The Cement Pond

 

Cement Pond

The “cement pond” located outside my dad’s apartment at his assisted living facility is a treat to behold.  It is located in a courtyard area, providing a beautiful aesthetic to the otherwise sterile patio.  The rectangular pool is approximately 20 ft long and 8 ft wide.  Cascading waterfalls flank each end of it like bookends.  Large rocks stacked strategically with water flowing from the top create a waterfall with a trickling sound which adds to the relaxing atmosphere.  The sound is reminiscent of the babbling streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The rocks are covered in a green mossy algae giving it a natural look.  The pond is inhabited by brightly colored koi fishes ranging in size from a few inches to a foot long.  Some of the koi are beautifully colored orange and white as if they represent the local Tennessee Volunteers sports teams.  The surface of the pond is almost entirely covered by glossy heart-shaped lily pads.  Other pond vegetation is also purposefully planted to make it more inviting.  The lily pads are sparsely dotted with the lushest grapefruit-pink water lily flowers.  These flowers are perfectly formed stars with a thick yellow center of petals.   The sun shines off of them, and they are absolutely gorgeous.  Some stand on sturdy stems a few inches above the water.  Each of these flowers last 3-5 days before fading and sinking.  The blooms generally open during the day and close in the late afternoon.  One more observation is clear to see in this most interesting pond.  A faux alligator, half-submerged, is placed on the rock along the side of the pool.  He is fairly realistic and could give a little fright, especially from a distance.  His job, however, is to keep birds of prey like hawks from taking fish from the water.  Between the babbling sounds of the waterfalls, the beautiful fish and flowers, and the adorable alligator, this pond is always fun to visit. What a wonderful addition to an assisted facility that elderly people call home. 

Tammy Harvey

6/25/2025

Origin of Idioms

 

Origins of Idioms

I’m a lover of the etymology of old idioms.  When I discover the origins of these old familiar sayings, I am tickled pink.  For example, the origin of “tickled pink” dates back to 1922 and alludes to a person’s face turning pink with laughter due to being tickled and therefore indicating pleasure or happiness.  Recently, while driving in the car with my eldest son, we encountered a roadkill being devoured by turkey vultures.  I immediately blurted out they were acting like a “duck on a Junebug” to which my son was puzzled.  Having never heard of that term before; I explained it to him.  The origin of this phrase is not definitively documented but of course, indicates the swiftness with which something occurs.  I’m sure my son would readily know what “barking up the wrong tree” implies since he is a hunter.  In the 19^th century the phrase was coined referencing a hunting dog that has treed a raccoon but has chosen to bark at mistakenly the wrong tree.  This phrase was quoted in stories and discussions as early as 1830s by well-known frontiersman, Davy Crockett.

 I always like to refer to my granddaughters as “cute as a button”.  Upon researching this phrase, I found that cute is short for “acute” meaning sharp-witted or clever.  Some theories see the phrase as referring to a button quail which is small and cute.  Others contend that the phrase is in reference to a flower (bachelor button).  In any case the saying is to all references describing someone who is small and appealing.  Buttons are often associated with neatness, orderliness and a sense of smallness. It most likely evolved from the English saying, “bright as a button”.  Buttons, especially military ones, were known to be polished and shiny and thus bright.

“Madder than an old wet hen” is one that I remember my mother using.  It originated in the Appalachian Mountains and referred to how angry a hen gets when doused with water.  Apparently when the hen was overprotective of their eggs and tried to deter the farmer from collecting them, the farmer would dunk the hen’s head into a bucket of cold water to make them comply.   “Road hard and put up wet” is another idiom I remember from my childhood.  This saying refers to a horse who is not allowed to cool down after working up a sweat while running.  Horses should have their saddles removed, receive grooming and be allowed to walk a bit before being housed.  This idiom is used to describe those that are overworked, ill-treated or neglected and not cared for properly.  This phrase was popularized by western singer Tennessee Ernie Ford.

I could probably go on for days about all of the different idioms I’ve heard, but I don’t want to beat a dead horse!

