Ordinary Life

             Transparency: Finding Balance Between True and Kind[/caption] Best Laid Plans  When I first talked with the editors here @Patheos about what I hoped to say from this little cubby hole, I imagined a place where, despite the anxious climate of Earth, we would, to cite the Deep Magic , focus on “ what-so-ever things are lovely, good and true, whatever is noble and of a good report… ” while connecting friends who find themselves navigating similar waters.  I imagined bringing hope to someone knee-deep in divorce proceedings, or  comforting the anxious mind of a parent, mid-custody battle.  I wanted to cheer on the homeschooling mom or the back-to-work mom, or the mom whose nest is suddenly too empty. All waters I’ve baled from my own canoe.  I wanted to use things I had been through to remind others they aren’t alone.  I still want to.  I’ve just been working on my tightrope skills.  How do I say  ...

AT MY SERVICE At my service what will be true  of my service ? 

DADDY He gave me his vocabulary  Verbatim To believe in life’s possibilities  And dare to trust That God is good. Taught me to seek Wisdom 

MOMMA She knows the recipe Has the address Remembers the time of my birth  And she always Always Always Believes that I have worth.

APPLE RED HAPPINESS  (A True Story)  She left their Christmas dinner  To see a man in bed In her pocket was an apple  Crisp and Christmas red “I miss the crunch of apples” the quadriplegic said  So she brought him joy and peeled it  And saw that he was fed   

FAMILY In looking back I hope you’ll find Even those  who failed you miserably  Were doing the best t hey could At that time

HOUSEKEEPING With mop or broom  Cleaning our room  Bent by the work of workdays I see  (and very much appreciate)  You

PAIN For high contrast And hidden springs of strength  Unearthed For showing me what real love is  And isn't  Pain,  you’re of great worth 

RIDE SHARE RESCUE I am watching for the silver Jetta one minute, eight seconds away... ~ Kicking snow from my boots, to the driver “Downtown, please - Hilton Garden Inn"  ~ At least for tonight, I am rescued from rage and his next DUI ~

TEACHERS I followed my teacher And last night’s assignment  Into the quiet hall Braced for shame I found i nstead My dignity in tact  She didn't laugh Her voice was kind She let me try again   

COLLECTIBLES There was a week Last year in May When inclement weather f ell  On gov'ment holiday Trash bins in town  Uncollected f or days    ... and days         ... and days And days.  We will never  Take our collectors  for granted  Again. 

MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE For twenty some odd years now Since they were very young  My children s pot the uniforms Extend their hand  and say: “ Thank you for serving our country ”

  CUSTOMER SERVICES My parents remember full service gas  Fuel pumped by an attendant I grew up  in a cashier land o'plenty  What if  Eventually  We do for ourselves  Every job taken for granted?

SERVICE INDUSTRY The service field is sown with seeds of industry. Serve us industry  In the Service  Infantry  Of the Service Industry  To serve is to see  Serve is Ministry

NEW TIRES Tire repair: Needed Car warranty:  Exceeded Good coffee: Well-Heated In the Lobby I’m seated You fix and finance everything I return home  Less defeated

TOW TRUCK TAG ALONG This week, two flat tires Both  passenger side I am going nowhere, fast  This. Week.  Hours in wait at   Circle K   Before my help arrives I do not ... ... will not      ... cannot  complain  Even if  I had my own  tow truck I wouldn’t  know how to use it. From the cab I wave goodbye  to new  filling station friends and promptly ask  to hear  my driver's entire life story. 

ROADSIDE The young man is polite No older than my son He is fixing the first of two flats in my week No umbrella No complaint He will not accept a tip

MidNight McSERVICE (No Sugar) The closing crew, hours ahead of schedule  Have started cleaning up Too soon We stragglers still need coffee  And fries We know not to ask for ice cream “Medium Americano, please” “And a large unsweet tea” “extra ice if you don’t mind...no sugar” I re-emphasize This far South, ‘Sweet’ is all that translates and syrup is always pre-supposed The first sip of tea is crisp and cold, my coffee delivered hot, without excuses. I am deeply grateful Behind me, a bag gulps to life in the hands of a young man taking out the trash  Everyone here just wants to go home I cram the receipt and straw paper into my pocket instead of the yawning can Stepping into the night, convinced this small act will translate: “Thank you, have a good night Godspeed you home”

CIRCLE K ‘Twenty on pump five...’ ‘...and all this...’  I say Spreading a buffet of caffeinated ambition and bad nutrition In array :: grinning embarrassment :: “ ...and I’d just like to thank you for both my breakfast and lunch today.” Her genuine smile covers my shame ‘This will get you through’ she says ‘that’s all anybody is ever tryin’ to do.  Have a good day, now’ I went out and did just that  Understanding somehow,  Her day would be good now, too.

