Today Would Be Your Birthday...(or, Treasured Legacy)

Today's poem-a-day prompt from Robert Lee Brewer.

For today's prompt, write a living poem.

Today and every day  is our

lifelong legacy in the making!

Let's make it treasure-able💝

This poem is about a Treasured Legacy I inherited

simply by being her granddaughter!!

Both of my gramma's birthdays were in April,

one on the 3rd, and one on the 13th!

(I hope a kind cousin or sibling corrects me if I got the dates confused...)

Today would be your birthday...

Caught by surprise...

I think if we would line up the stitches she sewed in her lifetime

they would reach to heaven and back

So many quilts and comforters for family and charity.

After her family was grown, so much mending

for her daughters and daughter-in-laws!

Her hands, when she was feeling well, were never idle!

My last 'family picture' of my grandparents.

She cared for our 'special Aunt' until she was no longer able

Then Special Aunt was welcomed into the homes of her siblings.

Today, would be your birthday

Dear Gramma, your legacy

Is the most treasured hand-me-down

That you have left for me

Life wasn’t always easy

Yet, your faithful un-complaint

Often made me wonder if you

Were a gram-disguised saint

Humble, frugal and generous

You treasured each grandchild (all forty-something of us!!)

And always made each one of us

Feel special when you smiled

Your sparkling eyes and helping hands

And wisdom-seasoned speech

Instilled within your precious ‘grands’

Sound truths for us to teach

Where now by time’s fleet sleight of hand

I am a gramma too

Trying to emulate the love-

-liness I learned from you

Trying to hand down memories

That, by God’s grace will be

In the heart of every grandchild

A treasured legacy

© Janet Martin

A few more Gramma mementos...

Like Old Postcards

Waste Not, Want Not

Waste not, want not

She said

as she shook the crumbs

from the bottom of a bread bag

for the birds

or her next casserole

placing the bag in a drawer for re-use

as she brought someone a freshly baked treat

Waste not, want not

She said

as she saved the yarn ends

to hang in trees

so the birds can have some color

in their nests too

Waste not, want not…

and rags were cut into strips

sewn together

and braided for mats (see picture above)

fabric scraps became comforters and quilts

for the needy

…or here and there perhaps a stuffed toy

Pie dough left-overs were scraped

from the counter-top and

put in a dish in the fridge

for next time

and seeds were collected from her garden

for next year

and empty spools were saved

for crafts and creations (see pictures above)

and she would tell me of their wedding

during the depression years

and how they had to choose

between either turnips or potatoes

for their meal

and how her aunt took a cherished vase

out of her china cupboard

and gave it to her

as a wedding gift

because there was no money

and then she would often repeat

‘He who does not value a penny

does not deserve a dollar’

She never heard

Reduce, reuse, and recycle

But she reminded me constantly

That no generation is immune

To hard times or want

As the root cellar was filled with

Preserves from her garden

I am glad to have known

This part of her

As I attempt to pass some of Grandma on

To the next generation

In waste not, want not

© Janet Martin

I am privileged to be living  in the house 

that belonged to one of the most beautiful people I ever knew;

 my Grandma.

And then, a new song uploaded today by two artists I LOVE,

fitting perfectly with today's prompt

Cycle  of Life

Darling Day (With Granddaughter) Memento

First thing this morning I had

a call from my daughter wondering

if I wanted the company of a grumpy little girl today,

and what would a grandma say to such a question but,

'of course! I would love that!'💓

Just like a change of scenery can work cheerful wonders in us oldies at times,

so too in a child. 😅💖

Whether discussing crispy-egg-deliciousness, 

or, rules to learn (about mushrooms)

Whether it is pausing besides a glorious sweep of gold wheat seas

To revel in sweet summer bliss,...

It might be choosing the right cup for outdoor tea party for two...

Or floating on a pretend lake to practice for Real-Lake-Come-True

It might be strolling very slowly down a holy garden path

While footfalls slip into the echoes that waft in its aftermath

It might be picking lavender...

 to add to our lemon tea...

