Two Worlds

From clanging metal

To laughing children

From the power of a diesel

To the energy of a six-year old

From creations in steel and aluminum

To art in construction paper and popsicle sticks

Two separate and distinct worlds

Could not be more different

Yours takes you far away

To see vast oceans

And new coast lines

Listening to the repetitive chug

Of the engine room

Living in small quarters

On a large

Floating structure

Surrounded by water

Rising and falling with the waves

Tossed on the whim of the weather

Yet you love it

You love this job that takes you from me

You love that your hands

Can combine with your mind

And blend into skills

To form a lasting creation

One that can be admired

Useful

My world is smaller

My home is constant

There are people who depend on me

As others do you

But my dependants are little

More willing to show their appreciation

With a hug or a smile

(What Chief engineer would do that?)

My creations are not lasting or useful

They are beautiful for the moment

Handprints in paint

A flower made from coffee filters

Something to grace my world with color

And life

But they will be replaced

With new life

Changing life

My world is tossed about

By the growth of my children

Who change by the minute

With far less predictability

Than the weather

Whose emotions

Are young and sensitive

Still untainted by societies advocacy

For stoicism

My world will wait

As it always does

For your world to come back

To join my own

My world is constant

Yours is in flux

But is unchanging in its changeability

Constant in its rhythm

I do not desire to be in your world

As I know you do not desire to be in mine

But as we love each other

We admire each respective world

With awe and disbelief at the choices

Of our partner

Yet

It is these distinct worlds

Which reflect our personalities

And abilities

Drawing these opposites

Into a more complex

Relationship

With weaknesses overcome

And strengths celebrated

A Larger and fuller world

Than either has the ability to create

Alone

July 22, 2007

Someday

For Kyli-Anne

Tiny fingers grasp

Someday they will create a masterpiece

Tiny feet wiggle

Someday they will run a marathon

Tiny eyes follow

Someday they will see a million stars

Tiny ears listen

Someday they will hear an unwritten symphony

Tiny lips pucker

Someday they will kiss away another’s hurt

Tiny child thinks

Someday she will know the mysteries of the universe

But for now

In this moment

She is lying in my arms

A tiny miracle

My own piece of

Someday

July 2007

Rumination on Birthdays

There is a single day in the year which is just like any other in character. The sun rises. It sets. The weather can vary from sunny to cloudy to rainy to snow. Time passes at the same rate as any other day. The people of the world go about their business in the same way they always do, completely oblivious to the significance of this twenty-four hour period.

On this day twelve, twenty-nine, fifty-six years ago a new person was added to our world. Someone who would become a mother, a sister, a doctor, a cashier, a thief. This day is directly connected to the significance of that life. Without this day, that person would not exist. Would not be able to leave their fingerprints on the lives of the rest of earth’s occupants.

To some, birthdays are a hassle. The day reminds them that they are one day closer to death. For those people, it is easier to ignore the day of their entrance into the world than to acknowledge how long it has been since that moment.

To others, it is a milestone. What child does not dream of turning thirteen and finally being able to be called a teenager. Those magic numbers that signify that time is passing and others will now recognize how mature and responsible they have always believed themselves to be.

Some view birthdays as a time to set aside the day-to-day struggles of living and enjoy themselves.” The crazy party or the expensive present to myself are all ok because it’s my birthday! I deserve a little break once a year.” Children look forward to all the presents and the parties that come with reaching each new birthday. They plan months in advance.

When my birthday comes, it’s not the party or the presents that are important. Certainly, I love to receive presents, but not for the reasons you may think. I love to get presents, no matter the value, because it tells me that I have left a mark on someone’s life and they are thankful for my birth. A thoughtful phone call or email shows that someone was thinking about me even if I wasn’t around and that they want to brighten up my day. It is the friends and family that I am thankful to have gathered over the passing years that make my birthday special.

I take the opportunity on my birthday to send some appreciation to God for the past year and all of the successes and failures I may have faced; that I was able to learn and grow and live a little more. I also look forward to the next year and wonder, with a sense of expectation, what I will be thankful for this time next year. Will I have new friends? Will anyone remember my special day? What will I know that I don’t know now? Each birthday I pray for the strength to face each new challenge in the coming year with faith, strength and optimism, trusting that God will bring me through to another birthday with even more to be thankful for.

So that is where you will find me on my next birthday. If you stop in, be sure to bring along a homemade card and I might share with you some cake and my newly acquired experience.

July 15, 2007