Richard, thanks for sharing that poem with us. How do you know which were your mother's favorite poems, or are you just reading through all her poetry books? Seems like a good way to get to know someone by reading the poems that meant something to that person. And, Kathi, thanks for sharing that story with us. When I manage to replace the negative thoughts with happy ones, it definitely changes my outlook on life. Luckily, there's only room in my brain for one "subject" at a time, so I try to fill it with the good ones.

Lori, I am sorry for your loss. It must have been quite a shock. Kathi, that is a very moving story and the comfort that it brings you is the best part. Like the poems are for you Richard. I am one that tends to see the glass half empty so that poem told me to look for the good and not the bad. Hard to always do ........ We have not seen the sun here since it peeked out last Saturday. The ground is pretty saturated. Have a good weekend everyone!

kathi, thanks for thinking of me last saturday. the memorial service was nice and i had a chance to catch up with some of the (50 year old) kids from my neighborhood. one of the things that my mother's death has led me to is reading her favorite poets and trying to understand why she liked them. what i now realize is that there is a completely non-mechanical way to understand life and the science of the universe. she liked poets that had organic explanations and who felt there was a lack of images in poems that communicate the meaning. these include happy thoughts and lots of others, too. lori, i read mystic blue by dh lawrence and loved it, i liked the tree by ezra pound, but this is the poem that will always be in my heart when i think of her:

THE TWO TREES
by: William Butler Yeats

BELOVED, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
There the Loves a circle go,
The flaming circle of our days,
Gyring, spiring to and fro
In those great ignorant leafy ways;
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the wingèd sandals dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care:
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

Gaze no more in the bitter glass
The demons, with their subtle guile,
Lift up before us when they pass,
Or only gaze a little while;
For there a fatal image grows
That the stormy night receives,
Roots half hidden under snows,
Broken boughs and blackened leaves.
For all things turn to barrenness
In the dim glass the demons hold,
The glass of outer weariness,
Made when God slept in times of old.
There, through the broken branches, go
The ravens of unresting thought;
Flying, crying, to and fro,
Cruel claw and hungry throat,
Or else they stand and sniff the wind,
And shake their ragged wings; alas!
Thy tender eyes grow all unkind:
Gaze no more in the bitter glass.

You might think this is too weird but... The Sunday after my brother died (5/25/04) I was absolutely compelled to go to church, which I hadn't been in quite a while. I was obsessed with finding out what time mass was and getting there on time. I was sitting in the pew, trying to listen but not really...when the priest, who is new to the parish and I had never met, began his sermon. He started talking about how he had seen a good movie. Peter Pan...and I'm thinking I hate that movie and why am I here. He goes on to say...what saved Peter Pan from Captain Hook....I can hear my brain answering...I don't know...who cares and what does that have to do with anything...when I hear him say....Happy Thoughts saved Peter Pan. Well, the strange thing is I wrote to Kevin every Monday and I would end my letters with the words Happy Thoughts. No one knew that except for Kevin and myself....except for God...apparently. So, I like to think it was Kevin and God telling me that he was okay. So, that is my Happy Thoughts story.

What's your Happy Thoughts story, Kathi? I'm too curious to let that go. Sounds like something that could help us all.

Every day is a gift. Validate and appreciate your friends and loved ones while you can. Lori, it is hard to absorb the fact that that person is really gone from your life and will seem surreal for quite awhile. That stupid saying about time healing.....it just fades a little and you can remember the good things about the person and not necessarily how they died..all the time anyways. I'll have to share my Happy Thoughts story sometime. Hopefully, things will run smoothly with your husbands business and his computers. As always, happy thoughts to all.

We were home for Memorial Day weekend, but it wasn't the relaxing weekend we thought it would be. A young Israeli guy who had been working for Avi died suddenly on Saturday night, apparently from a heart attack. He was only 33, so we're all in shock here--though he was really overweight and I'm sure that had something to do with it. He was a single guy and all his family is in Israel. They flew the body back today. He (Effi) was the one who took care of all the computer problems in the business--and also at home. Every time we had a problem, we called him. I still can't quite absorb the fact that we can't call him anymore. Kathi, I'm sorry for what you must be feeling at this time. When something like this happens, it makes me appreciate my life more.

Hope everybody had a good Memorial Day Weekend. The Holiday takes on a whole different meaning to me now. Richard, I was thinking on you on Saturday. I am sure that your Mother's service was very special and hope that your family found comfort in being together. I read in this mornings paper that Steve Ankuda's mother died...she was 95. My heart is with you. On a lighter note, I went to go mow tonight after school and had just gotten started when it started to pour.......needless to say, by the time I probably get to finish it'll be waist high and I won't be mowing on the diagonal! Plus I'm not into fuzzy hairdos anymore! Hope to hear from somebody soon....Happy Thoughts.