Blog

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Give Me Words

I am so thankful today for the sweet Summer Poem Swap gift of homemade art, joyful words, and creativity that arrived on my doorstep from Margaret Simon. It has been a week! One that needed  some happy, settling thoughts! 



I'm in the process of assuming a role in my in-laws' finances. That, in an of itself, is a scary thought since I have a hubby who does the personal stuff and a bookkeeper daughter does the business stuff. But dad is 92 and blind, and mom is 90 and forgetting things, important things, like paying bills.

I began the afternoon by calling the retirement office on my cell phone. There was a twenty minute wait, so while I was on hold, I called the insurance company on my home phone. They needed permission from dad to talk to me over the phone, so I walked next door with both phones, forgetting that my home phone could only go so far before the signal cut off--which it did while dad was talking to them. I called them back on dad's phone and got that straightened out. Cell phone is still on hold, so I called the cable/phone provider on the home phone. While she had me on hold, the retirement office finally answered and we resolved that very quickly after my forty-five minutes of standing in an invisible line. The cable lady came back and we resolved another one.

Then I headed to the insurance office. I walked into the State Farm building but they had no record of mom and dad in the computer and told me I was probably at the wrong office. Seems there's another State Farm office less than a mile down the road, so I turned around and went back to the other one, who also had no record of them. I looked down at my notes and realized I was supposed to be at the Allstate office, which by the way was two doors down from my first stop. Finally reached the right place, talked to the right person, and checked another one off my list.

Good grief!

I prefer words over numbers. Words, give me words!

And that's just what Margaret did. Hooray for the Summer Poem Swap!

The quote at the top is from Emily Dickinson: To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.




Margaret was my swap partner and I sent my poem to her last week. She posted it at Reflections on the Teche. Then, feeling very serendipitous, she took four words from my poem and used them in her poem to me. What fun this was to receive--a handmade card, a hand-lettered poem, and a tiny little book of quotes, called Living a Joyful Life.

Serendipity

Sprinkle
Easy smiles
Roads are long
Every midnight
     becomes a
New morning
Dripping grace
Invitations arrive
Peace bubbles
In water's
    moonstone
Time hears
Your gratitude

© Margaret Simon, 2016.

Many thanks to Tabatha Yeatts, who masterminds these poetry swaps and also hosts today's Poetry Friday Roundup at The Opposite of Indifference.

21 comments:

  1. That's some impressive multi-tasking you were doing to get your in-laws' finances squared away, Dori. I'm glad Margaret's gift had serendipitous timing! The image of peace bubbling in water's moonstone has a lot of appeal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not always so efficient at multi-tasking! I, too, love that image of peace bubbling in the moonstone.

      Delete
  2. Dori, thank you for sharing the details of your day. I'm glad you have poetry to help you stay grounded. I am stuck on Margaret's phrase "peace bubbles." At first read, I read the word bubbles as a noun rather than a verb. The image of peace bubbles is stuck in my head.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peace bubbles. I like that as a noun. Going to find my bubble stuff and make some of those right now!

      Delete
  3. Doraine, I can just see you going from one insurance office to another, trying to work that all out! :) Margaret's poem has got me thinking about all the other things Time must hear.... thank you for sharing. xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep. We would laugh heartily together about this one! Time personified in this way is something to dwell on for a while.

      Delete
  4. Oh my, what a time you had with all those tasks. Wishing you well in your future ones getting all the business for your parents. Margaret's poem does seem to have landed in just the right time. I love "Every midnight becomes a new morning." Just that thought is a support.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Margaret told me she thought this was not one of her better poems, but it is chock full of wonderful images, isn't it? EVERY midnight becomes a new morning.

      Delete
  5. Dori, I see that you are very well qualified to take on this business role because you are patient. I can tell because you took the time to write out all your comings and goings, your waitings and checkings. Also I have a feeling that you sprinkle easy smiles wherever you call or go. I myself am not so patient!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did have a few good laughs with all the insurance people!

      Delete
  6. Wow, phones, phones, phones! I feel like I am always on the phone, too. "...standing in an invisible line" is the worst. I love seeing the poetry goodness get swapped between you and Margaret - Serendipity indeed. =)

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a gently joyous poem about Serendipity. It sure sounds like you needed some easy smiles on your long road that day.

    PS I'm with you. Give me words over numbers, ANY day!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a day you had! I love these lines from Margaret's poem:
    Every midnight
    becomes a
    New morning
    That's a thought to hang on to.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So nice to end your frustrating day with this thoughtful poem. The ending strikes me: "Time hears / Your gratitude." I read that as, sometimes it takes time between the event and our processing of it to develop gratitude for it.

    Hope the continuing oversight of the affairs becomes smoother.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dori, what challenges you faced dealing with the phone calls and trips to the insurance company. I am sure the poetry gifts were such a relief at the end of a long day. These lines resonate with me, "New morning/
    Dripping grace." To find solace in a new day with a clean slate is what brings me peace. I hope it does for you, too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow. Your multitasking is to be admired. And your poem gift is gorgeous. I must take part in the next swap!

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Dripping grace" - I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hang in there, Dear Friend. Glad Margaret's beautiful gifts brought you some respite from the numbers/waiting grind! I also love that "Every midnight becomes a New morning" line!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What an ordeal! Margaret's poem is the perfect antidote to all that frustration! I love the idea of "new mornings/dripping grace."

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have a poem swap package waiting for me to return home. For the past two weeks, my brother and I have been emptying mom's house for an auction of contents and so the house can be put on the market. Fun times helping older relatives manage the end game!

    ReplyDelete
  16. That is a beautiful poem and gift. I'm sad that your time is spent bouncing from obligation to obligation. I feel like that, too. Much as I love summer, it is full of obligations.

    ReplyDelete