That Camp Life

scored a miracle:

thirty percent off this tent

the day i gave in

dream tent and dream house:

they go so well together

just like our family

Vacationer’s Garden

peas above my head,

jalapeños and lettuce,

a nice welcome home

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 Four

Kentucky cycles:

you can find happiness in

rolling hills, horse farms

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-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)