Happy Birthday to Chiyaruzu

Happy Birthday to my life loving son Charles! Whose only birthday request was for me to write him a poem 


what better way to be
in your body than to feel
oozy mud murking
'tween fingers and toes,

than to wildly descend
careening hills without
considering the journey's end;

what better way to see
than to delight in dappled rainbows
stirring otherwise dormant halls.

I watch this boy, not boy,
solid citizen of the concrete
and corporeal
appreciate every morsel,
sliding open each new day
with a whoop of "ni wa!"*

what better way to dream
than to drift face up
in the Mediterranean Sea,
gentle wave nudging,
lost in the finding;

what better way to remember
than to relish only the
long worthwhile "whee!"

*2 year old American boy version of konnichiwa

Tiny Poem Tuesday: Friluftsliv

Tiny Poem Tuesday: Corona Virus edition :: ::
Friluftsliv, a new to me word encountered yesterday in this cocooned time of slow
seclusion: "fresh air life," an idea I can get behind as I tilt my head to identify the song of a newly
returned bird, Earth turning to absorb more light, periwinkles peeking through waxy greenness,
sweet blossomy scents perfuming evening air, whorls of fern and maple leaf
stretching and widening, spring tornadoes and earth shakings, the still leafless poison ivy blistering
the tender skin of my inner arm, microscopic virus settling into throat and lung.
aaaah, awe nature

Tiny Poem Tuesday: The Weight of Snow

Tiny Poem Tuesday: Corona Virus edition
::
::

I felt the weight
of snow
bending the hyacinths
as I brought my
first baby home,
full of love
and bewilderment;
the scent of witch hazel
and the smooth skin
of a newborn's neck
swirling around our little
nest, the fluttery chest
echoing my own
determination to live.

Now, as then,
topsy turvy time,
reckoned by
which window is
currently best for
sunbathing,
wondering when
was the last
time I brushed
my teeth.

mfs 4.2020

Happy Birthday Ella!

Happy Happy 26 to my eldest! She has been such an endless source of joy (after she stopped screaming!) and now she is getting ready to welcome her own sweet baby. Love you, Ella! Wish we could be together to celebrate!

Tiny Poem Tuesday: Crow

Tiny Poem Tuesday (it's Tuesday, right?)corona virus edition::::
Following the crow'sdistant flight, yellowtreasure dangling
from its ebonybeak, I'm gratefulfor the still bare
branches, gratefulfor the claritythat scarce sparsity
can bring, gratefulfor the chance to see, the chance
that this pause, this wide calm,has bestowed.

Happy Birthday to Phin!

Happy 12th birthday to our Phin-bin! He's funny and clever and curious and so so kind-hearted. Charles was 12 when he was born -- so happy to finally have a brother! All three of us are year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac so we're double each other this year!

Yoga in Place

My goal was to finish my Restorative Partner Yoga Certification from Bodhi Yoga by the end of March (after the "end of the year," "end of the Summer," "end of last March..." goals were not met, eek!) so that I could bring the whole packet with me to Utah when we went for Spring Break.  Well!  All of our plans have now been dashed as we're being told that the best way to "flatten the curve" of covid-19 is to stay home.  We are so sad that we won't be seeing our sweet little families there -- Ella really wanted us to see her pregnant tummy!  And Clara is crawling and all sorts of other fun things.  But!  I would hate to be the cause of the virus spreading all across the United States, or give it to my parents!  So we are staying home for now.  I have one session left to do and one more blog post after this one!  So things are definitely getting close!  Hopefully I can use this extra time well to wrap it all up!

We are doing yoga every day at noon before lunch -- and so far everyone has been pretty cooperative about it!  Marvels and wonders!