A Whole New World

A whole new world
With my grandchild involved
No more teaching chemistry
But rhymes in the nursery
Filled to the brim is my head
About monkeys jumping on the bed
People on the bus and who they all are
About twinkle twinkle little stars
Crawling itsy bitsy spiders
And that ABC song proudly sang over and over
I no longer care about the value of the pi
How to teach how to convert kilometers to miles
Who Avogadro is and his number
How the students should know how to predict
Using the periodic table for facts to stick
Visions of electrons and protons inside the atom dancing the jig
Are replaced by endless Youtube videos of Sesame Street Elmo, Telletubbies and Peppa Pig
A whole new world for me
And I am happy
I get to be
Just like my little Maddie.

High School Reunions

Preparing for high school reunions
To some is painful like feet bunions
Some are afraid how much they have changed
Dieting to death to lose the pounds they have gained
They wish all those wrinkles and lines could be erased
And those bulging bellies and balding spots replaced
Alas the time to meet old classmates is closer than ever
And panic takes over
Then reality sets in
What in the world am I doing
This is not what reunions are for
You should enter the reunion venue door
With pride and not anxiety
You are seeing, being and rejoicing with everybody
However you are now with them you should celebrate
You earned those wrinkles and weight
You lived life your way
And so did they
Just reminisce of days long ago
When you were young and much in life did not know
The moments are precious and life is short
Find strength in the camaraderie and support
It is worth celebrating with old classmates
What was tendered to each of you by fate
You all survived living all these years
And to that one grateful Cheers!

I Love All This Free Time

I love all this free time
No more meeting the deadlines
I can sleep till late
No more driving through bad weather which I hate
I have time to smell the roses
Even planting them is now one of my choices
I now feel life's rhythm
Enjoying the simplest things
Relishing what every moment can offer
In it finding meaning that is deeper
Happy, sad, nice, or awful
Any experience I am grateful
Now I have time to reflect and to feel more
Everything I care to explore
A time for everything even being bored
For the time I have I am now its lord.

I Really Have Enough

I really have enough
Listing them is actually tough
All I need to have to live
To grow in many ways and thrive
I have a roof over my head
A comfortable bed with no bugs
Pillows to rest my head and to hug
In the fridge and pantry are aplenty
Foods both good and bad for me
I have clean running water to drink
To wash dishes in the sink
To bathe myself with till I am clean
To brush my teeth with till they gleam
To flush the toilets
To water the african violets.
Clothes fill my closet and drawers
Shoes to wear are everywhere
I also have socks
I have coats on my back
I have electricity to light my home
Run the TV, fridge, computer and phone
Gas for my stove and to heat the house
For hot water for me to get bathed and washed
I have a car that runs
So I can go out for errands and fun
I have a gym to go to and exercise on some days
A church where I can worship and pray
I can dance and walk
I can chew and talk
I can hear the door bell
The aroma of food I can smell
I can taste and have appetite
I can see, I have my eyesight
I have my husband and my whole family
God has been good and generous to me
I really have enough to live
Even more that I can share and give
I should be content
And not to lament
That I could not harbor
What could be more and more
Get over that fact
Because enough is enough.

Welcome A New Day

Welcome A New Day

A new day what do you have in store for me

I wonder what they will be

Along the way I know there will be surprises 

I just hope some will be nice

If some are not

And even if they are a lot

That is OK

What can I say

I got a gift of another day.

Taking a Different Worldview

I wrote a poem illustrating the difference between being and having and doing.  I am hoping this perspective of emphasizing being will help the unrest and greed that permeates society today and also within ourself. Here is the poem.

The Importance of Being

When my life goes off tracked

And I am out of whack

There is something I am forgetting

That in life what matters most is being

Not having

Not even doing.

Having and doing leave one never satisfied

You want more and more till you're tired
Burned out and totally fried.

Being is pacifying

Satisfying

Gratifying
Strengthening

Joy giving.

I have to remind myself when the rat race
Is too fast paced
To slow down and even stop
To breathe and reflect
We are not just mere objects.

Awareness of the spirit within

Is life giving

Not the things 

Or what success brings.

The Importance of Being

The Importance of Being

When my life goes off tracked

And I am out of whack

There is something I am forgetting

That in life what matters most is being

Not having

Not even doing.

Having and doing leave one never satisfied

You want more and more till you're tired
Burned out and totally fried.

Being is pacifying

Satisfying

Gratifying
Strengthening

Joy giving.

I have to remind myself when the rat race
Is too fast paced
To slow down and even stop
To breathe and reflect
We are not just mere objects.

Awareness of the spirit within

Is life giving

Not the things 

Or what success brings.

What If I Get To Be 70, 80 or Even 90

What If I Get To Be 70, 80 Or 90

I am in my sixties
And I do wonder what it will be
When I am in my seventies, eighties or nineties
Will I be like seventy-ish Kay
Who averages 14000 steps a day
Or will I be at home to stay
Or be out to the gym like Kay to play.
When I am in my eighties
Will I learn new crafts like Dorothy
Making pop up cards and folded cut out trees
Will I be like Win painting travel memories
Or be like Rose who with her computer skills
Do facebook, skype and send out emails
Will I still be doing Zumba steps with pizzass
Like Helen in my class
Or will I be home like I inhaled ether and just be still
Complaining that life has no more thrills.
Will I be like the late dear Elma in her nineties
Doing the exercise circuit at Curves while telling us stories
Or will I just sit on my behind
Bored out of my mind
And what if I reach the hundreds
Will I be like Val busy with the Garden Club she heads
Who chooses at 101 "to live while she is alive
And die only when she is dead"
Or will I just dread
My obituary that will be read.
Whatever life brings at any age
As I speak like Patricia the ageless sage
It will be good and even better somehow
If I emulate the attitude of these inspiring ladies to whom I bow.

Like a Long Lost Sock

Like a Long Lost Sock

What you value
May one day lose its hue
No more luster
Like peeling wall plaster.
You go panic
It makes you sick
No longer are you thrilled
By something for which with glee you squealed
Then one day like a lost sock
You find it back
In unexpected places and cranny
At surprising times that are uncanny.
Not to worry when something you lose
Leaves you sad and confused
In time it will be back
Like a long lost sock.

Happiness Along the Way

Happiness Along the Way

Nowadays I easily find happiness along the way

Not in Carribean beaches nor exotic bays

For me an unclogged bathroom drain

Though not fancy and not a desire so vain

One day gave me so much joy

Like a child receiving a new toy.

Is retirement making me easier to please

And less jaded and at ease

To see jewels in little pebbles and stones

And discover experiences taking deeper tones.