SIRI-ously “What time is it ?” I ask again Without judgement  From the bed Where I flung you in haste You state I am currently (only)  Eight minutes late. (Again)

BARISTA I’ll take mine black  Strong as He-Man  And talking back Bulleted with bold espresso  Misspell my name on your largest to-go

MUSIC You help me remember You help me forget You help me kick these blues

RED LIGHT I don’t always appreciate you  But when I do: You allow me to  use GPS  Adjust the station Nod at my neighbor  Grab a quick bite of my fast-cooling food

PODCAST (There and Back Again)  Past piles of laundry  And dishes unwashed  Into my car Cold Idling Mornings so fast We’re all running late You’re listening to The Daily Commute Our host: the sun  Peeking over horizons Day so slow  We're all run down  The trudge back home  Resumes So much unfinished  Awaits Commute time unending   Horizons reversed But I’m never lonely Oh, look A new episode Co-host: the moon

TALL MAN ON AISLE 10 To the tall man on Aisle Ten Who helped me reach the Holy Grail Cleverly disguised as the last box of marshmallow cereal: I thank you. Not because I return home a hero It is unlikely they’ll even say ‘Thanks’ But, tomorrow is Saturday  I don’t have to work I’ll sleep with no set alarms for an extra ten minutes   (or even quite more) Thanks to you and s elf-served lucky charms.

NORMAN, DOOR MAN Kind sir, It may actually surprise you, To hear how many people Do NOT hold the door for a lady ...nor her stroller full of baby.

DINNER DRIVE THRU “One bucket of Too tired to cook (family sized)  Double side of No clean-dishes, anyway, A gallon of tea (no sugar) And five hot humble pies."

LUNCH DRIVE THRU “Combo #3 please, Large Unsweetened Tea “ I do not say I lacked the energy  To pack a lunch  Today I omit The observation I am more than half-way  Through this day That almost  never was I keep the story to myself  Of struggle And insomnia I return her smile and say  “Thank, you for helping me.  Today. ”

BREAKFAST DRIVE THRU One biscuit: Bacon, Egg & Cheese  Large Coffee Extra Cream :: Please pull forward for a brief wait :: Tempted to grumble, I’m running late Someone already at work  Brings me hot food

ALARM CLOCK (with snooze) You allow me to rest  Knowing I won’t oversleep  And lose my job And cease to eat You nudge me awake And don’t judge me  Again And Again . . . And Again

I recently raced to meet the deadline of a small poetry chap-book contest. It's not impressive writing.  I didn't place in the contest, but I won nonetheless: a sunny Saturday downtown, writing in one of my favorite cafes, good coffee, good music, and the moon walking me to my car at the end of the long, cathartic marathon.   I'll be using the next handful of posts to share those lines, no doubt editing as I go.  The Theme: Service & Gratitude The Dedication: Thank you to everyone and everything that has served my life so well. You have made me deeply appreciative to be alive. The Chapters:  ALARM CLOCK (with snooze)  BREAKFAST DRIVE THRU  LUNCH DRIVE THRU  DINNER DRIVE THRU  NORMAN, DOOR MAN  TALL MAN ON AISLE 10  PODCAST  RED LIGHT   MUSIC  BARISTA  SIRI-ously  CIRCLE K  MidNight McSERVICE (No Sugar)  ROADSIDE  TOW TRUCK TAG ALONG  NEW TIRES  SERVICE INDUSTRY...

  ::click links for an immersive simulation of real-time conversation with somewhat distractible me. You may want to read straight through one time first:: Little Is Much In one of my favorite childhood books, “ McBroom Tells A Lie ,” by Sid Fleischman  protagonist Josh McBroom is swindled into buying an eighty acre farm only to find all eighty acres run vertically - that is, one on top of the other.  This bad break leaves McBroom, his wife and their eleven children living and working on a fun-sized one acre farm. But that one acre? It’s miraculously fertile. So, Josh and his family make the most of their lot in life (Yes, I see it- an intentional pun.)  Not content with having swindled the McBroom family fortune, Hector “Heck” Jones, the sly-old-fox neighbor, begins  smuggling the miraculously rich soil one barefoot toe-pinch at a time.  It has been a decade (or three) since I owned that book, so I can’t give you a complete recap of the story, (at least, ...