I'm most thankful for knowing about and being able to feel love. I love all of the different kinds of love, including knowledge about the love from God toward His creations. I also love my friends, family members, pets, and the whole concept of love. Love helps our world and our lives to have positive energy. I'm also thankful for how people and animals often give to each other, whether they know each other or not. The two cats in this picture are two of my cats; they actually do know each other very well and have been together as brothers in my house now for a couple of years. They're helping each other in this photo by licking and grooming each other.

Writing poetry and prose can be a lot of fun because I learn more about my own thoughts, views, and feelings. Writing is also like a puzzle when I'm trying to figure things out. Sometimes, though, like any task, writing can be difficult. Occasionally, I've told myself, "I can't do this." The problem is often related to not having enough time. For example, when I was writing Mayflower Dreams, I told my publisher on the day before Thanksgiving that Mayflower Dreams would be completed by the end of January. At the time, I was only a little over half-way finished with the manuscript. Thankfully, I was able to send the manuscript to the publisher on the required deadline. My years of experience coping with my busy schedule were very helpful in accomplishing this task. Especially as I get older, I love being able to still be busy and complete a lot of tasks that make me very happy.

I love to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July! Seeing the movements of the bright lights is always a lot of fun, especially since I'm normally relaxing with family members while watching a fireworks show. The lights, sounds, and activities happening on the Fourth of July also remind me about our connections to our history.
"The Lights of Freedom on Independence Day" is one of the narrative poems in Holidays Amaze. This poem is a lot of fun to read on Independence Day. There are connections between us and our history, as well as some interesting narrative content. For example, a scammer wakes up a dreamer who is sleeping. The dreamer is obviously upset. The poem ends in a very positive way. Here are the last two lines of this poem:
        our collaborative efforts can enhance
        our lives with the lighted rays of freedom's stance
        (page 39 of Holidays Amaze).
The picture in this blog posting is on page 40 and is one of the six images included after the poem "The Lights of Freedom on Independence Day" in Holidays Amaze.  ​

​On this Memorial Day, I'm very thankful for the service men and women who have given up their lives to keep other people safe. I know there are too many wars throughout history, but sometimes these wars are fought for positive reasons, such as to support freedom and to initiate necessary actions that will help many people to live more positive lives. World War II is one of many examples that I could give. What would have happened to our whole world--not just to the United States--if no one had fought against Hitler?
My prayers are with the family and friends of service men and women who have lost their loved ones, so a large number of other people can continue to live with freedom and safety.

Easter is one of my favorite holidays, and the cover of Holidays Amaze obviously has Easter eggs as a part of its design. Holidays Amaze has a great Easter poem on pages 21 through 28: "Sticking Together on Easter." This poem has a story about an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday. The children in this narrative find some really nice surprises in their Easter eggs, and here is the ending of the poem, which is on pages 27 and 28 of Holidays Amaze:

"A circle of children and teachers did form
around the Jesus statue with prayers so warm
that they melted moisture within the stickers,
creating dampness falling down from the stickers
to the ground and forming a tiny pond
where Christian friends with each other could bond
to join with Jesus stickers from Easter eggs
to walk on circular ponds with stable legs."

​The poem about Valentine's Day in Holidays Amaze is titled "Love Branches on Valentine's Day." The setting for this narrative poem is Lovers' Retreat Bridge in Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island. The setting, characters, action, metaphors, and other content are very interesting to read on Valentine's Day. Here are the last two lines of this poem:
       "The strength of love branches outward to give,
        so branchers can breathe, relate, love, and live" (Petit 19).

With the tree branch and other content, I had a lot of fun writing this poem. Even when I was in elementary school, I used to love drawing pictures of trees with their branches. I hope your Valentine's Day is as much fun as I have while I'm drawing poetic branches with my poetry, photos, and blog content.

The second poem in my poetry book Holidays Amaze is titled "A Maze Poem: A Maze of Choices for New Year's Day." The first part of this maze poem is the picture in this blog post. While I've often been very busy and did not think that I had the time to follow through with any new resolutions, writing this poem about New Year's Day made me realize that I wanted the freedom to choose new paths, rather than always just staying on the same one. With a New Year's resolution, I can initially create one or more resolutions, follow through on some days, and/or not follow through on some days. I'll have more choices, rather than just staying on the same path. For my resolution this year, I'm going to try to keep losing weight slowly and becoming healthier by doing these things:

• Eating more vegetables and fewer carbohydrates
• Three nights a week, only eating salad and soup for supper
• Standing up more often while using a computer
• Exercising more while watching TV
• Only eating one small piece of chocolate at a time and then using substitution as a technique to help. (If I want more sweets, I'll substitute fruit, a couple of small carrots, and/or some sugar-free candy.)