Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts
December 15, 2010
Trusting Sol
I planned as a today to-do to share a bit o' sunshine with you, but I was blinded by the light of wintry white. However, I heard the promise of golden tresses of tomorrow whispered within the wind...
December 3, 2010
For As Long As I Can Remember
For As Long As I Can Remember
©Ruth Cox
For as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. And trust me, Tom Turkey has blessed me with many a memory.
Not one Thanksgiving has passed by in the last thirty-five years without me thinking of, and sharing with another, my last conversation with my mother. Oh, so many suns ago. In fact, a few years ago I finally put it to writing. In case I lose my memory?
Here's the link to my Thanksgiving memory of the year 1975, when my mother was still alive: Practice What Is Preached: Better yet -- practice peaches.
Fast forward with Tom Turkey and me to our Thanksgiving memories of the past decade. The year 2004 stands out in my mind as another I shall never not remember. I was temporarily living with family, trying to get my feet on the ground having recently escaped a domestic violence marriage. I'd "come home" seeking comfort in the arms of the known.
However, the holiday plans of the house didn't allow for my drug-addicted adult son to be present, so I accepted an invitation to spend this Thanksgiving with my boss and her family and friends. Cynda welcomed my son with open arms, as she would again on Christmas.
Cynda was a treasure. Here she is Thanksgiving 2005, her last Thanksgiving alive, making a round of her eggnog specialties for patrons of the bar. She owned Rafters Bar and Grill and I was her favorite bartender. I smile. For the few years I worked with Cynda, I would always bartend Thanksgiving day, and she would have me close up in time for dinner at her home, bringing any of my customers with me who had no place else to go. She was a lady with a whole lot of class and a wee bit of sass to her spirit.
Added to my memories is another Thanksgiving spent with family-by-choice. I'd met Mark and Terry at Rafters and we immediately became good friends. They fell in love with a bartender named Sunshine!
Anyway, Thanksgiving 2007, Mark's mate, Terry, had to work, so Mark invited me to tag along with him to his family get-together. We had a fabulous time! Mark's entire family is wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed the spirit of thanksgiving shared with southern Ohio style and comfort. Good food, good friend, good fun -- I couldn't have been more thankful for the day.
Last year, I discovered my Aunt Martha Bell would be alone for Thanksgiving. And my roommate would be going to his family get-together, which would have left me alone, too. Even though I was invited to go along with Scott, I chose not to let my aunt spend the day without family. She was ever so happy to have me spend half the day and half the night with her. And I was, I think, even more delighted than she, for it did my heart good to know how happy I had made her on what should be the happiest day of thanksgiving of the year.
Last week, I again spent Thanksgiving with my Aunt Martha Bell so she wouldn't be alone. This year, though, my roommate Scott joined us, as his family gathering would be in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had a wonderful time reminiscing, mostly listening to my aunt's homespun stories and looking through hundreds of old family photos, each with a story of its own.
Here are a few photos taken Thanksgiving 2010:
©Ruth Cox
Not one Thanksgiving has passed by in the last thirty-five years without me thinking of, and sharing with another, my last conversation with my mother. Oh, so many suns ago. In fact, a few years ago I finally put it to writing. In case I lose my memory?
Here's the link to my Thanksgiving memory of the year 1975, when my mother was still alive: Practice What Is Preached: Better yet -- practice peaches.
Fast forward with Tom Turkey and me to our Thanksgiving memories of the past decade. The year 2004 stands out in my mind as another I shall never not remember. I was temporarily living with family, trying to get my feet on the ground having recently escaped a domestic violence marriage. I'd "come home" seeking comfort in the arms of the known.
However, the holiday plans of the house didn't allow for my drug-addicted adult son to be present, so I accepted an invitation to spend this Thanksgiving with my boss and her family and friends. Cynda welcomed my son with open arms, as she would again on Christmas.
