Just A Thought: Good Poems Selected By Garrison Keillor

Soaking Up Sun
By Tom Hennen

Today there is the kind of sunshine old men love, the kind of day when my grandfather would sit on the south side of the wooden corncrib where the sunlight warmed slowly all through the day like a wood stove. One after another dry leaves fell. No painful memories came. Everything was lit by a halo of light. The cornstalks glinted bright as pieces of glass. From the fields and cottonwood grove came the damp smell of mushrooms, of things going back to earth. I sat with my grandfather then. Sheep came up to us there, their oily wool so warm to my fingers, like a strange and magic snow. My grandfather whittled sweet smelling apple sticks just to get at the scent. His thumb had a permanent groove in it where the back of the knife blade rested. He let me listen to the wind, the wild geese, the soft dialect of sheep, while his own silence taught me every secret thing he knew.

This reminds me of precious moments in my life when I've been truly at peace... without fear, anger, sadness, anxiety or panic without manic moments... Feeling...just being o.k. With feeling.

Lavender Castle

Just A Thought:
"Friendship makes prosperity more brilliant, and lightens adversity by dividing and sharing it."
Cicero



It's been awhile since my last post.I assumed that no one was really out there reading what I had to say. Once I stopped writing it became more difficult to start again. It wasn't until recently, when I was with friends, sisters really, that I understood the impact it had on those faithful followers of my blog, regardless of how few or how many. I really was making a difference even if it was just creating a window for others to see through,whether they share my illness, know someone who does or just want to understand. I was also inspired by a truly amazing person, who I was humbled by because of her positive, almost humorous view of the challenges that she faces in her own life. We have very different battles but we also found some common ground. If she is able to laugh in the face of adversity, then I can certainly try as well, "one lavender brick at a time with my sisters..... And Little Cathy I promise we'll only have skylights"...that last bit, sisters, was for all of you. Thanks Beth for getting us together. It brought back some memories...and made me laugh...pass it on.
In and Out of ADT