Category Archives: enthusiasm

Aug7

merry sunshine.

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this is not me,

but we do have a similar level of excitement upon waking up each day

just to see what is going to happen,

 as we’ve both discovered over time,

not everyone shares this same level of enthusiasm for the new day. 

when my children shared a house with me,

I loved waking them with a ‘merry sunshine!’ in the  morning,

which did not always go over as well as the spirit in which the greeting was intended. 

there is still time for it to grow on them.

here is Ralph’s take on the situation:

—

‘there is one topic peremptorily forbidden to all well-bred,

to all rational mortals, namely, their distempers.

if you have not slept or if you have slept or if you have headache or sciatica

or leprosy or thunder-stroke,

I beseech you, by all angels, to hold your peace and not pollute the morning.

-ralph waldo emerson

 

 

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image credit: instagram

Jan12

enthusiasm.

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 in the neighborhood

 seeing bits of festive cheer

 brings light to the day 

—

“indeed there is an eloquence in true enthusiasm that is not to be doubted.”

-*washington irving

*washington irving was an american short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. best known for his short stories, including “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.

 

Apr1

foolish things.

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on april fool’s day and most any day

live life with gusto

even if not everyone is quite on board yet.

 

 

—

“you will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.”

-*sidonie gabrielle colette

*Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, best known as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her 1944 novella Gigi, which was the basis for the 1958 film and the 1973 stage production of the same name.

 

 

 

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image credit: a. thomas, redbook magazine

Aug28

enthusiasm.

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found these two hanging out amidst the clover

 seven+ months until st. patrick’s day

 they started celebrating a bit early

while they look a little worn

it doesn’t seem to matter.

—

“years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”

– samuel ulman

 

Aug9

enthusiasm 2.

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free movie night at campus martius park in detroit

safe, distanced, well-planned

the little one soon had her own plan

 drawn in

she moved right up front by the screen

enthralled

 laughing, dancing, twirling

throwing spells along with elsa from ‘frozen 2’

until she became a part of the movie. 

—

 

“true enthusiasm is a fine feeling whose flash I admire wherever I see it.”

-charlotte bronte

Mar27

of age.

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not me, but someone in my age range with a similar level of enthusiasm

 

—

on my maiden voyage

into the world of

the senior grocery shopping hour

60 and up’s

i was

looking raggedy

with the

pallor of someone

who’s done hard time served in quarantine

 i was met at the door 

by a customer helper

who wiped down cart handles

as we each took one

in an orderly way

i was happily headed in

when a worker at the self-checkout

shot me a disdainful dirty look

i chalked it up to her being forced to be here under duress

 i shopped

carefully

moving among the others

mindful of age

and

people with less obvious challenges

trying to be happy and friendly

 as i was getting ready to leave

a fellow shopper approached me

saying,

“they really should check i.d. and you know what i mean!!”

it finally hit me 

that both negative reactions 

came in response to them doubting if i was really a senior

 i had to laugh and take it as a compliment

 thought back to my younger days

when i falsely tried to convince people i was ‘of age’

by using my oldest sister’s license as fake i.d.

funny how things change and stay the same. 

 

—

“none are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.”

-henry david thoreau

 

 

 

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image credit: animal planet