Month / December 2022

by Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet

Another Year Together

Photo by Bolivia Inteligente from Unsplash.

Another Year Together

Together we faced

the challenges of the year

with love and courage…

disappointments and setbacks,

lucky breaks and happy days.

This new year will bring

unforeseen challenges and

unexpected joys.

Thank you for sharing the years,

walking hand-and-hand through life.

Copyright© 2022 by Cheryl Batavia

Photo by Kelly Sikkema from Unsplash.

Another Year

“Another Year Together” was written for the holiday card I put in Robert’s Christmas stocking this year. We have had a very personally challenging 2022: sickness, surgeries, extensive dental work, unexpected expenses, and family visits cancelled by weather and illness. The whole world has had a challenging year: wars, violence, storms, fires, floods, famine, supply chain issues, inflation and financial distress, a continuing Covid 19 pandemic compounded by widespread outbreaks of several other viruses…and on and on and on..

Robert and I have met the challenges of 2022, including Hurricane Ian. Although we are a little tireder and a little older, we have survived! We have also savored the pleasures of everyday life and the blessings that came our way. Our hopes are high for a better 2023, both for ourselves and for everyone worldwide.

We wish you courage for your journey, strength to meet the challenges you encounter, hope in your heart, and peace of mind. We wish you fair weather and good fortune. May you be inspired, creative, and productive. May you be surrounded by the love of family and friends.

❤ Happy 2023! ❤

Photo by Austin Schmid from Unsplash.

by Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet

Holiday Gifts of Childhood

Photo by Clint Patterson from Unsplash.

Holiday Gifts of Childhood

Mid 1950s, Western Pennsylvania

Christmas morning at our grandparents’ house.

Doll with golden curls, evening gown, and pearls

waiting for me under the Christmas tree

when I was six or seven.

Photo by Marina Ambrosimova from Unsplash.

How excited I was!

Soon, though, I cut the doll’s hair in a crew cut,

wore her pearl choker on my wrist,

and went looking for bugs, rocks and frogs!

Late 1950s, Tidewater, Virginia

Christmas mysteries were in the air at our house

when I was nine or ten…

All of the colorfully wrapped presents under the tree

had been squeezed and shaken for days.

Photo from Pixabay.

On Christmas morning, there was a huge surprise…

Parked around the Christmas tree, there were

three Christmas bicycles for my siblings and me!

Mine was sky blue.

The three of us were always on the go,

bicycling far and wide for the next five or six years,

enjoying our newfound independence,

challenging our mother’s peace of mind!

Early 1960s, Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia

My brother, sister and I grew strong, riding our bicycles

up and down the steep hills of our little town.

Our mother soon learned not to worry…

to the extent that mothers can ever be free from worry.

There were no bicycle helmets when I was a child. For safety, wear a helmet! Photo from Pixabay.

Late 1960s-1980s, Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

Christmas Eve…we exchanged gifts at my parents’ home.

My husband, Frank, and I were expecting a child in the spring.

The gift from my mother was an album of old family photos,

including pictures of my father and me on our tricycles.

In my future, there were three children

receiving bicycles for the holidays.

Like my mother and all other mothers before her,

it was my turn to worry!

Girl on a tricycle Photo by Tuan PM from Pexels.

I was shocked at first when our daughter Ellen,

age three, requested a motorcycle for Christmas,

but her father saved the day!

He found a yellow plastic motorcycle/tricycle.

Ellen was overjoyed on Christmas morning

to find the tricycle parked under the Christmas tree.

Like her mother before her, she was empowered.

She rode the little yellow “motorcycle” toward independence.

Several years later, Ellen received a shiny new bicycle.

She still bears scars from surgery that followed an accident.

Under her chin, are traces of gravel from later accidents…

Ellen always got back on her bicycle; she lives her life that way!

1990s, Miami Beach, Florida

Hanukkah menorah, dreidle, and presents. Photo by Dad Grass from Pexels.

Celebrating holidays with Drew and our children…

Joe, age eight, always adventurous, ever nimble,

climbed the trellis to the rooftop with his new telescope

from Dad, exploring the wonders of the night sky.

Our daughter Katey, age six, was dazzled

by everything she saw and wanted all of it, too…

but in the end, she was delighted with every gift she received,

a new bicycle or the small, sweet surprise of Hanukkah gelt.

Hannukah Gelt. Photo by Joey Dean from Unsplash.

Katey loved unwrapping a gift on each night of Hanukkah

and receiving Christmas presents, but most of all, she valued

being surrounded by the love of family and friends,

that most precious of holiday gifts.

Photo by Any Lane from Pexels.

Copyright© 2022 by Cheryl Batavia

Photo by Engin Akyurt from Unsplash.

Happy Holidays!

Wherever you are, whatever holidays you celebrate,

we wish you childlike wonder, pleasant surprises,

inspiring experiences, and auspicious new opportunities.

We wish you health, love, and joy in every New Year!

Robert & Cheryl

by Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet

One Earth

Embrace the World. Photo by mrcolo from Pixabay.

Photo by NASA from Unsplash.

One Earth

Our Earth, one small blue planet, spins in space.

By day, we turn toward one blazing star.

By night, one moon reflects our star’s bright face,

one star among vast galaxies afar.

One fragile atmosphere envelopes Earth.

One rocky mantle guards its molten core.

One water fills the deep and gives clouds birth.

One land, five continents defined by shores.

Rainforest monkeys chatter in the trees.

In beds of giant kelp, sea otters play.

The lungs of earth are places such as these;

preserving habitats our task today.

All living things are one, fates intertwined;

Earth’s fortunes shape your destiny and mine.

Sea otters in a bed of giant kelp. Photo by Kieran Wood from Unsplash.

Photo by Antoni Shkraba from Pexels.

Photo by Rodnae Productions from Pexels.

Copyright© 2022 by Cheryl Batavia

Update

A couple of weeks ago, we found undiscovered hurricane damage to our house. Dealing with the insurance company, roofing companies, and contractors is consuming a lot of time and energy, and I have had to put my planned projects on hold. The insurance company has approved a new roof, payment for tree removal, and some needed repairs. Contractors are very busy with all the damage to properties here, and ours is not an emergency, so it may be some months before the work is completed.