Courage, In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

My Dears,

Let's have a courageous week in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Love you. 

 

Extending the dance, 

When you’ve long lost your groove
Swimming to shore too frail to move.

Stepping towards light, when darkness abounds
Permitting a laugh amid no other sounds.

Confronting a beast no one should endure
It strikes with no warning, no reprieve and no cure.

 

Snuggling with hope, when the pain you can’t bear
Unveiling your heart in the face of despair.
 

Conveying a smile, when you’d much rather cry
Speaking the truth though it’s safer to lie.

Taking a stance, when integrity’s lost
Forcing what’s right in spite of the cost.  

 

Holding to faith in your value and worth
Maintaining a grace that softens the earth.  

Passing with ease
As you air your last breath

A hero whose soul
Transcends life
and death.

Photo by me, 9/17

Heroism, Rope Burns, Anniversary Repost

Dear Sillies,
   I'm cheating. I've been getting over a bug and have nothing new for you. Instead, I decided to see what I posted exactly one year ago. I'm pleased that my eyes met this sweet, inspiring post. It feels like a dose of what I and maybe you and the world needs now.
   I highlighted the bits that bring the post to date.
   Be good to yourselves.
   You're loved.

   Eighty four days since the Camp Fire [now 449 days], strength, unity, and resilience continue to pervade. It's a beautiful thing! At the heart of it all: children--our most unsung heroes. 
    I visit(ed) a local elementary school weekly, for work. That one school seamlessly integrated a former Paradise elementary school. And I mean, seamlessly. 2 schools in 1! With almost no time to prepare for the expansion, the kids and staff readily posted murals and artistic creations to warmly welcome their new peers.

    While playing tetherball, a girl approached to say "I'm in first grade." I believe her point was that she's in first grade and nearly my height, but she was too polite to go there. Note: She is now in second grade an undoubtedly taller than me.
   Other kids who noticed my lack of tetherball savvy suggested that I hit the ball harder. (I tried. I really did. I still lost, 15 games to 0 games.) 
   By the way, did you know that a "cheap shot" amounts to one's opponent hitting the other's body with the ball, the result of which is that the person hit by the ball is out!? Perhaps dodge-ball is a less vicious option.

   Excuse me, while I leave to ice on my rope burns.They're gone now!
   Be well, my friends.

"There are heroes all around us doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways."