Category: Guest Post…
Visions of Summer Glory
Have you ever felt like you had so many projects going it was like juggling oranges? Oh, we all have at times, I’m sure.
Right now, I’m enjoying that heady experience of spring in the air. It’s so much more fun to walk the dog, and wouldn’t it be neat if I could run and skip and jump like I did–nope I’m not gonna say how many years ago.
But there are other projects that grab a person’s attention. Today I am rejoicing because the wildflower seeds in the planter sprouted.
Yes! It worked to plant them in March! Let’s see if they actually will shrug off the frosty nights!
Visions of hot summer glory spilling out of the planter fill me with anticipation. My life is so much like a garden but hopefully, it’s more organized than this!
(They told me this was a free image so I’ll take their word for it.)
My days are colorful, to say the least, and yours are too, wouldn’t you admit? What cheerful summer project are you pulling towards?
I glance at the computer and think of the stories dancing in my head, but nah, not at this time of year. Some of the other ideas I have are almost as imaginative though. How ’bout making a lily pond where we used to grow potatoes and corn? Wouldn’t that be cool? (Quite literally if you fell in.) And what about learning the Green Thumber’s art of propagating through taking cuttings? Imagine all the lilacs, roses, peonies and flowering crab apple trees that would magically appear around the lily pond!
Don’t worry, I won’t feel bad if you are rolling your eyes. Maybe just maybe I am too, but hey, dreaming is fun. Let’s make something special happen this summer!
And oh, by the way, when you want to take a break from one of your hot, sweaty projects you’ve been joyfully pursuing, make sure you have a tall glass of an icy cold drink on hand and…one of my books. They’re found on this website: www.marilynshistoricalnovels.com.
Guess what! I found this unusual and charming free image on Pixabay.
Cheerios!
P.S. I know someone else who has big dreams. She wants to see to it that Mary’s Diary gets published in the Philippine Islands!
Marilyn Friesen
A special thanks to Marilyn Friesen for sharing this Article with The Village! If you would like to share an article/story/poem for the SignBoard, click here to find out how!
Guest Writers…
Dick and Jane’s Mother
By Liz Jantz
I feel reluctant to listen to my first grader read about Dick and Jane. The stories are tiresome but it is the pictures that have bothered me – especially the pictures of their mother.
There she is kneeling in the garden, in her print dress, sun hat and gardening gloves. The next page would show her standing at the kitchen sink in a ruffled apron. Her hair was in neat waves and she wore black pumps on her feet. I would see her at her sewing machine, shopping or out for a walk. What a lovely picture she made!
I envied her collected existence, her ladylike appearance. In many ways, her life was remarkably like mine. She had a husband expecting supper at six. There were Dick, Jane, Sally, Spot and Puff. She had a home to manage. Why didn’t I feel like she looked? She was always so appropriate.
As my child read, “Look! Look!” I would look and wonder. What did she want to teach me? Get up early. Think about your day and dress accordingly. Comb your hair. Put on some nice shoes. They will make you look ladylike and help you act that way, too. But my feet hurt at the thought of wearing heels all day and it was easier to dismiss it with a sigh. I’m so busy. Does anyone care much about being ladylike these days?
But I could not dismiss this woman so easily. Styles may change but values stay the same throughout the ages. She makes homemaking into a profession. I would try to be more professional. It’s only laziness that allows me to go around in a wrinkled dress and scuffed shoes. Clothes like that may have a place somewhere but not at the kitchen sink or on a trip to the grocery store. I could clean my shoes and iron my dress. Then I will be ready for whatever the day brings.
Yet, her attraction was more than nice clothes. She seems to remind me, “Take some time to keep a quiet place in your heart.” Calm hearts and proper clothes compliment each other. Though I may never be exactly like her, I am thankful for her reminders to dress neatly, have a serene outlook and stand straight in whatever shoes I’m wearing.
A special thanks to Liz Jantz for sharing this Article with The Village! If you would like to share an article/story/poem for the SignBoard, click here to find out how!