Added to my memories is another Thanksgiving spent with family-by-choice. I'd met Mark and Terry at Rafters and we immediately became good friends. They fell in love with a bartender named Sunshine!
Last year, I discovered my Aunt Martha Bell would be alone for Thanksgiving. And my roommate would be going to his family get-together, which would have left me alone, too. Even though I was invited to go along with Scott, I chose not to let my aunt spend the day without family. She was ever so happy to have me spend half the day and half the night with her. And I was, I think, even more delighted than she, for it did my heart good to know how happy I had made her on what should be the happiest day of thanksgiving of the year.
Last week, I again spent Thanksgiving with my Aunt Martha Bell so she wouldn't be alone. This year, though, my roommate Scott joined us, as his family gathering would be in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had a wonderful time reminiscing, mostly listening to my aunt's homespun stories and looking through hundreds of old family photos, each with a story of its own.
Here are a few photos taken Thanksgiving 2010:
Thanksgiving will always be my favorite holiday, for as long as I can remember.
Submitted 12/05/2010
iWriteiBlogiWin
Submitted 12/05/2010
iWriteiBlogiWin
November 9, 2010
Giving Thanks Challenge
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I can always find something to be thankful for, no matter the life storms I or my loved ones may be experiencing. It is also one of the few holidays that hasn't been bitten by total commercialization. Best of all, it is a time of family and friends gathering together to share their life blessings one with another, face-to-face or from afar. It is in this spirit that I accept the Giving Thanks Challenge.
The Challenge is an opportunity for me to show my gratitude for living and for me there is no better time to do that than during the season of Thanksgiving. Leah from South Breeze Farm is hosting this challenge, but I actually learned of this challenge from Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea.
The challenge is quite simple...There are (30) days in November, (30) reasons to feel thankful--add (1) to the list each day of the month. If you decide to join a few days into the month like I have, just catch up. And be sure to add the 2010 Giving Thanks Challenge Button to your blog so others can join in our sharing of thankfulness.
What things tug at your gratitude heartstrings? I do hope you'll share that which you are thankful for this November in a Giving Thanks Challenge post of your own.
1...I GIVE THANKS for the dawn of each new day, each new sunrise that opens up my eyes.
2...I GIVE THANKS for a special friend and roommate who has kept a roof over my head while I've been unemployed and while doing so has encouraged me to write and build my online businesses, Poetic Creations by abitosunshine! and abitosunshine Hosting and Design.
3...I GIVE THANKS for the love and devotion from my dog, Tidbit. She is my canine companion and soulmate, has been for a decade now.
4...I GIVE THANKS for the 9 years of silly sunshine my dog Scratch (Tidbit's daughter) gave me. Even though I lost her this past year, I carry her JOY within my spirit.
5...I GIVE THANKS for those family members who care to share their lives with me, even if only occasionally.
6...I GIVE THANKS for each day of life my son is granted, for each step he takes in the wake of his battle over addiction.
7...I GIVE THANKS for a few good friends who have stood by me through life trials and tumbles. Without them I would surely have crumbled.
8...I GIVE THANKS for those who inspire me to reach higher, for those who aMUSE and challenge me to attain my writing goals and share the gift I've been given.
9...I GIVE THANKS for each good memory of the past I can pull out of the rumble of my life storms.
10...I GIVE THANKS for Diane, her Giving Thanks Challenge post, which inspired me to want to do same. I awoke this morning with the sun shining and immediately whispered, "Thank you," and my next thought was of the many things a new day brings, beginning with my morning coffee at the computer with my writing ToDo List--first thing first ... Giving Thanks.
11...I GIVE THANKS for the military men and women of this nation, and for their families, all of whom sacrifice their very lives for me and mine.
12...I GIVE THANKS for afternoons such as yesterday's--spending time with my son and grandson, holding JOY in my arms; moments that will ever be held in my heart. Can you tell I am a first-time Grandmother?
