Marriage Quartet – on the Occasion of Our 38th Anniversary

38th

MARRIAGE QUARTET

SOMETHING OLD

Look behind the chair – the yellow one.
Or check under the Wall Street Journal on the coffee table,
or look on the ledge above the kitchen sink.

If only you would leave it on your finger,
Twirling and spinning it, tossing it into the air
or worse, clunking it on the floor.

You’d think after 38 years
you wouldn’t fuss with that ring.

I barely notice mine,
but yours is alive, dancing on and off your finger.

SOMETHING NEW

I. First Anniversary

Gino’s deep dish pizzeria, heart of Chicago’s Rush Street.
Double cheese, double sausage, extra sauce. No garlic.
Jukebox sweet sings Seals and Croft’s Summer Breeze
Later, a six-pack of Old Style for you and tequila for me,
Oak Street beach, the surf of Lake Michigan, background music.

“Be careful crossing Lake Shore Drive.”

II. The Fourteenth

Macaroni and cheese from that blue cardboard box
Single carrot sticks, whines of protest, ranch dressing.
Dripping candles, globs of wax on chocolate cupcakes,
burnt and lop-sided, smeared thick with frosting.
Raffi thumping out This Little Light of Mine.

“You kids stop kicking each other this minute and I mean it.”

III. The Thirty-First

White Riesling from organic growers in California
Eight grain bread warm, drizzled with Porcini Olive Oil and Parmesan
Smoked salmon and fresh dill, Asian pears.
George Winston playing Sweet Soul on the keys.
Something new – the house quiet, the children in college and beyond.

“Let’s call it an early evening.”

IV. The Thirty Eighth

Steak and pineapples on the grill.
A twilight walk around Sticker’s Pond, the rain passed through.
You study remodeling plans for your wish list kitchen;
I process photographs from my adventure in Escalante.
If you think after 38 years, we know the secrets of a long, happy marriage,
you’d be both wrong and right.

“Full moon tonight. Wish upon a moon?”

 

SOMETHING BORROWED

Ma said I was borrowing trouble

when I married poor –
“can’t buy bread with love”

and married young –
“not old enough to keep your nose clean”

when I married the wrong guy –
“what will the neighbors say?”

got married by the wrong preacher –
“what will God in heaven say?”

I went on ahead, paid her no mind, said my “I do’s” proud,
and the money I saved by borrowing trouble
— and not buying it outright –
paid for my dress and the band and his white dancing shoes.

 

SOMETHING BLUE

Our first Christmas we spent the last money on rent and
kerosene for the space heater, and took the last dollars
from the envelope marked Savings.

Skipped lunch the day before Christmas Eve, and
rode the el into the Loop, squeezed through the Marshall Fields shopping frenzy,
searched, fumbling and fretting,
finally chose a tiny comb in tortoiseshell,
so you might groom your mustache –
a fad that year, mustache combs.

You, the number cruncher,
fashioned a love sonnet in awkward meter,
rolled the cheap typing paper like precious parchment,
and tied it with ribbon from Woolworth’s.

The comb’s now jumbled in your jewelry box
with antique silver cuff-links
and your grandfather’s gold watch fob.

I keep that worn sheet of fresh promise
with birth certificates and old mortgage papers
tied with a faded deep blue ribbon,
now the color of a desert sky.

————-

I wrote this poem quite a few years ago, and updated it for today in honor of our 38th wedding Anniversary – a testament to the strength of commitment and love, in good times and in bad, in flow and in transition. Honoring our anniversary, Sherpa.

Note: Please let it be known that this is memoir poetry, and as such, it is not 100% accurate. (Pretty close though!)

It’s The Berries!

Autumn Berries

Autumn Berries © 2013 Bo Mackison

“I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering ’bout the big things and asking ’bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, the more I love.” ~ Alice Walker

What a wonder-filled, little things, big things, crazy month this month of October has been! I’ve had years less busy than the last few weeks. And I’ve had months when this much head-on living would have knocked me flat on my back, begging for a deserted island, a stack of books and a few cases of chocolate.

But I’ve given up that desert island wish – it sounds pretty boring these days – and I can read my ever-growing stack of books wherever I am, and I just happily devoured the most delicious, once-a-year, chocolate birthday cake made from scratch from two of my favorite daughters, so I’ve had my quota of chocolate for the near future.

