New Year Trifecta
Impatiens on my Back Porch
New Year’s Day Trifecta
January 1, 2022. I’m not sure what my goals are this year, but last year I set these daily goals:— click the links to see all 365 of each:
I’m still here, and I met my goal of one of each every single day last year. Being retired while my husband still works, it kept me busy and distracted— distracted from the virus and the vitriol of today’s world. I was able to create art for sale and art for others in those daily efforts. I was able to take lessons and learn more each day. I am grateful for this time after thirty-one years of passionate work as a middle school educator, which also filled my life with joy.
Today, I start again, although I may change my goal, which is a possibility, if I find a project on which more time will be needed there, such as an idea I have for my great-grandson, or perhaps one of the novels from NaNoWriMo. Time: it’s all we really have, until we don’t.
Photography
Today’s photography is from 2017– a favorite flower I planted in a wire pot placed on my back porch: impatiens. They are colorful, delightful flowers that bloom even in the shade, of which I have plenty under the canopy of a giant American plane tree, a sycamore.
I had do pictures of another favorite flower, the sweet pea. Apparently many people around here consider them weeds, which is funny since they are annuals and since I’ve not been able to get them to grow. And they became a focus of my poetry and Daily Create today.
Sweet peas have a place in my heart because my mother planted them every year along the fence that bordered the neighbor’s driveway in our front yard on Avenue C. The fence was a simple white stick with square wire stapled along it, but it was beautiful with the multi-colored sweet peas climbing in and out of the wire behind the zinnia, cosmos, and marigolds. It was a joyously beautiful welcome mat along the sidewalk to our small and old home. That garden and the Virginia creeper vine covering the front porch are a favorite image when I close my eyes to remember my childhood.
So I’d love to plant and grow some sweet pea this year, again. I’ve failed many times, so if you know a trick, let me know— please. I’ve tried scoring seeds or soaking them, to no avail. And I long for that flood of color in front of our little house.
I found a picture of Sweet Pea on Pixabay, so I have created an image for you to imagine my mother’s lovely sweet peas:
Daily Create and Poetry
Today’s Daily Create [ @ds106dc #tdc3642 ] is #tdc3642 #ds106 Dear Future Me, Hello from 2022, which asks us to write a note to ourselves in the future. Our CLmooc friend Terry sends a weekly letter with questions on which he reflects each Sunday.
I decided to write myself a poem to hold the spirits of the year 2022, the year of the water tiger, and that of my mom’s sweet peas, to hold them close as inspiration towards hope, persistence, and acceptance— the spirits of which a better neighborhood, community, and world can renew again even in these times.
This seems appropriate as a goal, especially since I was born in the year of the gold tiger, 1950. I lost my parents years ago and both my brothers in the last two years. So, filling my yard with sweet peas is a way to hold onto the memories of our home together. And the tiger— well, just watch this story of the tiger, and you’ll see why my poem and my goal chose this:
And since I have no pictures I took of sweet pea, I also needed to create my own. I have one nice one I drew once before, but I wanted.a pink one, since those were the most profuse in the garden. So I struggled with different styles and finally chose one that worked. Art is still a struggle for me— but I continue. I love when it works. This one is not perfect, but the idea I wanted was to create one with a space to add on top of a petal, the sign of the tiger: three horizontal and one vertical as in the little story in the video.
Then, I wrote the poem to myself— see if you like it:
Hold the Spirits of tiger and sweet pea:
Tiger, King of the Animals
Defender of order; Defeater of chaos
A brave and loyal learner,
Strategic and patient
At once fierce and friendly:
A spirit of hope and persistenceSweet Pea, scented wonder of the garden,
Sheri Edwards
Vision of joy; Bringer of happiness
Colorful hope climbing to the sun
Fragrant border of Grandmother’s fence
At once grateful and guarding:
A spirit of welcome and acceptance
Poetry / Art
010122_001.365.22
Trifecta
And then my day pulled together the three goals: photography/poetry, art, Daily Create.
What will you set for yourself? What letter will you write to inspire yourself? How will you hold yourself to your inspiration?
Happy Year of the Tiger, starting soon in a calendar near you…
Calendar For You
Which brings me to another project, a calendar of art, photography, poetry, and music in a collaboration of my CLmooc friends: we created this FREE calendar for you, our global community. Click here to download and enjoy— print or add the PDF to your pdf reader on your device. Click here for a preview and the link to download:
And a Blessing for Happy New Year
Categories
art, CLMOOC, Family, Photography, Poetry, Prompts, Remember the Moments, Slice of Life
Sheri Edwards View All
Geeky Gramma ~~
Retired Middle School Language Arts/Media Teacher ~~
Writer and Thinker~~
Art from the Heart
1DR What Else? 