Friday, May 19, 2006

FIVE THINGS I’M GRATEFUL FOR THIS FRIDAY

1. Email
2. Puppy Kisses
3. Excel Spreadsheets (It's scary, but true--I love spreadsheets! If I could fit my entire life into a spreadsheet, I probably would...)
4. Multi-colored Sharpies (turquoise and silver are my favorites)
5. Suburb Sounds (bird calls, wind chimes, trees rustling, insects buzzing, little kids playing outside, retirees doing yard work, the mail truck putting through the neighborhood, squirrels scampering across the deck, dogs barking in the distance...)

When we were chatting about great children’s books, Prisonerofhope and Grandma Baba both mentioned Shel Silverstein so I had to pull out one of his books and share this poem with you… He’s got some really fun, silly stuff too and of course “The Giving Tree” is a beautiful, touching story…

I like this one because it reminds me of the optimism, creativity and intuition that comes so easily to children and that eludes so many adults…

WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

by SHEL SILVERSTEIN

Happy Friday, everyone! May your journey take you beyond where the sidewalk ends…

- A.