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Archive for January, 2022

Bloganuary #4 -Favorite Toy

Today’s topic on #Bloganuary is:
“What was your favorite toy as a child?”

Mother-Daughter

Here I am as a young mom with my daughter, DeAna.
I don’t have available with me here on vacation
Any photos of myself as a child at her age.
I’m think my toys were part of my education.

DeDe was born during Barbie era.
She had boyfriend Ken and their playhouse.
She could play for hours with them
And be as quiet as a mouse.

Here is our son, Ty, as a child.
I know what he liked most at a young age:
“BamBam” – his bouncing horsey!
Quiet wasn’t a word on any Tyroneee page!

I didn’t have those kinds of toys!
It was World War Two and we were poor.
We tore our napkins in half to save paper.
We knew the soldiers needed it more!

I was content to play outside.
Rocks and dogs and imagination
Kept me entertained for hours.
No need for a Play Station!

I didn’t know at that time
That we weren’t rich as can be!
I had all the love in the world –
And that was enough “play” for me.

My parents never failed to provide
For all of the things we needed.
If a parent’s goal is to raise happy kids,
Mom and Dad certainly succeeded!

I may have had a doll or two –
I really don’t remember.
What I envision when I think of play
Is our “wedding” in September.

My friend, Frankie, and brother, Aldo,
Lived on our same property.
We dressed up in some cloth we found.
He wrapped it all around us three.

Cousin Bobby was a little younger.
We convinced him to be preacher.
He walked ahead of us down the “aisle”.
My dog, Jumbo, was best man. What a creature!

Our pretend house was a large hole
We dug in the old cow field.
We fixed it up with pretend furniture,
And covered the entrance – truly concealed.

We often climbed down to that “house”.
It worked just fine as a place to play….
Until a cow fell in and broke its leg.
I remember the lickin’ I got that day!

So, what was my favorite toy?
It was probably the neighbor boy!
Eventually we both got accordions –
Music was the “toy” that brought us joy!!

The accordion still is one of my favorite toys!
What’s your favorite childhood toy??
Thank you, Mom, for helping me
know that imagination and creativity
are the best “toys” ever!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow (God willing).
Are you enjoying the daily WordPress prompts?



#Bloganuary #3 Comfort Zone

Today’s #Bloganuary prompt is:
Write about the last time you left your comfort zone.

The picture above tells a thousand words!
(Here are a few Haiku poems to explain)

Leaving comfort zone
Going into the hospital
Sitting at bedside

Leaving comfort zone
Entering the men’s bathroom
Helping hubby dress

Leaving comfort zone
Not a lovely, fragrant place
Smelly men’s urine

Leaving comfort zone
Afraid some guy would step out
Just as I’m inside

Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Pexels.com

Life is full of challenges.
Often we’re asked to step out,
Leaving our comfort zone
Is sometimes what it’s about.

When our help is needed,
We can’t always ask for sun;
Sometimes we step into shadows
To do what needs to be done.

It’s reassuring to know
If we faithfully ask for the Son,
We’ll have the strength and courage
To step out with help from The One.

He’ll give us the tools we need
To respond to the “Step Out” command.
So ask for God’s help and you’ll find
A prescription for a new Comfort Brand!

You’ll find a broader, available comfort zone,
And you’ll have the courage and words you need
To step out in ways you never dreamed of …
New, expanded comfort zones – guaranteed!

Have a Marvelous Monday!
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow…


See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Bloganuary #2 – Road Trip

“What’s a road trip I would like to take?”

Each day is a journey
As we travel life’s highway.
Sometimes it’s imaginary
And we wonder where we’d stay.

Each day is a road trip
Whether we leave our house or not.
Sometimes our imagination’s
The only road we’ve got.

But the road trip I imagine,
The one I would have done,
Is in a couple of binders:
“Maine or Bust” with lobster fun!

It may never become real –
So I search the internet
And travel vicariously –
The only trip I’ll get.

But, that’s OK, my friends,
If I never go for real,
Because each day is a journey.
The sights are the appeal!

Photo by Lachlan Ross on Pexels.com

So, off I’ll go a-shopping –
Lobster and oysters I will buy;
I’ll travel with my tastebuds
To Maine in my mind’s eye.

Where is it you’d like to go on a road trip?
Is this Bloganuary prompt one that triggered your tastebuds
?

For New Years 2022,
we traveled from home in Montana
to vacation and enjoy wine tasting fun
in Napa, California with friends.

But, as soon as Bob (my husband)
gets out of the hospital
(we traveled there yesterday),
we’ll head back home.

Sometimes our roadtrips
don’t take us
to the destination
we envisioned!

But, my mind keeps travel interesting
and I find adventure
wherever I am.
I hope you do, too.

An active mind is such a blessing!!

Pray with me today, my friends:
“Lord, help me keep all my marbles,
And remind me that happiness
is not where I am,
but who I am in YOU!”


God bless you!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
See ya tomorrow (God willing).

Advice to Teenage Self

WordPress started a new program called Bloganuary each day they’ll give us a writing prompt. I’ll see if I can find inspiration in this new program – and share comments with some fellow bloggers I haven’t met before.

My 2021 blogs all began with my word for the year, “Embrace.” We had spent 2020 with the absence of hugs … and that was really hard for me. It was not difficult to think of a subject to embrace each day.

Our daughter, De, at age 19.

Now, let’s see what my life experience can do with these new daily prompts!

What Advice Would I Give to My Teenage Self?

I wrote a poem for my daughter, DeAna, when she was 19, married her sweetheart, André, and left us in CA to go live with him in his home country of Switzerland. My advice to her was wrapped up in this poem. It’s the same advice I would have given to my own teenage self:

I hope you are able to read that, dear blogging friends. And I hope you have been given (and can give in return) “Gifts Your Kids Can’t Break”

God bless you this New Year’s Day. May 2022 be a memorable year of many hugs and many blessings from Our Lord to you and your loved ones.

Please pray for my husband, Bob, who is in ER right now with congestive heart failure.

Love, JanBeek