What I Learned over the Weekend

1) That our dog, 13 year old Lady died.

2) My friend had no idea that Japan and the U.S. was playing the final in the Women's World Cup.  Ironically, my friend is half Japanese and at least her father was following the game closely.

3)  When my mom went to put a cover over Lady, Lady jumped up.  Both my mom and the dog were surprised. 

4) I've been asked to teach Sunday School.  The best part about this assignment?  No class to teach.   

Poetry Thursday

Joy

by George Bilgere

Today I sit on the sun porch
with my body, just the two of us
for a change, the flu
having left me for someone else.

I'm thinking about how good it is
to have been sick, to have been turned
inside out. Until we are sick, says Keats,
we understand not. and for four or five days
I understood. Fully and completely.
There was absolutely no ambiguity,
no misunderstandings of any sort whatsoever.

For awhile I thought I'd never get better.
I'd be that sick eagle, staring at the sky
on a permanent basis. But
we're living in the age of miracles:
another jetliner smacked into New York,
only this time nobody got hurt. A black guy
thoroughly fumigated the White House.

And this morning I woke up
feeling like a little French village
the Nazis suddenly decided to pull out of
after a particularly cruel occupation.

The baker has come back to his store
and everything smells like warm baguettes.
The children are playing in the schoolyard,
the piano bars along the river
have thrown open their doors.

And here you are, with coffee
and an open blouse, and two cool breasts
from the land of joy.

"Joy" by George Bilgere, from The White Museum. © Autumn House Press, 2010. Reprinted with permission. (buy now)

This poem might be a little self-referential, but I enjoyed it and thought you might too.

Dear Blog

Blog, I haven't forgotten you, it's just been a weird month, so I've taken a breather from you. 
Don't worry, we'll be back together before too long.    

"Wild Geese"

Wild Geese 

You do not have to be good. 

You do not have to walk on your knees 

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. 

You only have to let the soft animal of your body 

love what it loves. 

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. 

Meanwhile the world goes on. 

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain 

are moving across the landscapes, 

over the prairies and the deep trees, 

the mountains and the rivers. 

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, 

are heading home again. 

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, 

the world offers itself to your imagination, 

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--

over and over announcing your place 

in the family of things.

© Mary Oliver. Online Source

 Via "The Mormon Child Bride"

Wordless: All of my Pictures from the Ecuador/Galapagos trip Edition.

Here Lie Monsters

I really don't like starting my Monday morning with a personal reminder before 6:00 am that there's honest to goodness crazy monsters here in Northern Virginia.  Don't worry, I'm fine, Kelli is doing okay and on a plane to Hawaii this morning.  

Am I a bit jealous of her week in what is safely assumed in the Western World as paradise?  Who wouldn't be?  Am I a little jealous that she's going to the North Shore, and gets to gaze out at the Pipeline before me?  Maybe.  But that's alright. 
May she have a great time at the Polynesian Cultural Center, may she eat a whole pineapple in one sitting  and I'm hoping she gets a great shot of the LDS Hawaii Temple for me too. 

Besides, my body isn't at it's peak surfing and snorkeling capability.  Will it be when I go to Hawaii? 

Hecks yeah!*

Until then, I remind myself to be a supportive friend to my buddy who totally deserves another week in Paradise.  And get my stubborn lungs to peak swimming capability so I can actually be comfortable in the ocean when I learn to surf.

 


Now here's my kind of monster!

 
 *Kelli would be the first to remind me that this is a family-friendly blog as she reminded my friends that my (Galapagos) Boobies album is a family-friendly album a couple of days ago on Facebook.  Thanks Kell for that too.      

Galapagos Penguin Family Pictures

So, you know how in families with small (or larger) children, it's impossible everyone to pose and smile at the same time?  There's always one pulling a face or goofing off?  The same rule applies to Galapagos Penguins.

This being said, that third penguin is my favorite.  Just look at his/her antics!