Life as it Unfolds

Good News

Yesterday, I arrived at the Verde Valley Medical center for a mammogram and ultrasound. Pat the technician, cheerfully assisted me with applying cute little colorful sticker pasties that go on my tender spots before the test. Then, the massive boob squishing machine takes pictures and the images are immediately up on the computer screen in the room. "It's all digital now" she said. Pat left the room several times to talk to the radiologist who reads the images in a room downstairs and I start getting a little nervous. My heart skipped a beat and I stopped breathing for a moment when she brought the young doctor into the room. I never see these guys unless there is something bad going on. He asked me to sit down which is always a bad sign in my mind. I took a deep breath, sat on my hands and looked straight up in his eyes ready for anything. He asked me a couple of questions about the ultrasound and said he wouldn't recommend the test because of the scar tissue on my left side. He told me if my mammo was not clear, he would advise another scan or test but not an ultrasound. He said my mammogram was clear! That was good news.

To My Mom

I thought a lot about my Mom today. She brought me life, was my biggest cheerleader, and sometimes she drove me nuts. She was always my dearest friend. This is one of her poems, published by the International Library of Poetry.
Today, I am fifty four and I celebrate her life as well as my own.

Last Nights Kiss

I held you so close
I could feel your breath
sweep across my cheek,
like a soft warm breeze
melting the first fragile frost
of nightfall.
I begged permission from your eyes
and absorbed the memory
of your face that last night
and tucked it warmly around
my shivering soul.
Slowly, I softly pressed
my lips on yours
as the howling wind scattered
the fluttering leaves
and a quivering snowflake
floated it's way to heaven.

~Joanne Elaine Denton
1936-2004

Creativity, my fickle friend...

 Creativity comes and goes as she pleases. I have learned that she decides when she wants to visit. I invite her into my home and my life but she has her own schedule which doesn't always mesh with mine. I have tried to bribe her and even cajole her into staying for longer periods but nothing works. She breezes in and out of my life like the seasons. Some times she knocks on my door at 2 am and she doesn't leave for days. I don't get much sleep then, but I enjoy the intense caffeine enriched visits. She leaves unannounced and sometimes right in the middle of a painting or a project. There have been times when she has not been by for weeks and months at a time and when I am about to give up on her completely, she bounces back into my life like a ball of sunshine and fills my soul with light. She is fickle and unpredictable but I have grown accustomed to her strange ways. I always am thankful for the gifts she brings.

A Day to Remember

Memorial Day is much more than a three-day weekend that marks the beginning of summer and our first sunburns. To many people, especially the nation's thousands of combat veterans, this day, which has a history stretching back all the way to the Civil War, is an important reminder of those who died in the service of their country.

Wherever I go, there I am....

Three years ago, I ran away from home. Because I lived in Southern California all of my life, it took some time to adjust to the climate and cultural differences in this state. At the same time I was adjusting, I was transforming my entire life in a really big way. I found out that what I was running from was with me all along. Now, I call Arizona my home, and it is a fantastic place to be.