Thoughts on Monday

Getting away from daily life is a good way for me to re-focus, relax and re-energize myself. I often times become far to engaged in the worries and troubles of life. Am I doing enough? Will I ever succeed at what I truly want? And so I work and do, just as I have been taught. Then doing, doing, doing, begins to take away from life and I forget to enjoy each day. I begin to live just get by.

When I arrived home from a brief vacation, someone had e-mailed me the link to this video. I don't usually watch much YouTube, but this short story reminds me of taking each day as it is, and, perhaps, dancing more often.

A road trip

After trying to work out our schedules to take a short trip to get away from the snow, we finally just said we are going. Our summer is becoming filled, and since my husband’s busy time at work is during the warm months, if we don’t leave now we won’t be able to go until the snow comes back again.

The excitement of a map, an open road and now plans is refreshing. We try to fill up our time in minds. What to do with all of our freedom?

I have an overly ambitious stack of reading material, not to mention the free local papers I’ll pick up. My husband is better at just letting the day go where it leads. I want to capitalize on our time, he wants to enjoy it. And we have already begun to do both.

So, with the radio on and a new place to explore….here we go…

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, and although the days in April are coming close to being completed, this does not mean the celebration of the prose should cease. Here is a list of a few websites you might want to browse:

The Poetry Foundation- offers exploration of modern poets and poets of the past; learning tools and in depth look at the meaning of certain poems.

Narrative Magazine- online magazine with poems for each week and an archive of contributors.

Poetry Out Loud- promoting the oral art form of poetry.

Poets boil down thoughts, seasons, experiences, life, with a concentration of words, making the reading experience rewarding and memorable; taking your mind and emotions into descriptions you may not have felt before. Try reading one poem a day. You may find the practice gratifying.

This morning I awoke to the sound of birds, jubilant sounds to a sleepy mind and a body ready for a change in season. When my little boy woke up and walked out of his room, he began to ask me for juice but was stopped. He ran to our glass door and said, “Birds, mommy.”

In the evenings a twosome of Sandhill Cranes has been flying by, their distinctive refrain echoing over the prairie as they fly to their nest close to water.

When we pass by some of the ranches, little black calves lie in rows; some are strong enough to begin playing.

The deer and the pronghorn have begun following their ancient migration routes.

There is still snow, but there is mud, too. Puddles of mud the kids like to jump in.

May flowers will not come to our region of the world, but the rivers are flowing. Transformations are taking place.

Recent Reads: The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos by Margaret Mascarenhas

A neighbor down the road introduced me to this book. It was our first exchange, and she gave it to me with some hesitation, worried about what I liked to read and if I would like this particular book. She didn’t need to worry about me basing any type of bias towards the book or her; I love to read and enjoy being introduced to new authors.

Margaret Mascarenhas presents the reader to Irene Dos Santos via the voice of her girlhood best friend, Lily Martinez. Lily is older and reflecting on her friendship with Irene, and her disappearance. Lily is haunted by the mysterious loss, and cannot quite comprehend what exactly happened on a trip that the Martinez family took with their guest, Irene.

The book continues to explore that fateful day through various members of the family in their distinctive voice. Even the maid gets to share her side, along with a boy named Efrain who ends up having connections to the family.

The book is set in Venezuela and the storyline follows the political struggles of the time, folklore, and incorporates the story of the saint Maria Lionza.

Stories within stories, this book kept me captivated and interested in what really happened to Irene. In fact, I’m still deliberating about her disappearance. Discovering the struggles of the lives of the Martinez family and the Venezuelan people left me wanting to learn more about the culture and about the history of the mystical reference to the saint Maria Lionza. The author stays true to the voice of each character, making me wish certain ones could continue on in telling their own side.

Mascarenhas grew up in Venezuela. I feel reading international authors gives insight to a country’s language, although the books have been translated into English. Their use of clichés are far less than some American authors, and I enjoy reading how they formulate the words to convey their stories, culture, and views on life.