Tammy Harvey  6/13/2025   

An Unlikely Visitor

 

Unlikely Duck Visit

Sometimes after preschool pick-up, my son will bring his 2-year-old daughter by my house for a visit.  On this particular day, it was sunny outside and she, with her sun hat already atop her head, immediately requested that we go out to do bubbles.  My bubble machine was out there, and she knew it.  Unfortunately, the bubble supply had run out so we couldn’t fulfill her request.  She settled into playing in the bubbler fountain that is next to the patio.  As she splashed her hands in the water, an unusual thing occurred.  A female mallard duck came swooping in and landed in my courtyard only a couple of yards from the fountain.  I had never had that happen before.  After all, the area is fenced in and the only entrance for a duck is to fly there.  This mallard and her partner had been residing in the pond behind my house for weeks but never attempted to visit me.  My granddaughter was elated.  She pointed and began yelling “duck, duck”.  Her father encouraged her to go see the duck as it waddled its way around the courtyard.  The duck was not scared easily and neither was my granddaughter.  It remained with us for several minutes and gave us a delightful sight to see before flying over to the pond.  I wonder if the mama duck was looking for a place to nest.

Tammy Harvey

5/24/2025

Also, Happy 2nd Birthday to Nellie (6/17/25) today!

Like Climbing Mt Everest

 

Like Climbing Mt Everest

My youngest granddaughter is a very petite baby for her age.  She was born a month early and has hit all of her milestones, but she is the tiniest.  When she began crawling it was an “army crawl” using her elbows and feet to shuffle across the floor.  At nearly one year old, she has perfected that technique and can move at a fast rate of speed.  She also pulls up and stands up and probably will be walking soon.  Her latest show of strength is her ability to climb to the top of the flight of carpeted stairs in their house.  There is a total of 14 stairs to surmount.  There are seven, then a landing, a turn and another seven to the top.  With her mother following along behind her for safety, I recently watched a video of this new trick. She took the first 5 then looked back at her mom as if to say, “look at me!”  Her mother encouraged her by saying “keep going, you’re doing great”.  She giggled and cooed her way to the landing.  To accomplish her climb, she first put her hands onto the next step then her knees on the previous step would rise to her feet as she propelled herself on up.  With an occasional look to her mother for support she made it to the top!  I feel like she should have planted a flag at the top like she was ascending a mountain, because for her it had to seem like Mount Everest.  Way to go Hannah girl!

Tammy Harvey

5/24/2025

Graduation 2025

 

Another Proud Moment

I attended both of my grandsons’ graduations this week.  The older one “graduated” from the 2^nd grade and the younger from preschool.  The ceremonies were well thought out and honored the children and teachers.  All the hard work and accomplishments were celebrated.  My oldest grandchild, Charles, received a medal for “Dean’s List with Distinction” which meant he had all A’s on his report card all year.  This is a phenomenal achievement, and we are so proud of him.  He also won the superlative “most creative imagination” for his classroom.  All in all, I’d say it was a successful year for him. 

His brother, Grayson, was the front and center of his class’s performance.  He sang out with confidence and did all the hand motions to perfection.  They sang “Step by Step” and recited John 3:16. The highlight of the performance for me was a recitation they did about the “ABC’s of God” with coordinating hand signs.  I am sharing it with you:

The ABC’s of God

Almighty

Beautiful

Comforter

Dependable

Everlasting

Father

Good and

Holy is He!

Immanuel (repeat 2x)

Jesus is

King of Kings and

Lord of lords

Miracles, Meets our

Needs

One and Only true God

Prince of Peace

Quiets us (yes, He really quiets us)

Rescues us (repeat 2x)

Jesus has

Saved us from our sins!

Treasure of the

Universe

Valuable and

Wonderful

X-alted One

Yes, God’s Son

Zillionaire!

We declare

JESUS IS LORD!

Grayson and Charles will be attending the same school together next fall.  I know their parents won’t miss the double drop-offs and pick-ups they experienced this year.

Tammy Harvey

5/24/2025

 

Fly a Kite

 

Let’s Go Fly a Kite

The old idiom “go fly a kite” is directed to someone who is annoying, and the words are asking them to go away.  In other words, leave me alone!  But “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” invokes a totally different image.  In the movie “Mary Poppins”, Dick Van Dyke sings a lovely, jovial song about flying a kite, together with his family.  My experience recently is certainly the latter of the two sayings. 

