February? Already? Slow Down and Contemplate!

Where did January go? I feel as if I've missed it. At my age, time just slips by so fast. I never, ever thought that would happen. When I was a little girl, summer, for example, seemed to drag by endlessly. I don't recall being bored, though, surely, I was from time to time. I don't recall needing to hurry.

Maybe that's why my father always called me "PokeYourHontas." I don't believe I dragged my feet. I think I just enjoyed myself. I didn't want to hurry because life excited me. Seeing and doing excited me. It still does. I don't like to miss things.

It is harder now. I don't move the way I used to. But that doesn't mean my heart isn't still in the excitement of living. My excitement is simply slower than that of others. The thrill of the feathery, crystal structures of snow, the contemplation of clouds. Mull over some poetry, enjoy that cup of tea - savor it. Look at the faces of your family and remember how wonderful they are.

The faces of my children inspire me, make me smile, soften my all-too-hard heart.

Sometimes the journey seems so fast that I can't keep up with the needle of my compass. It spins and I'm dizzy. If I could take a magnet and freeze it in place, or freeze time, I sometimes think I'd like to. But... in the end, it is the time that passes that makes a memory. The memories make me smile too.

Since I seem to have missed the whole month, here is a poem for January:

Crystal feathers
draped so soft

how delicate you grow
aloft my mirror in the morning light.

Formed of warmth
and cold, clear night

The snap of chill,
the heated air;

not for long you linger here

And when the sun, though weak, swings 'round

of your beauty no sign is found

-KK 021113