Road Trip 2020, Day Nine

tent without a fly

for another river day

flanked by swimming dogs

Road Trip 2020, Day Eight

along a river

this fairy tale ferry stop

has stood a beacon

in muddy waters

kids get to be kids all day

while mamas paddle

nature is our home

found in Kentucky fire

lit by desire

Road Trip 2020, Day Six (Turtles and All)

a creek paddle day

brings every boat together

for swimming and grins

Road Trip 2020, Day Five

if only these pics were perfect

as perfectly peaceful as they appear

and no one lost a phone (and all the love attached) to a lake

and no one said they hated each other

and no one lied to their mother

and no one cried.

but life isn’t this lake

this quiet Kentucky fishing lake that we ruined with six screaming kids and one barking dog

this peaceful lake for paddling or praying or both

this swimmable, all-ours, wake-free lake.

Life is this lake, isn’t it?

Perfect and not so perfect.

Road Trip 2020, Day Two

not what i dreamed of

for our family vacation;

pretty all the same

you wouldn’t believe

how fire Kentucky is

sunsets, family, all

Coronatine, Day Eighty-eight

this is our family

working through each glittered pic

and this quarantine

Coronatine, Day Eighty-six

magic pupusas

like play dough for my nieces

home cooked by my son

side of garden leaves,

fresh cut perfect peonies,

beauty from our home

Coronatine, Day Eighty-five

hiking out hurts us

(to face the world’s anger

instead of these trees)

Coronatine, Day Eighty-four

from aspens to pines
peaks and creeks guide our soft steps
toward tranquility

Coronatine, Day Seventy-nine

exchanging language

a small step brought by small girls

(the journey begins)

never would he speak

now he speaks: “You’re next, Ruby”

quarantine blessing