At the beach last week, my nearly two-year old granddaughter was experiencing a trip of her lifetime.  She was enjoying playing in the sand and swimming in the tidepools at Kiawah Island, SC.  This is a fearless little girl who will try everything yet cautiously.  She is brave.  She firmly held a hermit crab but pointed to the jellyfishes lying on the shore and shouted, “no touch”.  Her ability to comprehend is astounding, and she is just getting her own voice to speak in sentences.  I brought a kite with us on this trip, specifically for her to watch it fly.  The wind was strong and constantly blowing at the spot we resided at the ocean.  On the second or third day of our trip, I remembered to bring out the kite.  I struggled to put it together properly and could not get it to fly at first attempt.  I put it aside, disappointed that the colorful butterfly kite was a bust.  She really wanted it to go “up, up, up” and so did I.  Her uncle came to the rescue and corrected the mistake in the assembly.  The kite promptly went sailing high into the sky.  My granddaughter was mesmerized.  It certainly created the response I had hoped for. 

At some point, my son suggested allowing her to fly it on her own.  I was skeptical because the wind was strong, and it tugged pretty hard on the string.  He put the kite string holder in her hand and her little fingers made a fist around it.  She hung onto it like a professional.  She did it all by herself for a very long time.   It was a proud moment for all of us.  The joy that she had flying it on her own was soaring, pun intended.  It was the best $10 I had ever spent.

Tammy Harvey

5/23/2025    

40th Wedding Anniversary

 

Would of, Could of, Should of

I have found as my years of wisdom have accumulated, there can be no “what-ifs”.  Today would have been my 40^th Wedding Anniversary, if my husband had survived.  As it were, we had 33 years of marriage.  There are many "would of, could of and should of" feelings that arise when you lose someone so suddenly.  We had 9 months to prepare, but that isn’t really long enough to do or say what you really want to do or say.  There is much numbness in the anticipation of an impending death.  Acceptance of the situation brings about peace.  If I go back and consider the “what-ifs” it just introduces scenarios that weren’t meant to be.  God’s plan has a purpose.  We had three beautiful children and thirty-three years as a family.  I reside in that fact. 

Tammy Harvey

Married to Jerry Harvey on May 25, 1985   

Memories never Die

 

A Memory

The old gentleman sat on the worn floral sofa as he had for the last 60 years.  His face was solemn as he peered into the kitchen.  All was quiet.  She had prepared his last meal there and her passing was deeply felt.  His heart felt broken, but he smiled as he envisioned her there at the counter with her apron covered in flour, making her mother’s fried pie recipe.  It was her blueberry-filled fried pies that she loved to make for others.  They were flaky with just the right amount of crunch.  A pinch of salt, a portion of sugar and a whole lot of love went into each one.  As she would brush her hair aside with the back of her hand, a smudge of flour residue was left on her face.  He almost chuckled at that thought.  It truly was a labor of love as she carefully rolled out the dough and cut it into triangles.  She then placed a generous dollop of homemade blueberry jam onto the flattened triangle and placed another triangle atop of the jam.  She took her fork and sealed along the edges all the way around each one.  Not only were they delicious, but her pies were charming.  After all the pies were assembled, she got her cast iron skillet hot with sizzling butter.  The pies were fried to perfection. The buttery pastry would melt in his mouth and the sweet blueberry filling would burst forth onto his tongue.  He remembered how they had gone together to pick the blueberries at a local farm together and it warmed his heart.   He saw that only two fried pies of the last batch she had made remained on the platter under the dome.   He knew they were the very last ones.  The sun streamed in on the lovely pies, and he knew just what he would do.  The minister was coming over for a visit soon.  He would brew some coffee, and they would each have a fried blueberry pie.  It would be a special tribute to her, as she would have wanted him to share them.  Afterall, he still had the memories associated with the fried pies.  That memory will never go away.

