Thankful Thursday 18 April 2024

Halfway through April already? 5 days will be a month since I moved in, things are going relatively well, and I have a lot to be grateful for.

On Sunday, County Christine had a mini-engagement shoot for us. We went to Black Rock Sanctuary in Phoenixville and it was such a lovely location. When David gives me the ring, I want to go back there. Two engagements. 🙂 I’m thankful for Christine and I’m thankful that she is patient with me.

After, David and I had an engagement dinner at P.F. Chang’s. He ran into his old co-workers and he introduced me as his fiance. His friends and old-coworkers congratulated us and gave us a discount. The food was delicious too.

When we got home, we had a gift waiting for us. It was an engagement and moving in gift from my cousin Maddie and her husband, Max. It was such a lovely and thoughtful gift, I’m so thankful.

Of course, I am grateful for David, my dad, Mr. Bolton, Erich, and everyone else in my life. What are you grateful for today?

Sometimes Doing the Best Thing For Yourself is Hard

I just left the library. After almost 18 years, I quit. The library changed too much and we no longer had a working relationship. It was a difficult decision, but the best one, and it’s okay to be sad. I will always remember the good times and I did learn a lot while I was there.

I want to focus on my full-time job, my passion project of the Happiness Box, and I want to focus on my next chapter with David. I want to focus on things that bring me joy and growth.

Visit with Erich’s Aunt Loretta | 13 April 2024

Visit with Aunt Loretta on Saturday. It was my first time meeting her and it was such a pleasure.

She gave Erich a scrapbook, some family photos and heirlooms and we all loved looking through everything. I was telling Aunt Loretta about my scrapbooking hobby and that was fun to chat with her about.

I never had butter cake, but found a GF recipe that I’ll have to try. What a lovely afternoon filled with love and laughter.

April Showers

We gathered at Chris and Verne’s
on a sunny warm Sunday afternoon.
David and I have been engaged for a month,
and our special friends,
who have been part of my village for years,
wanted to celebrate the happy couple.
Chris hugged David and I,
followed by Verne,
and led us to the house.
We were prompted to sit on the sofa—
let the showering begin!
We were congratulated,
then handed a big blue bag.
Card first, which I read first,
then passed it to David.

It felt like we were kids again
throwing tissue paper around
like it was our birthday.
A beautiful handmade,
crocheted lovingly by Chris,
afghan waited for our marital bed.
David and I, how soft, we can’t wait
to snuggle and cuddle underneath.

“One more gift,” Chris prompted,
“that will help you handle life’s stresses
and your ups and downs,
which every couple has.”
Emotional Agility, such a loving gift,
as our village showers us.

Buried in New Memories

Day #8 of NaPoWriMo.

I want to bury him,
specifically my memory
of Facebook dating gone wrong.
I had many dreams
perhaps climbing the icy hills of Alberta,
or climbing the icy fjords of Norway-
I’m the queen of the world,
mistress of my own destiny
instead of being held back by fear,
infidelity, disappearing acts.

Yet, I buried him another way,
climbing the hills of growth;
meeting and loving an equal half
we climb the hills and fjords together-
bitterness buried in new memories.

Thankful Thursday 4 April 2024

Ah, the first week of April. The first week of David’s birthday month, as well as Shetana’s and all of the other April babies. There’s a lot to be thankful for this first Thursday in April.

Lucy has warmed up to me. She now follows me to bed and cuddles up to me. She’s usually skiddish and this is a big deal. The past few days have been rainy and cold, so I was in the middle of a Lucy and David sandwich. It felt really nice.

I’m being welcomed into my new home and when Mr. B is home, we watch TV together. I’m thankful we can bond and share moments.

I wrote this poem for NaPoWriMo the other day and it applies to Thankful Thursday:

On the windowsill she sits and plays
Pokémon Go or photo shoots, she says
making room for me, we laugh and talk,
though some days we cry, rage, and balk:
relationships, moving, engagement, photo lays.

She lends me the money to slay,
paint splatters, anxiety, in three days
I’ll be laying with fiancé, and Lucy walks
on the windowsill.

“Don’t worry about the pay,
moving is expensive, focus on loving ways
to learn to live together, wedding talk,
you have a lot coming up, time stalks.”

A random friendship that began one fall day,
best friends, a help to my fiancé,
began on the windowsill.

What are you grateful for today?

To Jessica, My Wife

It’s NaPoWriMo and like every year since 2013, I’m participating. Today’s prompt:

Last but not least, here’s our prompt for the day – optional, as always. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a surreal prose poem. For inspiration, check out Franz Kafka’s collection of short parables (my favorite is “The Green Dragon”).

Happy writing!

Today’s entry:

I sat down at the dining room table and relax. After painting the walls red, it was time for a breather. Before I lay my head down, I noticed a navy blue bag with “love” written in gold.

“I’m going to lock you in. What I’m going to give you will make you cry.”

I text him, was this my surprise? Yes, I could open it if I want to. No, I’ll wait for him to give me the gift. Something tells me that I should wait for him.

I’m covered in red paint when he comes downstairs. He grabs the bag and takes out the box. He lets me open it, there’s a card and artificial red roses on the bottom. They smell lovely. As I take the card out, I see the bracelet. He puts the bracelet on my paint splattered wrist, he’s nervous when he asks, “will you marry me?” Yes! He locks the bracelet, he locked me in. I’m crying happy tears, I hug and kiss him.

He prompts me to read the card that was in the box: to Jessica, my wife.

Raise a Toast

He raises a toast, a moment he waited for—
she said yes, David’s joy, and dad’s joy she weds!
They watch the fizz as mom continues to pour,
he raises a toast, a moment he waited four,
“congratulations,” the glasses clink, drops on the floor.
She takes the first sip, then she said—
raise a toast—it’s our moment of joy!