Before we sit beneath the arbor while making a memory

Whether discussing crispy-egg-deliciousness, or rules to learn (about mushrooms)

Or how a robin knows exactly where to find a juicy worm

Whether it is pausing besides a glorious sweep of gold wheat seas

To revel in sweet summer bliss, oh, we are making memories

Whether we give it second thought, or not, life rolls through Time and Place

And it is up to us to make the most and best of moment-grace

Because the afternoon is soon a bubble bobbing on the breeze

Bearing away the Little Day where we were making memories

It might be choosing the right cup for outdoor tea party for two

Or floating on a pretend lake to practice for Real-Lake-Come-True

It might be strolling very slowly down a holy garden path

While footfalls slip into the echoes that waft in its aftermath

It might be picking lavender to add to our lemon tea

Before we sit beneath the arbor while making a memory

It might be disregarding chore-lists just to sing a silly song

For little girls and boys are never very little very long

Life is much more than duty's doleful left-foot-right to growing old

Ah look, within our very grasp is a nugget of moment-gold

Then, because we never know when our final fond farewell may be

Let’s try to spend it on a precious, Best-we-could-make memory

© Janet Martin

Serving up some 'thtrawberry-shortcake oil tea'😂

(after a five-star plastic lunch!!)

No Commonplace Charge (is parenting)

Baby is teething and objects loudly to being put down for long...

Mommy is so weary!🙏

...with these two to keep her on her toes (and knees) besides!

I am no longer parenting little children but

I am grand-parenting little children 

which makes the messages below very relevant to my season of life as well!

***

To leave children without principles is

not to make them free but it is to render them helpless

Alistair Begg in Teach Your Children Well Part 2 of 4)

We have within our keeping a very precious charge

of innocence soon reaping the harvest of its guards

no commonplace appointing from God, is parenthood

a baby the anointing of wonder, pure and good 

we have within our caring, besides child's sweet delight

the onus of preparing the soul-dier for the fight

no commonplace employment is the call they bestow

far more than mere enjoyment of watching Soul-dier grow  

we have within our reaching (for such a little time)

wide flung windows of teaching far more than nursery rhyme 

no commonplace vocation to all whom God assigns

the careful cultivation of very tender vines

What a priceless investment; the training of a child

how soon the world's resistance tests with lures, lie-defiled

no commonplace endurance, a parent's prayers outpoured

For wisdom and assurance established in God's Word

we have within our asking a very present Aid

Who tenders with love's tasking, commands to be obeyed

For this is no small gracing, a child, innocence-wrought

But a Soul-dier soon facing life, armed with what was taught  

© Janet Martin

Link to all four messages in this series below

Teach Your Children Well (Part 1 of 4)

Teach Your Children Well Part 2 of 4)

Teach Your Children Well (Part 3 of 4)

Teach Your Children Well (Part 4 of 4)

Book of Now or Where No Today is Commonplace (because of God's grace)

Now is a sequence of little love-letters

unfolding and folding in sacred synchronicity!

My granddaughter's grin yesterday as her mommy surprised her

 with an unexpected visit (aka break for momma) to gramma's house

This morning's poem was penned amidst much Now unfolding, such as

a frustrated and discouraged daughter asking for prayers 

for wisdom and patience as she parents, 

especially a three year old daughter whose endless curiosity and energy

 results in the most unpredictable episodes.

Yesterday said grand daughter watched ever-so-closely as gramma put in her contact lenses. 

This morning while her mommy was busy with baby brother 

she decided to try to clean mommy's contacts!! 

Last week after her mommy glazed some meatloaf for supper, and

was helping Big Brother with some reading,

this opened a window of opportunity

to slather leftover glaze on the stove burner!

Other recent episodes, often harmless but patience trying...

let's see how much toilet paper fits in a drain.

let's get out all my summer clothes because the snow melted!!!

let's use mom's real taco -seasoning in my toy kitchen while I'm cooking!

