Cambria Heights Elementary

Working on a Vincent Van Gogh mural for the elementary school   Back here in PA where the weather serves as a reminder of why I like NC weather !

Grace in White Balloons

Today, the last session of Grief Share

what an amazing and giving group of people

releasing white balloons with a prayer

for me, the balloon read

Rick, Tad, John, Julie and Jim

floating with small gusts of wind

some of the balloons soared

others floated near us as if hovering

unsure if we were really ready to let go

It is in the letting go

we find we can coexist better

with joy and sadness

storing memories of them

in secret places

hiding them until we need to be reminded

that Love never disappears like the balloons

it hovers, lingering

until the wind caresses us with gentle grace

we can allow a little peace into our hearts and minds

Love will never be vanquished

Mind Full

Waking dreams
finding myself in a frantic search for Moses
he is confused as I look for him 
and he is right beside me on the bed
sleep eludes me these past few weeks
I feel so tightly wound
like I am going to unravel at any moment
and then I do
I feel like a hurricane is passing through me
and I am also the hurricane
tears as salty as the ocean
stain my hands and face
like little scars
until all I feel I am made up of is the scars themselves
The naked truth is
this does not get easier
courage is labeled like an empty bottle
and strength, like sleeping
is part of the waking dream cycle
Once said in a song
am i falling to pieces
it is hard to imagine that the pieces
are falling into place

Grace

I dream of love letters
words spoken
and unspoken
bliss, love and gratitude
all wrapped into one lovely place
in grace
I write the letters in my dreams
paint them on my canvases
find hidden rooms
to store that love
so on the days I feel empty
I can unlock one of those rooms
allow that golden sun to still shine through
sweeping the cobwebs from my heart and mind
remembering to live in the moment
He was my teacher
I was not ready at the time to understand his message
I am willing to learn about it now
I think that might be the meaning of grace

Raining Tears

Today, while the rains fall heavily
I feel like they are just a reflection
of all the tears I have not shed yet
In my Grief Support Group
I sit beside a woman
really, she is a Viking
a giant, gentle woman from Iceland
her tears move me
and each time she hugs me
in a gentle bear hug
it is an unspoken assurance
that somehow we understand one another
I am grateful for kind people
my new friends from our Turtle nests
those that hugged me without question
when I cried at Nest #30
while 21 babies made it on the rough seas
it gives me hope
that I too can make it on rough seas
maybe even help someone else
who is on a similar journey
I hope for a day when my puzzle pieces
will somehow fit into a pattern I can recognize
all those scars healing

New One of Kind pieces

Making some new One of a Kind pieces!

Fairy Moon

There is suffering in this world
seeking out some joyful corners
where a little light seeps through
last night while sitting the turtle next #30
a gorgeous rainbow encircled the moon
someone in a folded chair
claiming :"It's a Fairy Moon"
it was light enough that it seemed like daylight
no baby turtles yet
this nest, so so close to where Rick Page
tried to help a sea soaked beaver
it is hard for me to go there
and yet it is healing
to see a Fairy Moon
among friends and the crashing of the waves
stars glimmering between the clouds
I push my heavy heart
lifting it to that rainbow around the moon
blow a kiss to the one I love most
I feel a small piece of him return to my heavy heart
Godspeed to those who have loved and lost
we are truly the fortunate ones