Oooo, Ggggooo, Coooo

Our nearly 4 month old grandchild is in his cooing phase and we love it!  

Listen Closely

Oooo, Ggggooo, Coooo,

I love baby sounds, don’t you?

The sound of baby’s cooing before he can speak a word,

It is remarkable.  It’s delightful.  It’s quite absurd.

When a baby finds his voice, his thumb or his feet,

It’s a milestone, a victory, a task complete,

A first smile is joyful and so is his sneeze,

When he holds your finger, or rolls over with ease,

He is learning and growing in leaps and bounds,

But, oh, how I love those baby sounds,

OOOOooo, Ggggooo, Coooooo,

It is so innocent and sweet,

Then comes “ma-ma” and “da-da” and your heart skips a beat,

Before you know it, you can’t shut him up,

He is jabbering and babbling and holding a cup,

Listen closely to those cooing days,

Because it won’t last forever, it is only a phase,

He has discovered his voice and it is all so new,

It’s his first attempt at talking to you.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  April 26, 2017

Milk and Cookies

This poem is for my husband who loves to eat chocolate chip cookies with milk.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (& milk)

Big mixing bowl and wooden spoon,

Preheat oven, it’s not too soon,

Flour, sugar, eggs and butter,

Measuring cups, mixer- lots of clutter,

Blend dry ingredients: that’s confection,

Cream eggs and butter, to perfection,

A splash of vanilla, just for flavor,

And chocolate chips, the kind you savor,

Mix it all together well,

Will it taste good? Time will tell,

Smooth and tasty cookie batter,

Lick the spoon, it doesn’t matter,

Drop them neatly on the cookie sheet,

In a few short minutes, they’ll be ready to eat,

Homemade cookies:  warm, gooey chocolate chip,

With a glass of ice-cold milk, you sit and sip.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  2/15/2017

Rat-a-tat-tat Rat-a-tat-tat

The Tin Roof Symphony

Rat-a-tat-tat, Rat-a-tat-tat,

The rain came pouring down just like that!

Like tiny tap shoes, dancing cleverly over my head,

As I lay cozy and warm in my nice soft bed,

The old tin roof played a symphony for me,

As raindrops fell on it so steadily,

Then a crescendo followed as the raindrops grew,

 Thunder rumbled, and the south wind blew,

The percussion section gave a mighty bang,

As the thunderclouds rolled and the windchimes rang,

And the lightning strikes lit up the entire night sky,

I lay awake, and I wondered why,

Why the sound of the rain sounded so good?

On a tin roof, during a dark night in my neighborhood,

As a child, it might have been frightful or scary,

But now it was delightful and made me merry,

Rat-a-tat-tat, Rat-a-tat-tat,

The rain kept falling just like that,

Soothing me slowly back to sleep,

Suddenly I didn’t even hear a peep,

The tin roof symphony had come to an end,

And rainfall on a tin roof was my welcomed friend.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  2/22/2017

Give yourself a Break!

Sometimes we need to take a mental health day:

Mental Vacation

Give yourself a break,

A genuine relaxing, not fake, break,

Just stop, look, listen... take it all in,

Sometimes it feels like your heads in a spin,

So, drop everything... and breathe a deep breath,

Clear your brain... it’s good for your health,

Just take a moment to get a new perspective,

The stress, the urgency... it’s all collective,

Unload your burden for just a bit,

I’m not asking you to quit,

Just stop, look, listen... take it all in,

If you feel like you are in a tailspin,

Relax, rejuvenate, recover and regain...

The strength you have to always maintain,

A resilient regrouping is all that you need,

If you feel you can no longer succeed,

Give yourself a well-deserved break,

A mental vacation is what you must take!

Tammy Harvey

Written:  3/7/2017

God's Plan of Salvation

Good Friday being tomorrow, I thought it was an appropriate time to share my poem about God's son, Jesus Christ.

God’s Son

Go ahead, tell everyone,

Jesus really is God’s son,

Immaculate conception, you must believe,

The Virgin Mary did conceive,

Jesus is God, but fully man,

He came to earth to fulfill His plan,

His Father in Heaven sent Him with resolve,

He knew His fate, our lives to absolve,

He lived on earth for thirty-three years,

He walked, He breathed, and He cried tears,

He lived a life without sin,

The devil tempted Him, but did not win,

He performed miracles; He rose Lazarus from the dead,

He spoke in parables; carefully choosing what He said,

He made disciples, but when others denied Him,

He was accused of blasphemy, and they tried Him,

He could have resisted, but took all the pain,

He suffered and died for all of us to gain,

By dying for us, He was the ultimate sacrifice,

For the sins of the world, He paid the real price,

Taking the sins of the world and atoning them all,

He gave us a gift of salvation, but He took the fall,

Then He sent the Holy Spirit, because the plan wasn’t done,

The Trinity, Father, Son & Spirit, Three in One,

The Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts, when we ask him in,

We are all sinners, and we all sin, again and again,

But with faith in Jesus, our sins are forgiven,

He extends amazing grace to all of the living,

If we confess and repent sincerely in prayers,

Each day is a new day, new mercies He shares,

The slate is wiped clean, whiter than snow,

God’s Son is Jesus, just thought you should know.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  February 5, 2017