13...I GIVE THANKS for the strength of hope found in my faith; sight unseen, yet known to me, the God of the heavens and of the earth shines bright, even in the darkest hour of the night. The power is held in the belief of Goodness, for I believe there is plenty good that grows in the earth beneath the sun in the sky.
14...I GIVE THANKS for the quiet of a Sunday morning--Serenity. Even though I live in a rural area, the road out front is the main road into town and is a highly traveled road. But on Sunday mornings there is very little traffic as I sit at my computer sipping my coffee. Perfect peace is the feeling I get as I surf the net and glance out the window at the busy birds, scurrying squirrels, and country kitty cats. For the moment, all is well with my world.
15...I GIVE THANKS for the many friends I have met over the internet in the past decade. Many have been saviors of my sanity, in more ways than one. I am thankful for those social networks wherein I share my poetry, my writings, my thoughts, and my life.
16...I GIVE THANKS for having good sense--sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. And for the sixth sense--the hunch, the gut instinct, the intuition, the feeling--that innate instinct of right and wrong.
17...I GIVE THANKS for the houseplants that have survived my lack of a green thumb. I am at my computer surrounded in greenery ... Life!
18...I GIVE THANKS for Making $$$ Online! I've made enough this week to keep my car on the road for another month, hooRAYo!
19...I GIVE THANKS for chatting on the phone with a loved one. Now, you need to understand, I am NOT a phone person - send me an email! But, that occasional phone call, hearing a friend's voice, catching up, chatting about our lives, sharing a bit o' gossip - I do love it. Last night, I chatted with my brother Randy for an hour and right at this moment - I'm on the phone with my friend Karen. I am filled with glee and gratitude for the phone.
20...I GIVE THANKS for a good night of sleep, which I had last night! I have suffered insomnia most of my life, generally sleeping only four or fives hours a night, some night's not at all. So when I get in a good eight hours like last night, I'm floating on cloud nine.
21...I GIVE THANKS for my faith in God and my faith in the power of the Sun. I'm thankful for my beliefs and I am also thankful for my unbridled acceptance of the beliefs of others. Through my God and the Sun I have learned lessons of love.
22...I GIVE THANKS for my Aunt Martha Bell and the stories she tells. Tales of her past, my mother's past, my grandparents' past - my past, from whence we all came. I do hope to get her to record them so the stories live on, in her own voice, long after she is gone. I'm thinking we better get it done, for as she said last night, "I'm tired, Ruthi." And I know that she is and has every right to be so.
23...I GIVE THANKS for the lessons I've learned along my life pathway. Some of these life lessons were learned in a hard way; some were learned while I was hard at play; either way, I'm grateful for them all for they have made me the person I am today.
24...I GIVE THANKS for all net friends, near and far, who take the time and effort to share themselves online through the sharing of personalized emails, comments, stories, writings, talents -- the internet is a true blessing of friendship for me!
25...I GIVE THANKS for yet another day to just "be" -- HAPPY THANKSGIVING
26...I GIVE THANKS for the blessing of spending (yesterday) Thanksgiving with my Aunt Martha Bell and my roommate, Scott, who joined us. It was another special day of sharing memories and creating new ones to be remembered. I love my Aunt Martha Bell.
Now, if I can just figure out how to use this camera my friend Renda gave me, I'd be even more thankful, hahaha! I do thank you, Renda!
27...I GIVE THANKS for having known unconditional love here on earth. Of the canine kind with my dogs, Scratch and Tidbit, and of the human kind with my friends, Scott, Joe, Mark, and Terry. How I wish all relationships, whether romantic, family, friends, were all of this special quality of loving each other just the way that we are.
28...I GIVE THANKS for jigsaw puzzles. I always have one on the table being worked upon. Putting puzzles together reminds me a lot of living life, with each piece a part of the whole. Sometimes I glue them together to be framed for hanging on a wall; other times, back into the box the pieces go.
