Connie L Cousins

Looking Back to Go Forward

I’ve been thinking about the new year coming up, which led to thinking about the past. There are many famous and not-so-famous remarks about history. People say you can’t hold on to the past, and you should forget it and move on. Like my family once commented about Kansas–it’s best seen in the rearview mirror. However, the past helped to make me who I am now.

“The past is a stepping stone, not a millstone.”
Robert Plant

The joyful moments, the frightening occurrences, and the sad times contained lessons that I’ve drawn on years later. What you do with those lessons makes all the difference in handling the present.

Most cars today are equipped with backup cameras. You view your area and check the backup camera for any obstacles, and seeing none–you act and move the car out of the garage or a parking space and proceed. So it is with the year behind us, indeed the past two years, we lived through them, learned a lot, and hopefully, we are entering a new time of hope and healthy recovery.

I pray it may be so. #love,#comments#conversation#faith

Fickle Fall

In the other gardens,
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail! 
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the Fall

By Robert Louis Stevenson

I see that autumn is fickle,

It can’t make up its mind.

With fog and cold wet mornings,

By noon the sun’s warm and kind.

That is why fall is fickle.

I got up this morning with a definite plan,

But the rain came down and soaked the land.

Instead of a fall festival with apples and cider,

I thought I’d stay home and sit in a glider.

But by noon, the sun shone brightly through the mist,

So I called my friend and said, “This day is not to be missed,

“Fall is upon us and soon we will shiver,

Let’s go and enjoy what fall can deliver.”

A sunflower field in our area was stunning,

With all the bright faces turned upward for sunning.

A vivid yellow bouquet now graces my table,

Reminder to go out to play while we’re able.

POEM BY C.COUSINS

A Season or Seasoning?

There is something so special in the early leaves drifting from the trees–as if we are all to be allowed a chance to peel, to refresh, to start again.”
Ruth Ahmed

It is hard to let go of summer with its picnics and camping out.

You may have been busy with gardening or day trips that sought a new route.

Photo by Ali Yasser Arwand on Pexels.com

I’ve thought about why we call weather changes a “season,” and the answers have come to me.

Like salt brings out flavor in a soup, the fall air adds spice in the trees.

We walk a little faster and the sky’s so blue it swallows us whole.

There is cider/pumpkin everything and we begin to set new goals.

Bringing out the cozy clothes is a new start for what it’s worth,

The falling leaves remind us that with death and loss can come rebirth.

The crisp, fresh taste of an apple or the smell of burning leaves,

Provide the seasoning needed to reach all that our hearts perceive.

#life,#faith,#rhyming,#sun,#blue sky,#devotional,#what’s important

Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets

The words belong to a popular song written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross for the 1955 musical Damn Yankees. I often felt my furry friend was aptly named. I moved to a new area a couple years after my husband died. New neighborhood–new pet seemed like a great idea.I had lost my lovable Chocolate Lab the year before.,My four granddaughters who lived closest to me helped me choose a pup. They and then I fell in love with Pug puppies we saw on the internet. We picked up a chubby ten-week-old Pug that became my constant companion. Lola was perfect for me. She was funny and loving and loyal. I got used to her being wherever I was in the house and later in an apartment. She comforted me with her snuggles when I left an unhappy situation and she kept me busy and occupied when I was lonesome during the early days of the COVID pandemic. Lately, typical of older pets, Lola spent more time sleeping, only occasionally moved to play with her toys. But she never lost her love of people. Extremely social, she would drag me toward people I didn’t know outside my building with her tail wagging, and seemingly saying “Hey, I’m here! I’d like to get to know you.” She could be annoying with her television habit. She would react and bark at any animals on the TV. Once she aged to around 11, Lola became deaf so trying to quiet her during her TV watching was difficult. I took her to the Emergency Vet Hospital on Sunday because she was having difficulty breathing and her abdomen seemed distended. She fell over in the dog yard and could walk only a few steps and would lay down, completely spent. She ate and drank normally even then. In the hospital, the ultrasound showed a tumor which seemed to be in her spleen. There was to be a further scan of some sort the next morning and possible surgery if the growth was confined to the spleen. At thirteen, she had been strong, but I knew I would have a difficult decision to make. At three a.m. she ate chicken and the staff said she seemed more comfortable, but at the next check–she was gone. Lola was a stubborn girl. I think she heard talk of surgery and thought, “Nope, not doin’that” She died on her own terms and took away my problem of deciding her fate. For that I have to be thankful.

I am so sad and nothing looks normal in my home. Without her toys, her dish, her bed. All who have ever lost a pet know what I’m talking about. I thank God for the 13 years and 3 months of her life which blessed me every day. Rest in peace dear Lola.

You’ve Done It Before

“What doesn’t kill you makes a fighter,
footsteps even lighter…”
Song by Kelly Clarkson

You’ve done it before, recovered from a blow, when you thought it the very worst.

Yet here you are plodding along, your life isn’t really cursed.