(and this gal moves faster than the Tasmanian devil in the old bugs bunny cartoons😂😂)

These episodes are most often followed with a very penitent little girl saying

 "I'm thorry, mommy for'...

and then its hard for mommy to stay cross for very long after😅💓

Dear mommies and daddies, don't give up.

After prayer-folded hands, a loving and firm hand 

is the best thing you can give your children!

(Dear older moms and dads, 

let's remember to pray faithfully for younger parents!

because, do you remember the unrelenting challenge 

of parenting little children?!!)

Let's pray they may have the wisdom, the patience

 and the courage to do the hard parenting!

Every stage of Now, no matter how old we are 

seems to run rife with life's challenges/lessons!

By God's goodness and mercy aka grace, we go...

Lessons learned through laughter and tears

Tune tides soon turned to yesteryears

How swift sterling sunrises set

The stage unfurling folds of ‘yet’

Where gold and gray-spun Granting sweeps

Each new today to Bygone’s deeps

With Now, the ink that pulses through

What first we think and then we do

Until we ford that final rift

To meet the Lord who gave life’s gift

Where time’s tatters of touching lie

In stilled splatters where ink drops dry

…in a love letter God will read

Prompting us to pay better heed

To what deed writes before we bow

And God recites our Book of Now

…where, pray above all He will see

The acquittal of Calvary

That began, with Now’s earnest try

Eternity’s thank-you reply

Where no today is commonplace

In hope’s hooray, because of grace

As step by step and prayer by prayer

God folds away time’s sacred stair

© Janet Martin

some 'nows' are as sweet as maple cream fudge, (see recipe below)

being sampled here...

others, not!

(Above, Miss Mischief's Baby Brother who seems to take up a LOT of mommy-time💞💗)

Here is an annual Christmas treat favourite from my childhood;

Maple Cream Fudge recipe...

Proverbs 19:20
Listen to counsel and accept discipline,

 that you may be wise the rest of your days.

This Masterpiece of Joy

 Wearying? Yes!

Wonderful? Oh. Yes.💖

It rhymes with miss and kiss; this, masterpiece of joy

That can wear patience paper thin as we train girl and boy

This grin of have and hold always love’s primed prelude

To letting go, as seasons flow through prayers of gratitude

This visioning ahead soon turned to looking back

Time’s hand unraveling a thread that no hand can retract

This thrumming of bare feet and laughter-tickled soul

As innocence tries childhood’s skies until it finds a hole

This best of busyness; this test of push and pull

Of messy Mostly Happiness and Weary Wonderful

This yearning to preserve, from precious girl and boy

A remnant of the days that wove This Masterpiece of Joy

© Janet Martin

 

 

This Is Not Role-play (prince and princess-training)

Grand-daughter (little princess) turns three today!

Her wish; a princess party! 

So on Sunday mommy, aunties and gramma enjoyed some princess role-play

(quite unlike the training of these little charges)

Let’s be gently kind and patient; let’s be diligent in prayer

For princes and princesses in training need our utmost care

Seems too soon the tender duel between right and wrong begins

Innocence is like a precious jewel; let’s guard it with angel-wings

This is not role-play; this higher calling than most calling is

Prince and princesses require constant correction and kiss

This is no small undertaking; title Mom and Dad imparts

This is Wisdom-in-the-making melting its way deep in hearts

Preconception under fire, fatigue-warped, sweet, would-be joy

Duty dominates desire, all for darling girl and boy

My, oh my, so much explaining; wisdom is a hard-earned crown

While Prince and Princess In Training strain at chains of featherdown

Let’s ask God to guide and bless us; lest we lay a stumbling block

Lest we trip prince and princesses at the mercy of the clock

Let’s love spills and stains and messes; what a gift each moment is

With prince and princesses in a sacred metamorphosis

© Janet Martin

Her sheer delight at her first glimpse of the eagerly anticipated birthday cake

made me wonder if perhaps this is how our faces

will look when at last princes and princesses in training will behold 

the eagerly-anticipated Day/King!👑

a few more fond-moments memories...

Prince/Brother, who received a random-patches 'quilt/comforter' for his birthday 

made by great-gramma (my mom)

 was just as excited as Princess when she received hers

 because they were hoping she would get one too!