29...I GIVE THANKS for second chances; a third chance; and more. As the sun rises each day to start life anew, I, too, am given another chance at life renewal. Rebirthed each day--what a thing to be thankful for!
30...I GIVE THANKS for the Giving Thanks Challenge of 2010's month of November and all the things I am thankful for; I will remember.
The Challenge is an opportunity for me to show my gratitude for living and for me there is no better time to do that than during the season of Thanksgiving. Leah from South Breeze Farm is hosting this challenge, but I actually learned of this challenge from Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea.
The challenge is quite simple...There are (30) days in November, (30) reasons to feel thankful--add (1) to the list each day of the month. If you decide to join a few days into the month like I have, just catch up. And be sure to add the 2010 Giving Thanks Challenge Button to your blog so others can join in our sharing of thankfulness.
What things tug at your gratitude heartstrings? I do hope you'll share that which you are thankful for this November in a Giving Thanks Challenge post of your own.
GIVING THANKS:
1...I GIVE THANKS for the dawn of each new day, each new sunrise that opens up my eyes.
2...I GIVE THANKS for a special friend and roommate who has kept a roof over my head while I've been unemployed and while doing so has encouraged me to write and build my online businesses, Poetic Creations by abitosunshine! and abitosunshine Hosting and Design.
3...I GIVE THANKS for the love and devotion from my dog, Tidbit. She is my canine companion and soulmate, has been for a decade now.
4...I GIVE THANKS for the 9 years of silly sunshine my dog Scratch (Tidbit's daughter) gave me. Even though I lost her this past year, I carry her JOY within my spirit.
5...I GIVE THANKS for those family members who care to share their lives with me, even if only occasionally.
6...I GIVE THANKS for each day of life my son is granted, for each step he takes in the wake of his battle over addiction.
7...I GIVE THANKS for a few good friends who have stood by me through life trials and tumbles. Without them I would surely have crumbled.
8...I GIVE THANKS for those who inspire me to reach higher, for those who aMUSE and challenge me to attain my writing goals and share the gift I've been given.
9...I GIVE THANKS for each good memory of the past I can pull out of the rumble of my life storms.
10...I GIVE THANKS for Diane, her Giving Thanks Challenge post, which inspired me to want to do same. I awoke this morning with the sun shining and immediately whispered, "Thank you," and my next thought was of the many things a new day brings, beginning with my morning coffee at the computer with my writing ToDo List--first thing first ... Giving Thanks.
11...I GIVE THANKS for the military men and women of this nation, and for their families, all of whom sacrifice their very lives for me and mine.
12...I GIVE THANKS for afternoons such as yesterday's--spending time with my son and grandson, holding JOY in my arms; moments that will ever be held in my heart. Can you tell I am a first-time Grandmother?
13...I GIVE THANKS for the strength of hope found in my faith; sight unseen, yet known to me, the God of the heavens and of the earth shines bright, even in the darkest hour of the night. The power is held in the belief of Goodness, for I believe there is plenty good that grows in the earth beneath the sun in the sky.
14...I GIVE THANKS for the quiet of a Sunday morning--Serenity. Even though I live in a rural area, the road out front is the main road into town and is a highly traveled road. But on Sunday mornings there is very little traffic as I sit at my computer sipping my coffee. Perfect peace is the feeling I get as I surf the net and glance out the window at the busy birds, scurrying squirrels, and country kitty cats. For the moment, all is well with my world.
15...I GIVE THANKS for the many friends I have met over the internet in the past decade. Many have been saviors of my sanity, in more ways than one. I am thankful for those social networks wherein I share my poetry, my writings, my thoughts, and my life.
16...I GIVE THANKS for having good sense--sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. And for the sixth sense--the hunch, the gut instinct, the intuition, the feeling--that innate instinct of right and wrong.
17...I GIVE THANKS for the houseplants that have survived my lack of a green thumb. I am at my computer surrounded in greenery ... Life!
18...I GIVE THANKS for Making $$$ Online! I've made enough this week to keep my car on the road for another month, hooRAYo!
