DAYDREAMS

Red-orange and bright the proud flowers bloom above ground calling my camera and me,
But more than just for today I’m called all the way back to a place in a far memory;
Back when I lived by a beautiful brook where the water flowed by crystal clear
On its path to the sea with a musical song each child should be privileged to hear.
A close look within showed a tadpole or two, tiny tails in developing stages;
A swift scoop of the hand and some were saved to observe; an interest…no matter the ages.
Mamma stood on our porch far away from the brook, calling our ducks who’d gone out of sight,
She feared the foxes in woods and the dangers inherent with the coming on of the night.
Her oft-heard call, “Quacker, where are you?”…the answer immediate, came back…
The ducks were downstream but from far, far away, the response, a loud, “Quack! Quack! Quack!”
As with the ducks, I was called in for the night, away from my wandering ways;
I, too, like the ducks, enjoyed freedoms galore in those long ago childhood days.
Intermittent reminders come to renew the thoughts and memories to me from the past
Re-creating the land of my youth once again helping long ago visions to last.
I see the green of the fields where our daylilies grew alongside the banks adding pleasure;
Although only in memory I go back today, I am thankful for each childhood treasure.
© Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 5-11-10

TURN AROUND AND YOU’RE GROWN

On my desk is a beautiful black, red, and silver 2010 high school graduation invitation, not so unusual at this time of year, but this one is very special. There is a silver tiger embossed against the black background along with decorative red writing and a shield in which there are four emblems that hold meaning to the graduates, but none of that is why it is so special to my husband and me. This invitation represents the culmination of years of study of our grandson, John E. Moore III.
When his dad, John E. Moore II was born, we nicknamed him “Chip” assuming he would be a “chip off the old block.” Little did we know how prophetic that would be! When John E. Moore III joined the family, my husband John declared, “My dynasty!” The new addition’s parents said, “We will call him, “Chi.” For those with difficulty working the pronunciation and seeing it only in written form, his nickname rhymes with “eye” but is part of the name of a sorority to which his mom belonged in college as well as the first three letters of his dad’s nickname. His parents were thinkers and his nickname has served him well.
This morning as I added Chi’s wallet-sized graduation pictures to a bulletin board above my computer, my thoughts wandered back as grandmother’s thoughts are allowed to do. As I recalled an opportunity I had to spend a few days babysitting Chi and his older sister when he was in kindergarten, I found it a little difficult to think how fast the years between my making cheese roll-ups for him before he went to afternoon classes that year and now, his senior year have passed. I suppose it doesn't seem all that speedy to him, but to me it seems almost as fast as the length of time writing that sentence took!
As I thought of all that has occurred in what seems so short a period of time, a slideshow of childhood pictures flashed through my memory, and I was thankful I was able to take the opportunity to tell him we are proud of him...the child he was and the young man he has become. And just as the thoughts of how he has grown, so too tumble in worlds of wonder of just who it is that waits inside to continue to grow, as he becomes an older version of John E. Moore III, a.k.a. Chi.
Go with God.
Love, Grandma
© Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 5-7-2010