No, instead of living life on a deserted island, I’ve been living a very colorful, action packed life right here in the Midwest. This past month reminds me of this bunch of autumn berries. Colorful. A bit on the wild and ragged side. Full of life and potential. Lots of goodness, all  crowded together.

All that brightness won’t last, and it would be hard to handle if it did. But a spurt of bright-berry living is good now and then – even for an introverted soul.

October ushered in several out-of-state visits to family. Then the highlight of the month – the arrival of the first grand-baby of our family – was the most precious of days! I celebrated one of those milestone birthdays, and family flew in from both coasts for a weekend celebration. There was sunshine almost that entire weekend, much appreciated. I sent my Desert Wisdom Cards out into the world and I am gratified by the generous response. (Thank you.)

As always, there were some difficult times amidst all the good times. But the difficult times helped shine a brighter light on the many blessings of each day.

There’s some catching up to do, emails to answer, a pile of papers on my desk. Plus a few hundred (or so) photographs to process. But I’m incredibly thankful I had the opportunity to celebrate the many blessings of this October with such special people.

What an October this has been…

Autumn Blessing

Aubrey -

Autumn Blessing ©2013 Bo Mackison

One Autumn day, Aubrey entered my world, and opened my eyes and heart in a brand new way. I guess I am now officially a member of the grammarrazi – and that doesn’t mean I’ve joined the grammar police!

Such a blissful moment, becoming a grandmother. Ah, dear granddaughter, I am smitten.

~~~~~~~~~

Bo Mackison is photographer, book-artist, collector of stories, naturalist, curator and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Yesterday I became a grandmother. But only Aubrey has the privilege to call me Grandma Bo! 🙂

Remembering Moments

Remembering Moments © 2011 Bo Mackison

We do not remember days, we remember moments. ~ Cesare Pavese

Moments from the past few days:

  • Sitting in the darkness before the fist hint of dawn, tree lights on, absorbing the beauty of light and color.
  • Many moments spent adding tinsel to the tree, a strand at a time, and with each strand I expressed gratitude for one thing — big or small..
  • Telling my kids how I added tinsel to the tree this year, and then noting how they followed my example by saying a “thank you” every time they replaced an errant piece of tinsel from carpet to tree.
  • Following a long-standing family tradition, each person made hors d’oeuvres for the Christmas Eve table. No sit down dinner for us. The Christmas table is always a part of the entire evening. We opened presents, visited, slowly ate a delicacy or two from the table, revisited memories from Christmases past. We took our time and enjoyed ourselves.
    • When my kids were much younger, there was a variety of offerings on our table — mozzarella sticks from the freezer case at the nearby grocery, meatballs from the same freezer case, cheese and crackers. We greeted each person’s contribution with enthusiasm and love.
    • This year, the kids are all practiced veterans in their own kitchens, so we had true delicacies prepared with their hands and their love — Asian shrimp balls, pot stickers, homemade meatballs, oysters on the half shell and sauces, a plate of delicate Christmas cookies, and more. What pleasure to see how they have matured in the thought and preparation of their culinary offerings.
  • As I wrapped each present this year, I took my time. I thought of the intended recipient of each gift and sent an intention into the Universe for that person. For example:
    • If the gift was kitchen-oriented, I asked that they experience a sense of accomplishment while preparing food for their loved ones and an attitude of gratefulness for their food.
    • If the gift was a humorous book, I asked that they experience lots of joy and laughter in their lives, not only while enjoying the cartoons, but throughout their days. It made wrapping gifts a deliciously uplifting time.
  • A walk around the neighborhood with Sherpa, enjoying nature in the balmy December weather, and chatting about the day’s small events which, when totaled, make up the precious gift of our life together.

This truly was a season to be grateful for all the goodness that surrounds us, and a time to show our appreciation to family, friends, acquaintances, helpers — to all who touch our lives and humanize our existence.

—————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer, owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is taking time today to give thanks for the little things and the big things in her life.

Comings and Goings

Airport Departure

Airport Departure

At the end of every holiday comes the time for good-byes.

Though there is motion blur in this photograph, there was some teary blurring on my part that obviously didn’t show up on the photograph. This, however, is a perfect capture of what I saw as my children headed into the airport to fly to their homes halfway across the country.