Kissing Joy

He who binds to himself a joy doth the winged life destroy. 

But he who kisses the joy as it flies
lives in Eternity's sunrise.
William Blake 

In the time since I last posted, a lot has happened. 

There have been difficult times, hard work, 

and sadness mixed with joy. 

I attended the funeral of a wonderful cousin-in-law 

in a beautiful country setting -

                                      gathered with family on Memorial Day

in remembrance of a loving, 
yet complex father/grandfather - 

- moved my mother in with me

and fussed over all the preparations and adjustments,

including the replacement of my clawfoot tub

with a walk-in shower - 

- watched with amazement at how much my daughter

threw herself into helping me - 

She cooked up a weeks-worth of meals for me to serve 

and painted the bathroom yellow.

My sister came from out of town to help with the move. This is the ultimate older sister, who was a second mother to me growing up. I remember when she sat me in front of my mother's dressing table, fussed with my hair and as we both looked at our reflections in the mirror said, "You are really going to be something special when you grow up. I can just tell."

I've watched my daughter's dog 
tenderly cuddle with Mother. 

For some reason, Lola lies on top of Mom's feet 
when she is at the table. 

I think animals have a special ability 
to sense when someone needs comforting.

My life has changed, but I am at peace.

(the sky last night)

Happy Coincidence - The Latest "Tag"

Open your first photo folder,scroll down to the 10th photo,
post this photo and the story behind it.
Tag 5 people.


I'm not going to tag 5 people. Please follow this prompt if you are so inclined. I would enjoy seeing what you come up with.


My photo was taken last Sunday, February 21st. I didn't cheat. It really is the 10th one in my file. This is Amy and my son, Mark. Amy is gracefully and joyously IN LABOR. Her family has a tradition of standing vigil at the hospital as soon as they hear a family member is in labor. My daughter, Mary Ann and I joined in this tradition. We were at the hospital 6 hours. Mark and Amy were there 17 hours. This was our reward: