#14 Small Stone

10 below outside,
 and we are sitting around the table
eating Popsicles.

#13 Small Stone

On days like today when the light is low
and it continues to snow,
Jimmy Buffett fixes my predicament
with songs of the sun, the beach,
and being carried far
away.

#12 Small Stone

Today as I drove towards the mountains,
I turned the radio off
and simply drove in the silence.

#11 Small Stones

My little girl puts on her cross country skis and takes off down the road,
this year needing less instruction and hardly any help at all.
She heads towards our bird houses in the middle of the pasture, and
I can't resist the powder of new snow and the chance to put on my skis.
Breaking a trail makes it easier for her, but she is loving the time outside,
being in the sun, looking at rabbit tracks. She repeatedly says, "Keep going mommy,
I want to keep going for miles."  Our skiing is great exercise, and she doesn't
wear out as soon as I think she would.  She asks when we will go again.
It's been awhile, but now I have a new skiing partner and can't wait for more days like this.

#10 Small Stone

Two friends talking as our kids play around
her house. We know each other well enough
not to worry, not to compete, only
to understand and enjoy the time, the
company. A friendship worth the comforts
not always so easily found.

#9 Small Stone

Snow is finally here and I am alone this white expanse.

How can something that is so beautiful leave me so vulnerable?

#8 Small Stone

A good book, where I can read and read and be so intrigued with the characters and the story line and the authors voice that I'll stay up late just to read and skip all other duties I have during the day, only happens here and there.  But when it does there is only the book, a lamp, a mug, a blanket and the world in which I enter.

#7 Small Stone

Purple skies and mountains in the morning, the day eases in.

Triumphant pinks and oranges stretch from mountain range to mountain range
at sunset as the day ends.

#6 Small Stones

A Saturday visit with neighbors reminds me of when I was young, of the people who lived close to me and became so much like family.  Hot chocolate and friendly exchanges, my kids running circles around their house, one that does not have little feet running around other than a small dog and cat.  A few lessons in manners- no jumping off of the couch, no interrupting, leave the cat alone, don't wipe your boogers on the window, don't make the dog growl- and we left under blue skies, content that my kids will have some of the experiences I did.

#5 Small Stone

ice reflecting moonlight
illuminates a path
one i could even follow
without straying or losing the way

#4 Small Stone

morning
coffee
new day

one cup
first sip
sun rises

mountains
fresh snow
fresh start

#3 Small Stones

Conversations with my sister,
an extension of myself.
A seperate set of eyes she understands
without explanation,
knowing what I do, having been there too.
In the morning or in the afternoon,
it's me and her figuring out our worlds.

#2 Small Stone

My little boy zooms by me
pushing his Tonka truck.

His noises sound just like one,
as snow boots and little legs

glide over an icy road with
ruts.The sun shines down upon us

as our daily chores are finished.
He leads us back up up up,

rosy cheeks from such exertion,
bright eyes from such excitement.

Beginning Small Stones

Even though a couple of days of January have already passed, I am going to join in the Jan '12 River of Stones by writing about a "small stone" each day.

What are small stones?  A short piece of writing that captures a fully engaged moment, as described on the Writing Our Way Home website.

To me it's a bit of poetry out of my day and life that will become a memory, my own stones I find along the way.  My hope is to publish most of them here throughout the weeks ahead.

The first small stone....

I walk along the twilight snow
towards horses dark bodies.

Their breath and mine intermingle
as I touch their thick coats.

Silence. No words. Understanding.
Only the sound of their hoofs as I walk on home.