Train up a child in the way he should go,
[a]And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Prov.22:6

The Lily-Garb of Innocence...

Last night we celebrated Grand-sonny's 5th birthday!

We have been blessed with five swift years of cute,

curly-headed curiosity and sweetness,

and once again as I marvel at the way

moments meld into years before we know it,

it sure makes me want to make the most of here and now!

Eager little sister, watching on the sidelines, suddenly leaned in with a hefty 

(greatly unappreciated) huff to snuff the final stubborn candles

 (you can imagine the response from Big Brother)

while we adults heartily assured him that his huff got there before hers. 😅

Checking out the next Lego project

(the ice-cream truck)

 Reminiscent of sweet summer days

Childhood’s pure garb of precious, carefree innocence is brief

Soon human nature starts to test sweet darlings with its grief

As moments mete the tide that ebbs and flows, composing Time

Across four-season shorelines rolls the rhythm of its rhyme

Ahoy, the joy of boyhood bliss must soon become a man

We who shower their cheeks with kisses should do all we can

To train and equip hearts and hands for childhood’s aftermath

As morn imparts momentous sands pouring to life’s footpath

To make the most of here and now is all that we can do

To waken senses to the ‘wow’ of Today, always new

To take our thankful place in the embrace of common task

And trust God for the grace that He will give us if we ask

The lily garb of innocence we all wore in our youth

Is handed down to those who trust us to teach them the truth

Then pray we look to He who is the Way, the Truth and Life

Before the Child must leave sweet play to face time’s tides of strife

© Janet Martin

Deut.11:18-20

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; 

tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

 19Teach them to your children, speaking about them 

when you sit at home 

and when you walk along the road,

 when you lie down and when you get up. 

20Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates,…

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, 

bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, 

so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen,

 and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live.

 Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

Deuteronomy 6:7
And you shall teach them diligently to your children

and speak of them when you sit at home 

and when you walk along the road, 

when you lie down and when you get up.

Psalm 78:4
We will not hide them from their children, 

but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD 

and His might, and the wonders He has performed.

Psalm 78:6
that the coming generation would know them--

even children yet to be born--

to arise and tell their own children

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go, 

and when he is old he will not depart from it

The Great Undoing...

Child-caring inevitably has some very hairy moments!

right? moms and all other child caregivers😅

And now and then in those wearying moments we are

tempted to say 'I can't do this!!!"

but then along come those moments that just melt our hearts

as joy trickles from our eyes in sweet surprise!

A reminder that in all of life, with the high comes the low and vise-versa!

When my grandaughter's 'pleath?' is accommodated with yes 

she is as sweet as sweet could possibly ever imagine being!

but if 'ple-e-e-ath' ith anthsered with 'no' the thweet thmile can turn upthide-down in a wink

and rather astonishing unpleasantness can ensue😂

I uthed the lithp(lisp) becauthe right she steals my heart with hers.

Yesterday, except for one incident that partly inspired this train of thought,

it was pure sweetness💖💖💖

Helping gramma with the dishes...

(and wearing an apron that I wore when I was her size...)

Teatime on the deck in mid-December!!

(she prefers pouring it to drinking it)😂

Trying to find 'auntie' Matt's shirts on the clothes line... 

(yes, she calls him auntie Matt)😁😂😅

The tapestry that moments weave achieves its work of art

By intertwining joy and grief from looms within the heart

Where subtle shuttles whir and bind time’s threads of gray and gold

Into a picture designed for retrospect to behold

Where we begin to learn, in warp and weft of lows and highs

That grin and groan and twist, turn into Beauty’s sweet surprise

...as startled senses waken to time’s ever-changing sway

Yesterday overtaken by the colours of today

Bidding us, with each gifted fray to always keep in mind

Swift, swift the tendrils of today with past are intertwined

And, never in life’s kiss and cuss should we forget The Whole

The shuttle that weaves This undoes the shroud around the soul

© Janet Martin

Delighted with a whole 'new angle' on playing house