Tammy Harvey

5/19/2025   

A Collection

 

A Collection

Why do I find myself having such an attraction to antique figurines?  These are mostly Victorian depictions stamped on the bottom with a red “Japan” or “Made in Occupied Japan”.  They are usually brightly painted and many have gold trimmings that attract my eye.  Some would find them gaudy or even ugly, but I find them charming.  They are a piece of history. I suppose that is my infatuation.  It was certainly a different time.  “Occupied Japan” refers to the period between 1945-1952 when Allied forces, primarily the United States occupied Japan after World War II.  The occupation of Japan was led by General Douglas MacArthur.  It involved the implementation of reforms and policies to demilitarize and democratize Japan.  This is fascinating.  I am in awe that these figurines made during this time are still around and generally I find them perfectly intact without chips or breakage.  They are commonly on the shelves at thrift stores.  It is like a treasure hunt I suppose.  I have dedicated a curio cabinet to house these particular finds.  My collection is growing as there seems to be no shortage of these goods.  Some of them are tiny, but the detailing on all of them is exquisite.  Some have a bisque finish while others are glossy.  Some are accompanied by animals such as horses, dogs or even a pig.  Others feature musical instruments being played or dancing.  I even have a few that were my grandmother’s.  They sat on her what-not in the corner my entire childhood.  They bring me joy.  I hope you have a collection that brings you joy, as well.

Tammy Harvey

5/1/2025     

The Passing

 

The Passing

On Mother’s Day 2025, I feel the need to write about my mother.  Just 3 months ago she went to her heavenly home.  At 91, when asked what her secret to her longevity was, her response was “hard work”.  I would have to say that she could work circles around me even in her 80’s.  She was born during the Great Depression on a farm where hard work was both necessary and expected.  She raised my sister and me to do chores.  One of us would be required to dust and the other would vacuum, clean our bathroom and keep our rooms tidy.  She was quite particular about the way a job was done.  It needed to be thorough and not “half-ass”.  When we were old enough to mow with the riding lawnmower, she gave us the task, and she trimmed the edges with a push mower to form a nice square for us.  I did the backyard, and my sister did the front.  My mother would run after us yelling to get the full strip, the width of the mower blade.  She was particular.  In fact, she never let us do the laundry, because she had “her way”.  Some clothes went in the dryer and others had to be hung up after the wash.  The light and dark clothes were meticulously separated.  I did my own laundry once I went off to college.  My mother got us up in the wee hours of the morning in the summer to trim along the curb in front of the house.  She had to do it before it got too hot.  With her mattock she would chop all the centipede grass runners along the curb, and we would come in behind her with a broom and bag to pick up the trimmings.  I remember complaining profusely as a teenager about this activity.  My mom was tough and there weren’t many tasks she could not tackle.  Her determination and positive spirit got her through many health challenges later in life: breast cancer, mastectomy, chemotherapy, a stroke, heart arrhythmia resulting in a pacemaker, lymphedema, a cardiac stent, knee replacement, hip replacement, etc.

It was her body that was worn out.  Her mind was still quite sharp until the last breath.  Her health had been failing her the entire year of 2024.  She had one urinary tract infection after another.  She began retaining fluid, especially in her arm with lymphedema.  She fell several times even with the use of a walker.  She was miserable.  I knew she was not well when I went for my surgery on January 21, 2025.  It was elective surgery to have my right breast removed. (I had breast cancer/mastectomy in the left breast diagnosed in September 2023.)  I had scheduled surgery in August and had been anticipating it for months.  I waited until January because I turned 65 and went on Medicare then.  I had the option.  Do I go forward with my surgery or postpone because of mom’s health issues?  I decided to have the surgery, and my mother was admitted to the hospital the very next day.  I’m in NC and my mother is in TN.  Fortunately, I have an angel of a sister who was there with her the entire time.  I had a 10-day to 2-week recovery with a drain tube.  My post-op was February 3.  I couldn’t fly with the tube in.  I had another critical decision to make.  Do I drive there, come back to get the tube out, then return to TN again?  I decided to wait and go to TN on February 4.  For 2 weeks, the nephologist worked with my mother to try to jumpstart her kidneys.  She was in kidney failure.  It was hard to wait to see her, but it had been my decision.  On February 5, two of my sons drove me to TN.  By this date, the doctors had done all they could do, and her kidneys did not respond.  We knew her destiny.  It is a 7-hour drive and as we drove along, my sister would ask our ETA.  Apparently, my mother was requesting to know.  At one point, I saw a text message come up on the screen in the front seat where the GPS was displayed.  It was written only to  the boys from my sister.  I immediately asked what she was telling them that I wasn’t privy to.  My son handed me his phone.  My mother had told my sister she was dying but was trying to hang on until we got there.  I wrote back and asked my sister to tell her that it was okay to go, if she needed to.  I would understand.  She was stubborn and determined, as usual, and when we arrived at 5pm she was still alert.

