​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.)

​Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. I love meeting with my family and friends. I also love all of the many beautiful Christmas decorations that are created and placed in so many locations every year. Additionally, I love to think about and celebrate my Lord and Savior's birth and life. He has given eternal life to so many Christians.

May your Christmas be a truly amazing holiday!

"A Forevergreen Christmas" is the poem on page 89 of Karen Petit's book of poetry: Holidays Amaze, published in 2018 by WestBow Press.

I'm thankful for so much in my life, including these and many other items:

• to have a life
• to have holidays as a part of my life
• to have many loving & helpful relatives, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, & pets
• to have the essentials of life: food, shelter, clothing, . . . 
• to have the many freedoms that we have in our country, such as the right to vote
• to have the ability to see some of nature's beautiful animals, plants, and settings
• to have many admirable manufactured items in our world (houses, cars, computers, phones, appliances, roads, books, pens, pencils, furniture, electricity, . . . )   
• to have the chance to pursue my dreams: to be both a professor and a writer
• to have the ability to pray to God & to thank Him for the many blessings in my life