19...I GIVE THANKS for chatting on the phone with a loved one. Now, you need to understand, I am NOT a phone person - send me an email! But, that occasional phone call, hearing a friend's voice, catching up, chatting about our lives, sharing a bit o' gossip - I do love it. Last night, I chatted with my brother Randy for an hour and right at this moment - I'm on the phone with my friend Karen. I am filled with glee and gratitude for the phone.
20...I GIVE THANKS for a good night of sleep, which I had last night! I have suffered insomnia most of my life, generally sleeping only four or fives hours a night, some night's not at all. So when I get in a good eight hours like last night, I'm floating on cloud nine.
21...I GIVE THANKS for my faith in God and my faith in the power of the Sun. I'm thankful for my beliefs and I am also thankful for my unbridled acceptance of the beliefs of others. Through my God and the Sun I have learned lessons of love.
22...I GIVE THANKS for my Aunt Martha Bell and the stories she tells. Tales of her past, my mother's past, my grandparents' past - my past, from whence we all came. I do hope to get her to record them so the stories live on, in her own voice, long after she is gone. I'm thinking we better get it done, for as she said last night, "I'm tired, Ruthi." And I know that she is and has every right to be so.
23...I GIVE THANKS for the lessons I've learned along my life pathway. Some of these life lessons were learned in a hard way; some were learned while I was hard at play; either way, I'm grateful for them all for they have made me the person I am today.
24...I GIVE THANKS for all net friends, near and far, who take the time and effort to share themselves online through the sharing of personalized emails, comments, stories, writings, talents -- the internet is a true blessing of friendship for me!
25...I GIVE THANKS for yet another day to just "be" -- HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Now, if I can just figure out how to use this camera my friend Renda gave me, I'd be even more thankful, hahaha! I do thank you, Renda!
27...I GIVE THANKS for having known unconditional love here on earth. Of the canine kind with my dogs, Scratch and Tidbit, and of the human kind with my friends, Scott, Joe, Mark, and Terry. How I wish all relationships, whether romantic, family, friends, were all of this special quality of loving each other just the way that we are.
28...I GIVE THANKS for jigsaw puzzles. I always have one on the table being worked upon. Putting puzzles together reminds me a lot of living life, with each piece a part of the whole. Sometimes I glue them together to be framed for hanging on a wall; other times, back into the box the pieces go.
29...I GIVE THANKS for second chances; a third chance; and more. As the sun rises each day to start life anew, I, too, am given another chance at life renewal. Rebirthed each day--what a thing to be thankful for!
30...I GIVE THANKS for the Giving Thanks Challenge of 2010's month of November and all the things I am thankful for; I will remember.
October 20, 2010
I'm A Grandmother!
Thirty-eight suns ago, life chose to give me a bundle of sunshine when I birthed my only child, my son William -- Billy, to me, to this day. (Unless I'm in the official Mother role, and then it's William!) Nothing could have prepared me for the instant love I would hold in my arms, in every ounce of my being. It is a forever love, a no matter what kind of love.
Yesterday, life chose to give my son a bundle of sunshine when his gal birthed him a son, Liam. As Billy says, "He's the second half of William." Billy and Christina did good, life blessed them with a healthy bundle of boy joy.
Today on the phone with my son, he described how he felt when his child was born: It's instant love. He got it right!
Life isn't always perfect, but a new baby feeling is as close to perfect as it gets. And I'm blessed to have shared this day with my son -- a day of perfection, as close as a day can be.
Holding my son's child for the first time was pure joy. It also reminded me of something my mother had said when my Billy, her first grandchild, was born: I hope he gives you back tenfold what you've given me!
I have to tell you that this nagged me from the moment she said it, right up until yesterday. You see, I was far from the perfect daughter and I really thought in her statement she was wishing a whole lot of pain on me, as I know I'd done a lot of things which had caused my mother pain.