Her breathing was not good, and she coughed a lot.  We visited her and made some Facetime calls with other family members.  We said our “I love you’”.  At one point I asked her if she had seen Jerry (my husband who passed in 2018) and she replied, “not yet”.  At 10 pm, we asked the nursing staff to please give her something to make her comfortable.  She was given morphine and after that, she was never responsive again.  Her death was imminent.  It was just a matter of time.  I stayed with her that night.  She was restless and still seemed uncomfortable.  The next day she went under Hospice Care.  The morphine increased and she began to breathe easier.  My sister stayed overnight on Wednesday, and the Hospice nurse was to return the next day, but didn’t expect her to make it through the night.

To their surprise, but not ours, she was still hanging in there on Thursday morning.  We told them that she does things her way and that her death was no different.  She is not predictable.  On Thursday night, we decided to leave her alone.  One of us had been with her 24/7 since Monday and thought she might need some time alone to sort out her own passing.  At this point, she was sedated, but peaceful.  It is both a mental and a heart preparation to leave this earth and I knew she was making herself ready.  On Friday morning, we found her still breathing but her breath was shallow.  My sister and I, two of my sons, watched as the distance between each breath grew longer.  At noon, she drew her last one.  On February 7, she left this hard-fought life for a place of true peace. 

We miss you, Elizabeth Julia Ann Langston Paschal!

Happy Heavenly Mother’s Day.  5/11/2025

Day By Day

 

Day by Day

A strand of pearls is made by placing one pearl at a time,

A precious creation.

A brick wall is built by laying one brick at a time,

A strong foundation.

 A marathon starts with the first step, then one at a time,

A test of endurance.

A soaking rain falls for hours, a raindrop at a time,

A blessed assurance.

A fortune is made one dollar at a time,

A source of giving.

Gray hairs are earned one year at a time,

The price of living.

Day by day, by day, by day,

God loves us in every way.

(Now just read every other line to see what the Lord has for you:)

A precious creation.

A strong foundation.

A test of endurance.

A blessed assurance.

A source of giving.

The price of living. 

Tammy Harvey

5/1/2025

Ducks on the Pond

 I'm a day late.  My apologies.

May Day, May Day

Behind my house is a retaining pond, sometimes the water is low and other times it is filled to the brim.  It all depends on the weather, as with any pond.  When rain is lacking, the marsh-like grasses are prominent along the bank.  The mud is dry and crusty, and the wind moves the grasses in a gentle sway.   When it is filled to the brim, the water is glistening and bright, reflecting the sun’s rays.  Either way it is a beautiful site.  Either way it is a small retreat for wildlife to come and enjoy.  There are turtles basking in the sun on any given day.  Canada geese find their way to this watering hole and enjoy its offerings.  I have seen river otter frolicking in this relatively small body of water.  I have spotted a variety of ducks who come and go.  Most recently, however, a male and female mallard have taken up residency at the pond.  The male is all colorful and majestic with his emerald-green head and white-ringed neck.  The female is dull in color but still sports a beauty in her graceful movement.  They spend their days dipping their heads into the water in a process of foraging for food called dabbling.  They are no doubt going to raise a family.  Nevertheless, they find that only a couple of hundred yards away from the pond is a swimming pool.  It is off-season, so no humans are swimming, and the water is clean and fresh.  Like any other couple, they probably want a vacation to a lovely resort, away from their daily routine.  These mallards make their way up the hill, across the road, through the fence, and into the swimming pool!  What a site to see.  How surprised the on-lookers are to see a couple of mallards in the pool!  It is only a short-lived visit, and they return to their natural habitat.  This morning, they were happily foraging in the pond with their heads underwater and their bottoms in the air.  They may have thought the grass was greener on the other side of the road but soon found that they were exactly where they needed to be:  in the pond oasis behind my house!

