Did I ever tell you that I had a coffee shop?

Actually, I built the coffee shop, and ran it for two years before selling it.

It’s still open, still serving from my menu.

There’s a lot of story behind that, but I will save it for when I can scan photos of it to show you, too.

It sits in the heart of downtown,

but we planted grass and trees and flowers, and

I called it “Java Garden”,

which is really neat when you look at this diptych.

*****

I’ve always loved these natural colors,

warm, earthy colors,

coffee brown and grass green.

These are the colors we used in my coffee shop.

*****

There’s something about these images that evokes peace in me.

I love coffee.

I love cradling a warm cup in my hands,

sipping it slowly,

letting it warm me from the inside out.

And raindrops on the leaf…

big, dewy, heartfelt drops,

nestled in the palm of green.

Reminds me of the quiet after the storm.

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13 comments