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8

Hard-boiled Fun

I have a lot of fond memories of coloring real eggs then having Easter egg hunts soon after.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Hard boiled eggs, a vinegar smell is in the air,
Hot water, coloring tablets, teacups lined up with care,
Drop a color tablet into every cup: Plop, plop, plop,
Watch them fizzle, but try not to spill a drop,
The eggs have cooled, and the time has come,
Balance a white egg on the wire holder, one by one,
Lower them into the bright colored waters,
Purple, pink, orange and so many others,
Carefully turn them over with a teaspoon,
They will start to change color very soon,
Which is your favorite? Everyone wants to tell,
Do you want it darker? I don’t like the smell!
Wait patiently for the Easter eggs to color completely,
Again, with the wire holder, fish them out gently,
Now is the time to let them get dry,
They are so beautiful, everyone thinks with a sigh,
Tomorrow, we will place them in our basket of grass,
And take them outside to hide them, like we’ve done in the past,
Hiding Easter Eggs is fun, I’ll admit that it’s true,
But coloring them, is the part I like best, wouldn’t you?

Tammy Harvey
Written: 3/24/2017
My Aunt Dorothy with me and my sister on Easter 1966.

Song of the porch swing

True story of the fun we had as children, on a porch swing, making up a guessing game.  My Pap-paw made the swing in his woodshop and it hung on Mam-maw L's front porch until she left her home to live at an assisted living facility.  It now hangs at my second cousin's house.

Porch Swing Guessing Game

With strict instructions: not too high and do not stand,

The old porch swing was built by hand,

It hung for years on my Mam-maw’s front porch,

In the winter’s cold and the summer’s scorch,

We would always go swing when we were there,

In our younger days, without a care,

The two-lane highway was not so far,

And we’d play guess the color of the car,

The guessing game was a porch swing hit,

Swinging and guessing until someone quit,

Before the next car could top the hill,

We each would guess and what a thrill,

To get it right, and laugh, then guess again,

To see who ultimately would win,

If I said red and my sister said white,

And it was a red & white car, we would fight,

The swing was painted gray and hung from silver chain,

Loaded down with 2 or 3 children, the chains creaked in pain,

“Squeak” on the upswing and” squawk” on the down,

It was a unique, but welcomed metal-to metal sound,

The song of the porch swing, played a familiar tune,

As we outgrew our guessing game way too soon.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  3/7/2017

Yellow Dust is a Must

Pollination Frustration

Itch, itch, itch,

This pollen is like a wicked witch,

It swoops down from the trees above,

And yellows everything I love,

Itch, itch, itch,

My throat and eyes,

Keeps me sneezing, I despise,

I really, really hate to say it,

But I must thankfully tolerate it,

If it weren’t for pollination,

There’d be no flower propagation,

Still, I can’t wait to hose it down,

Let the rain fall on this town!

Itch, itch, itch,

Allergies abound,

But oh, what happens on the ground,

Spring has sprung with all its beauty,

Worker bees have extra duty,

So, itch, itch, itch, sneeze; if I must,

It is only temporary; I won’t make a fuss!

Tammy Harvey

Written:  4/24/2016

Songbirds are Chirping

We know spring is finally here, when the songbirds are chirping, and the bluebirds are looking in our birdhouses for a place to nest.

Spring has Sprung

When the yellow pollen arrives anew,

Pink cherry blossoms are all covered in dew,

And the last leaves of fall slowly blow down,

Winds of change are seen all around town,

Fresh flowers are budded, and grass starts to grow,

Spring is around the corner, everyone must know,

February has turned to March, with a quick tick-tock,

Daily savings time has forced us to change every clock,

It is officially official on the twentieth day,

Spring has sprung, taking winter away,

Wake up in darkness and give a big yawn,

As songbirds start chirping at the crack of dawn,

Evenings are longer as the sun slowly fades,

Watch the sky change to brilliant swirls of orange shades,

Sit down in the grass and pull a few weeds,

Plant a garden or just sprinkle some wildflower seeds,

It is not too hot yet, nor is it too cold,

The house on the corner has quickly been sold,

School has taken a much- needed spring break,

The students are all excited, for goodness sake,

Outdoor activity is now on the rise,

And a sudden spring shower is no big surprise,

So, enjoy the spring, for it won’t last long,

Summer is next and the heat might be strong!

Tammy Harvey

Written:  3/21/2017