Some people think of today as a day for lovers, but I think of it like I did in 5th grade when I put a homemade valentine in the construction-paper decorated shoebox on your desk while you put one in mine.
Happy Valentines Day Friends!
a valentine
Ode to a Chosen Father
Having suffered the absence of paternal connection due to profession and priorities, I chose wisely & directed distinctly so that my children might know what I recognize here about their father (with the help of the alphabet. X?)
A-accepting, allowing
B-bemused
C-caring, compassionate, considerate, champion, capable
D-deeply devoted
E-embracing, expressive, encourager, EATER
F-feeling, dream fulfiller, fortune hunter
G-good
H-hearted
I-inquisitive, insightful
J-Jack of All Trades
K-KIND
L-loving
M-music lover
N-niece & nephew doter
O-open
P-proud, protective, patient, playful
Q-quiet
R-reserved
S-sensitive, soulful, strong, skilled
T-tree lover
U-UNCLE, understanding
V-vehicle lover (this one not so important to me)
W-washer player (see above), willing
X-
Y-yearning, yielding
Z-zesting
With gratitude for the qualities he shares.
For you Casey, additional alphabets are needed.
(Fathers Day 2018, just ahead of our first empty nest year)
Separate Vacations
He is in Assisi while I am in a seat at a meditation retreat.
Let there be space in your togetherness.
I once read that in a spiritual text, and didn’t my late mother warn against the closeness we shared as a newly married couple.
The oak and the maple don’t grow in each other’s shade.
I think that’s what the teaching said, but still we clung to one another for fear we would slip away like so many loves do, like my parents had from one another.
And yet there is also the concern of rot, of not enough light and air, soil and water.
Which is how we find ourselves in Italy and the Berkshires, and in this spaciousness may our fruit sweetly ripen.
(April 2019)
The Marriage Journey 