Tamm Harvey

05/01/2025

Quite Precocious

 

Grayson, the Conversationalist

My five-year-old grandson, Grayson, is a laid back, go-with-the-flow, second-born child. As a toddler, he was slow to speak, and his mother was worried.  Then when he started talking, he never stopped! He lost his first tooth on April 1^st.  He made sure to tell the waitress at the restaurant about it in detail at Sunday lunch.  He loves humor and can tell jokes quite well.  He is always saying things that need to be written down. In particular there is a saying that he uses if his mother or his baby sister is crying.  He has a compassionate soul and gets right up into their faces to say: “It’s okay, we never don’t love you.” 

He reminds me so much of his dad, my middle son, when he was little.  They are both very personable, very confident and very funny. With blonde hair and big blue eyes and an innocence that only a child can express, it is delightful to hear what he will say next.

He once told me that a “googol” is a one with 100 zeros after it.  I sometimes wonder if he is a mathematical prodigy.  His ability to manipulate numbers, add or subtract, is amazing.  He also just spontaneously started to read a few months ago.  With no teaching or training, it just seemed to come to him naturally.  He is quite precocious for a little fellow.

Tammy Harvey

4/8/2025

Our Loss, Heaven's Gain

 

The Loss of a Matron

I have lost my mother, I knew I one day would,

 She died just like she lived:  courageous and assured, 

I’m not selfish enough to want her to linger here in agony, 

I know she has a place of peace that one day I will see, 

She, at 91, had lived a full and caring life,

For 73 years, she was my father’s wife, 

She was a successful businesswoman, far surpassing her education,

She had moxie that spurred her diehard determination, 

She was a hard worker, like no one I have ever seen, 

Her energy was contagious, if you know just what I mean,

She was a people person and could read the room quite well,

I loved how much she laughed and the stories she could tell,

She led by example and made her expectations known,

Kind but stern; there was confidence in her tone,

She was always resilient, enduring many of life’s trials,

Her positivity was admirable, giving away her joyous smiles,

As Mother’s Day approaches, a large void will be there,

Our first one without her, and painful hearts we will share,

But I’m happy for my mother to be resting peacefully in glory,

We are all proud of her and her amazing life story.

In Memory of (Elizabeth) Julia (Ann Langston) Paschal

On this earth October 12, 1933- February 7, 2025

Tammy Harvey

4/8/2025

So, it is April

 Oops! Did I say I'd be back in March.  Well, March has come and gone.  I am trying to get some writing done to continue my blog, but the well has run dry.

The creative creek has been running dry,

I am not sure I can explain why,

It's kind of like telling the sky to rain,

There is a drought within my brain,

It's not like dropping a bucket into a well,

Or turning on a faucet, as far as I can tell,

Creative writing comes to me,

Like an unexpected storm or a blooming tree,

I can't make it thunder or control the timing,

I guess you'd say, I'm at a lost at rhyming,

My goal is to continue to produce for the blog,

I just have been like a knot on a log.

Tammy Harvey  

Break Time

 Taking a Break....  Stay Tuned...  Be back in March!  Tammy

A Cup of Water

 A Simple Cup of Water

I was flying non-stop to Raleigh from Nashville, TN via Southwest Airlines.  I had been at the airport for a few hours and once we boarded, I had an incredible thirst.  My throat was dry, and I sat there wishing I had purchased bottled water.  I had chosen the second seat on the aisle, so the flight attendant was readily available.  I debated about asking for a cup of water then finally I caught her attention with the motion of my hand.  She came to me, and I politely asked her.  She asked me if I had medication to take.  I said, ‘no ma’am”.  She said that she wasn’t allowed to give me water on the ground unless I had medication to take.  Well, then they held our loaded airplane at the gate for the arrival of 11 passengers whose connection had landed late and were in the airport.  They were giving them time to get to our gate which I thought was very nice of Southwest.  I had never gotten that consideration from American Airlines as I have run through the Charlotte airport to catch a connection only to find they had just closed the doors.  Missing a flight through no fault of my own has become a pet peeve of mine.  It wasn’t going to make our original flight late because we had a tailwind.  The pilot said to allow about a 15-minute delay.  Well, the passengers arrived, but another delay was announced because their luggage had not made it over from the other gate.  The pilot said maybe another 7 minutes.  At that point, the flight attendant came to me carrying a full cup of water.  She said, “Here is your water to take your medication”.  I guess I wasn’t smart enough to say I had medication to take or maybe I’m just too honest, but I was so happy that the flight attendant was so accommodating.

