Tag Archives: surprise

Aug20

floored.

Posted on by
Standard

ODE TO THE GUY IN THE FLOOR

stopped by my friend’s house

rebuilding

after the storm

while talking

looked over

 lo and behold

a builder guy

popped up

out of the floor

nonchalant

 half a body

hanging out

reading his phone

never looked up

happens everyday

all part of the process

nothing to see here

thanks, floor guy,

 

—

‘i think there will be more smiles when the smoke clears.’

-shaun alexander

*Shaun Alexander is a former American professional football running back who won the NFL Most Valuable Player award. 

Apr9

‘don’t plan it all, let life surprise you a little.’ – julia alvarez

Posted on by
Standard

fifteen of us met in a parking lot

at the appointed time

boarded an unmarked rock ‘n roll party bus

equipped with a very patient driver

70-80’s style

disco lights, music, coolers, bevs, decor, ice

drove to our unsuspecting, just-retired friend’s house

got him on the bus and surprised him

then we were sixteen strong

drove him to detroit

to celebrate him

played games

had an axe throwing competition

(we were all unscathed)

followed by

a long delicious japanese dinner

rock ‘n roll bussed back

 laughing singing dancing storytelling hugging

 a day turned into a night to remember

he stood to speak

 said he could not believe it

he was overflowing with joy and tears

he was so happy.

—

‘the chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished.’

-Kevin Kelly

Feb11

shared.

Posted on by
Standard

 a delightful surprise

getting back into the car

thinking of my next stop

  a gentle knock on my window

opened to hear a smiling stranger say,

‘i just wanted to give these to you, have a beautiful day.’

 holding this lovely little bouquet

making my way back into the day

made all the sweeter with this gift.

 

—

“happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.”

– john arrigan

Aug13

brie.

Posted on by
Standard

my very creative and talented niece

just on the cusp of teenager-hood

presented me

with this lovely fairy

 made on her way to come for a visit

with plaited hair

a hand-painted face

and fashion-forward attire

 she was such a joyful surprise

due to her acorn cap beret and sense of style

i’ve decided to give my new fairy the french name of ‘brie.’

—

“the world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”

-neil gaiman

May20

do not forget alphabets.

Posted on by
Standard

for the second time

we tried to surprise

a dear friend

to celebrate her milestone birthday

and round two came very close to not happening

when life circumstances intervened

just a few hours before.

 we quickly began planning

what our third attempt would look like

when she turned the tables

and surprised all of us

by showing up

at the appointed hour.

—

“new friends may be poems but old friends are alphabets.

do not forget alphabets, because you will need them to read the poems.”

*author: not shakespeare

*this is another one of those quotes that seems to have come up someplace and wandered around a bit until someone put “shakespeare once said…” in front of it and it stuck.  

Apr12

discovery shopping.

Posted on by
Standard

(not me, but a baby who shops with my same level of fervor as she fills her cart)

i love the adventure of shopping at t.j. maxx

walking in, not knowing what kind of treasure i’ll find

one can never enter

looking for a particular thing or size

you have to keep an open mind

 be willing to discover as you go

i don’t enjoy regular shopping

but this

is almost a sport

a discovery scavenger hunt

going up and down the aisles

 filling my cart

with all kinds of things i didn’t know that i needed

or that they even existed

like the stuffed duck with four legs

the vintage style pink baby reindeer with white snow glitter

and a pinecone falling off of it

a very soft blanket with woodland creatures and plants

a sweater that is my exact favorite shade of green

the thai chili and lime bath soap

i cannot believe that no one bought these treasures before i arrived

it’s all a matter of luck and timing!

—

“a discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.”

-albert szent gyorgyi

Feb21

presidents.

Posted on by
Standard

“history is full of surprises.”

-arthur m. schlesinger, jr.

Jan23

rock out.

Posted on by
Standard

when you’re little

 walking around the museum

 see a big old bumpy boring rock

walk around to the front of it

 find an amazing, amazing surprise

that is inside of it

you just have to touch it

 there are no words.

—

“sometimes the most shocking surprises are the most beautiful surprises.”

-lori wilhite

 

Oct8

be unprepared.

Posted on by
Standard

when an unexpected robot cat rolls up to deliver your dinner and gives you a wink

 just smile and wink back.

 

—

“be unprepared. that’s my motto. let life surprise you.”

-marty rubin

Jun23

seize us.

Posted on by
Standard

so fun surprising my friend who loved being surprised fully embracing the moment

“the moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. it is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.”

-ashley montagu, british/american anthropologist