Remember the embarrassment in middle school and having to tell your folks? You thought they’ likely disown you, but there are your own kids,

Who laugh at papa’s jokes.

Until you’ve had a death that happens to someone close that you know,You don’t know what to say or do to try and help them through.

But as life throws you curve balls and fouls, you learn to adjust your stance,

You pick up the bat and face the pitch, willing to take the chance.

Been through a lot, the key word is through, and this storm will pass you will see.

Do what you can to help, pray and let go, and let God–the one who sets us free.

A Summer of Freedom

On a warm summer evening two weeks ago,

As it seemed the pandemic and illness continued to slow,

I watched people file into the park with their chairs,

Eager for music and mingling and return of the fairs.

But even then lurking around the hedges,

Was the threat of variants as Dr. Fauci alleges.

We need to reach a higher percent to insure there’ll be no spike.

I am loving the warm weather. Will be

posting more often for the summer. There’s so much to appreciate–like sunrises, sunsets, and flowers and lakes….

Tell everyone to vaccinate and tell COVID to take a hike. #health#science#comments and verse#poetry

Mothers of Varied Types

“The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.”
James E. Faust

What sort of mother do you or did you have? There are homebody moms, executive moms, teacher moms and some who seem to do it all–and with grace and efficiency.

My mom was a housewife most of her childrearing years. When I was about nine or ten, she went to work and continued to work as a practical nurse until she finally retired. She was not a demonstrative type–not a hugger. I remember falling asleep in the car and my head would land on the fur-like collar of her winter coat. She allowed me to rest there, but she didn’t put her arm around me. In our family you were expected to bring home good report cards–there were no rewards like I heard about from my friends. She didn’t show her feelings or talk about them much. I was sick and asked if I should go to school. She said, “You know how you feel.” We were expected to go to school unless seriously ill.

I learned about her love from the things she did for me and my sisters. When I wanted to go skating as a girl of twelve or thirteen, she would rummage in her purse and come up with the fifty-cents it would cost, even though it seemed there was no money. Sometimes there was money and more often not, because of the way my father worked. He was likely to drink a lot of his pay on the way home from work. But we always had a garden and raised a beef or hog for our meat. Mom could rustle up a delicious meal when someone stopped to visit with the canned items from the basement.

That was the way she showed love, by making good meals and showing hospitality.

Because of the way she was, I determined to show my love for my kids more openly and tell them often how much they meant to me.

Regardless of the kind of mother–they are worthy of our respect and thanks, in most cases. If you didn’t experience a mother’s love; determine to do better in your life. Thank the stand-in mothers in your life, the aunts, teachers, and others who influenced your growing and learning.

I can think of a couple other women who were role models for me and helped me become the person I am. Thank you all!

#Faith,#family#comments#Life is good#Thankful

Holding Pattern

You don’t need more time…
You just need to DECIDE
Seth Godin

Do you ever feel like you’re busy, but getting nowhere? I wrote this as I was pondering what to do next.

I feel lately like I’m hovering in all areas of my life,

There is hope for the pandemic, but still a lot of strife.

I have a book that’s started, but it is hovering too.

Waiting for my persistent self to show up and bring it through.

My unfinished knitting is scowling at me, as it rests neatly in my bag.

My time management self is absent, she’s such an awful hag.

Procrastination is a trait I don’t aspire to gain,

But it seems I have a flair for it, as if that was my aim.

Outside it’s sunny, people and dogs are enjoying the day.

Maybe a walk will clear my head and help me find my way.

I’ll tackle the writing and pound on those keys.

And be proud of what I finish with such finesse and ease.

SIX WORD SATURDAY

I eavesdropped on the serious conversation of this little guy. It’s so encouraging to hear the trilling and arguing among the birds in the early spring mornings. A lot of them are house hunting.#birds of the field, #cheerful, #joy, #faith.

**A blessing to vaccinate my granddaughter.**
#family, #love, #health,#writing, #faith

The Beauty of Spring

I had a few thoughts this week about what spring means this year. As a few green shoots appear in flower beds, along sidewalks, and near creeks, I feel hope bubbling in my soul. The same feeling emerged on the day I received my second COVID vaccine. We are not safe yet to resume our old way of living, but we can begin to see brighter days ahead.

Because of the year we’ve all experienced, I spend time with each gorgeous sunset, each bird’s beautiful colors and try to ascertain which ones are singing in the early morning. I find these moments bring joy to my days. I took the picture below on a walk with a friend through Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte.

How about how things occurred in Miami this weekend? People are so anxious to be “normal” again that they are not using good sense. I haven’t lost a loved one during this pandemic, but I know how frightened I was when a couple family memories did test positive. My heart goes out to all who were unable to say goodbye or hold a hand, or pray with a husband, wife, or anyone they loved.

Please, God, increase patience in me and all those who are waiting for “real life” to come back. Help us to see and live our best lives right here, right now. We can recognize each blessing if our eyes and ears are open and if we look for the things we can do to help each other. #nature, #writing, #faith, #joy, #patience

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That is why fall is fickle.

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