My mother also referred to my Billy as her Miracle Baby and she made sure to shout it to the world. I never fully understood -- until yesterday, when I held my first grandchild.
Yesterday, as I held this new bundle of joy, I received the miracle of life and love, tenfold. Life has blessed me with a whole lot of sunshine. And I could wish for nothing more at this moment in time.
I welcome Liam Anthony to my world!
Yesterday, life chose to give my son a bundle of sunshine when his gal birthed him a son, Liam. As Billy says, "He's the second half of William." Billy and Christina did good, life blessed them with a healthy bundle of boy joy.
Today on the phone with my son, he described how he felt when his child was born: It's instant love. He got it right!
Life isn't always perfect, but a new baby feeling is as close to perfect as it gets. And I'm blessed to have shared this day with my son -- a day of perfection, as close as a day can be.
Holding my son's child for the first time was pure joy. It also reminded me of something my mother had said when my Billy, her first grandchild, was born: I hope he gives you back tenfold what you've given me!
I have to tell you that this nagged me from the moment she said it, right up until yesterday. You see, I was far from the perfect daughter and I really thought in her statement she was wishing a whole lot of pain on me, as I know I'd done a lot of things which had caused my mother pain.
My mother also referred to my Billy as her Miracle Baby and she made sure to shout it to the world. I never fully understood -- until yesterday, when I held my first grandchild.
Yesterday, as I held this new bundle of joy, I received the miracle of life and love, tenfold. Life has blessed me with a whole lot of sunshine. And I could wish for nothing more at this moment in time.
I welcome Liam Anthony to my world!
October 17, 2010
May 6, 2010
April 10, 2010
Night Watchman
Today' dose o' sunshine is for all who fear the dark, for those who cannot bear to close their eyes for fear of what comes in the night... let there be light.
photo used in this creation courtesy of morgueFile
photographer can be found here at Photo Daisy
April 5, 2010
March 26, 2010
Sunshine Bandit -- Child Abuse
This topic strikes very close to home for me ... in more ways than one.
----------
Dedicated to the Children -- Victims of Child/Sexual Abuse
----------
Sunshine Bandit
©Ruth Cox
To steal the sun from fertile land,
Leave in its place a cloud of gloom-
How dare you take me by the hand,
Walk me across the crowded room...
To whip the wind from pleasant hum,
Down to the dirt and cowed in space-
How dare you take songs that I strum,
String them along in shrouded place...
To slice the sky with frozen dart,
Douse my dreams with a silver storm-
How dare you take hold of my heart,
Bleed it broken in ploughed field form.
----------
Music star arrested on sex charge in Licking County
Teen boy accuses co-founder of KC and the Sunshine Band
Thursday, March 25, 2010 2:54 AM
By Josh Jarman
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Richard Finch was in custody on a $250,000 bond.
NEWARK, Ohio
----------
Dedicated to the Children -- Victims of Child/Sexual Abuse
----------
Sunshine Bandit
©Ruth Cox
To steal the sun from fertile land,
Leave in its place a cloud of gloom-
How dare you take me by the hand,
Walk me across the crowded room...
To whip the wind from pleasant hum,
Down to the dirt and cowed in space-
How dare you take songs that I strum,
String them along in shrouded place...
To slice the sky with frozen dart,
Douse my dreams with a silver storm-
How dare you take hold of my heart,
Bleed it broken in ploughed field form.
----------
Music star arrested on sex charge in Licking County
Teen boy accuses co-founder of KC and the Sunshine Band
Thursday, March 25, 2010 2:54 AM
By Josh Jarman
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Richard Finch was in custody on a $250,000 bond.
NEWARK, Ohio
February 11, 2010
Passin' To 'n' Fro
In times of economic and emotional need, the practice of "Pay It Forward" is one of great importance. My poetic creation details my thoughts on passin' what little we have, to 'n' fro...
This poetic creation is also published here on my Gather pages, along with comments of readers there.
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