Doctor’s Appointment

For Joel, it happens every two months.

When you have Cystic Fibrosis, 
you are monitored very closely.

This month,
without workshops nor a teaching schedule,
I was able to go to St. Louis with Joel and Chad.

Sitting in the waiting room while Joel was tested and examined,
I noticed the artwork on the walls.

Each picture was filled with origami sculptures,

and these cranes were perfect as they sympolized “Peace” and “Hope”.

After the best checkup he has ever had, 
Joel took me and his Dad for lunch to Chuck Berry’s “Blueberry Hill” in the loop. 

Their smiles are testimony to a good checkup and a good day.

~Nancy (Joel’s Grandmother)

The Illinois State Fair

Exhibits and judging.

Competitions.

Fried food.

Any kind of food.

And usually on a stick.

~Nancy

Surprise Lilies

After a light rain last night,
I woke up to find these greeting me along the front porch rail.

These blooms are always welcome while we wait for autumn’s flowers to open, 
and as we begin to prune away the wilting flowers of spring.

I didn’t plant these bulbs.

My next-door-neighbor of years ago did.

Vera believed that if you told someone you planted a flower for them,
the plants would not survive, 
so for years,
flowers mysteriously grew and bloomed in my yard.

Although we lost Vera years ago,
all the flowers she planted in my yard continue to grow.

The leaves of these lilies grow in the early spring,
and after they die and I cut them back,
they slip into dormancy.

Just when I need a little color 
as summer begins to lose its fierceness, 
the flowers suddenly shoot up.

For a few days, 
my garden is once again bright 
and this year, 
the hummingbirds have been ongoing visitors.

Thank you, Vera, for these moments of color…

~Nancy

Hummers

Mom and Dad have been visiting the blue salvia all summer.

When suddenly miniature copies began to appear,
a feeder was placed hoping to make them feel even more at home.

I believe this is a young female ruby-throated hummingbird,
and she is a constant companion while “front-porch-sittin’ “.

~Nancy

Burning Bridges

An open book,

filled with a candy-wrapper bookmark,

movie tickets and movies,

pages filled with “The Beatles, 

long talks with friends and my sister, 

and the knowledge that growing up is not easy.

It wasn’t easy for us.

Not easy for girls

in The Sixties.

And most of all,

not easy for our parents.

Thank you, Mom and Dad,
for the patience and the love that you possessed to push and pull us through it all.

~Nancy