TGIF

That's all I've got today.

TGIF.

Seven hours, and this work week will be in my rear-view.

Joining James for Weekend Reflections

Road Trip Random

My weekend was kinda tough.

Still processing.

Watching the sun set as we drove

was both beautiful

and melancholy.

Somehow these photos capture the feelings that I have

after spending a weekend with my father

who is in serious decline.

He's a beautiful wonderful giant of a man to me.

And yet, time with him, has done nothing but

fill me with melancholy.

Joining Tamar

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

John Lennon

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

Melancholy

"It's that time of day again when dreams drift my way again

My thoughts start to stray again at sunset.

Your mem'ry is crystal clear and visions of yesteryear

Are sprinkled with silver tears at sunset.

This is the moment I miss you most of all...

My thoughts start to stray again at sunset."

Eddy Arnold sings these lyrics written by Ray Griff

As I was wandering the pond after work yesterday,

the golden light of the gently setting sun was a sight to behold.

It lifted my spirits,

settled my mind

and dazzled my heart.

After two hours of walking, swan stalking, thinking

and breathing in summer's best,

I turned toward the path that leads me home.

And I spotted this lone fisherman.

The sight of this gentleman,

alone,

still,

and so relaxed,

struck me to the core.

These are the sights that set my mind to wondering.

What story would he tell?

Is there someone waiting for him at home?

What memories fill his head as he ends his day so peacefully?

This sight seemed to match my mood.

After a whirlwind week with my brother and his family,

I was feeling the void...

feeling the geographical distance that settles between us

and leaves an ache inside my heart.

Though I brought my melancholy to this moment,

there was no denying the golden light that filled the air with its healing warmth.

I found myself hoping that the fisherman felt it too...

if he needed it...

I took the sliver of gold that was mine,

picked up the pace,

and left for home so grateful to know there'd be someone

there waiting just for me.

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

....swiftly fly the years

"Is this the little girl I carried?

Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older...

when did they?

Sunrise, sunset

Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly fly the years;

One season following another,

Laden with happiness and tears."

{Fiddler on the Roof}

One of the many things I love about watching the sun set, is the sense of peace that washes over me. It's not just the beauty that cracks open that day's shell and pierces my heart. It's not just the light that dances, and dazzles and makes loveliness out of just about everything. It's not just the silence that settles in, slowly sweeping away the outside noises and clearing a path for the inner voice. No, it's not just all that.

What I love most these days about watching the sun set, is the notion that beauty and peace and wonder and hope accompany the ends of things...and not just their beginnings. Sunsets soften the blow that often strikes my mind, my heart...my gut. The blow that strikes more and more frequently the older I get. The blow that is the passing of time. 

I don't want to waste time mourning its passing.
I don't want to waste time longing for earlier moments or for more of them.
I don't want to waste any time on ugly bitterness...or too much time on sweet nostalgia.

Nope.

I want to live like a sunset. Peacefully. Beautifully. Quietly ~ full of light and color and surprises. 

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

and Heather for

Just Write

Six Word Fridays ~ Trip

Can you hear the tender melody?

It floats on the breeze...as 

sunbeams and wispy clouds trip the 

light fantastic across the autumn sky.

Please join in the Friday fun!

Caption a photo, share a poem

or tell a story. Just remember,

only six words in each line!

yesterday's sunset

"The sky broke like an egg

into full sunset

and the water caught fire."

Pamela Hansford Johnson

Linking up with 

Simple Things Sunday

Six Word Fridays ~ Bump

Oh, the joys of an evening
stroll; the stepping out of  my
head to follow the light of
the setting sun...just never know
which miracles I might bump into.

Please join in the Friday fun!
Caption a photo, share a poem
or tell a story! Just remember,
only six words in each line!

More Precious than Gold

The golden light, of the golden hour...on golden pond.

It dances across the water,

sparkles in the bushes,

and lights up the wings of the fleeing duck.

The golden light plays with the swaying leaves

and tickles the fuzzy feathers of the goslings.

It gives us the dramatic silhouette.

And adds warmth to everything it touches.

Joining friends for

Little Things Thursday and Mama Kat's

Good. Random. Fun!

Such a beautiful weekend here in New England! 

Our little swan family has now lost four of their seven babies...

I know this is all part of nature's way,

but it's hard to watch.

It's a good walk around my pond whenever I get to spend a little time

with the graceful swans!

Going through some old photos last week,

I found these two random shots of my boy...

We fell in love with soccer when we lived in France

{as you can tell from his clothes!}

and are still rooting for "les bleus" in our house!

I spent a few hours at the pond with my husband on Friday...

even made him sit and watch the sunset with me.

It's been a while since I've stayed this late at the pond.

So fun to hang with him on the {almost} longest

day of the year!

Joining Tamar for 

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

a pup, a pond...and a sunset

"We should run through the forests,

we should swim in the streams,

we should laugh,

we should cry,

we should love,

we should dream

we should stare at the stars

and not at the screen."
Scare Away the Dark ~ Passenger

Two hours in the fresh air,

on a perfect summer evening,

at the end of a work week....

with the cutest 'grandpuppy' on the planet 

and my husband!

Doesn't get any better than this!

Linking up with Song-ography, Simple Things Sunday and Practicing Simplicity