Tammy Harvey  Jan 2025

The Rocks Cry Out

 

Don’t Miss It

The rocks will cry out.  In Luke 19:40 Jesus describes how if the people stay silent the rocks will praise Him.  This was in response to his entrance into his own city of Jerusalem.  It echoes the sentiment of Psalm 19 that declares “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”.  I see so much of the majesty of God in nature.  Some things in nature are so overwhelmingly beautiful that it takes my breath away. How do I view a beautiful sunrise without feeling the splendor of God?   The intricacies of nature and the animal kingdom are astounding and hard to fathom.  How do I witness the birth of any creature and not feel the awe of God?  He is the creator of all things and even if a person had no knowledge of Him, the beauty in nature declares His glory.  All around us, evidence of the Almighty God is apparent.  It is in the seasons, the tides and the way our plants grow.  It is in the stars in the night sky.  It is in the depths of the ocean.  It is a vast array of beauty that cannot be ignored.  It is in the symbiosis of all living things.  Dare we take credit for any of it?  We are but a minute part of the whole.    We cannot deny the power of the wind, the rain and the storm.  Who calms the storm and sends the rainbow afterwards?  Who hasn’t looked up in awe at a colorful rainbow covering the sky and not found joy?  If the rocks will cry out, how much more should we praise Him for the beauty of the Earth.  “For the beauty of the earth, For the glory of the skies”, For the love which from our birth, Over and around us lies, Lord of All, to Thee we raise, This our Hymn of Grateful Praise”. (For the Beauty of the Earth, hymn written by Filliott S. Peirpoint in 1864.) We are but travelers, and our journey here is brief.  May we not miss the splendor that has been set before us.  I encourage you to stop what you are doing and set aside some time to enjoy nature and the beauty that lies therein.  Go outside and be in awe of the wonderful miracles occurring every day:  The grass grows, the birds sing, the leaves flutter down from the trees, etc.  Don’t miss it.

Tammy Harvey

12/19/2024

What Kids Say

 

If You need Me…

There once was a television show called “Kids say the Darndest Things” with Art Linkletter.  In their innocence and joy for life, kids are remarkably funny when describing certain ideas and answering pointed questions.  My grandchildren are no different.  I always say that I should write down these instances when they say something so comical, and this time I am!  At the preschool Christmas performance yesterday, my 5-year-old grandson’s teacher came up to our family to share what Grayson had said to her that morning.  She was so entertained by her conversation with him.  She described how she was putting out the Memory Cards onto the table for an activity.  Sometimes, she shared, she asks a student to help her with this task.  That morning Grayson asked her if he could help her, but unfortunately, she said they were short on time, and she needed to do it by herself.  In response, he said to her: “Well, if you need me, I’m off 64W in a blue house” describing where he lived to her. 

This boy does have a way of saying the darndest things and from this day forward I am going to do my best to write down these wonderfully amusing comments my grandchildren make.

Tammy Harvey

12/19/2025

The Iconic Clock

 

The Iconic Clock

The red second hand was sweeping around the analog clock,

It made a soft purring noise, not a loud tick tock,

It was probably 15” in diameter, black casing and white face,

You could see it from down the hall, and probably from outer space,

The government-issued clock is an icon, if you know what I mean,

The numbers were big, bold and black and very easily seen,

It was on every wall in every classroom that I ever had,

And in every office space and public place; it was not a fad,

It was an essential part of my childhood, back in the day,

Always wishing it would move faster so I could go out to play,

And then wishing it would move slower when the test was really hard,

Always wanting to be free to run around the yard,

It indicated when I could go to the cafeteria to eat,

Or when I had to hurry to class and quickly take my seat,

It indicated when I needed to go and catch the bus,

The bell would always ring and wake up my consciousness,

When the long hand got to twelve, and the short hand was on three,

Our school day was over, and we were literally set free,

Free from the big bad clock that ruled us every day,

Now we could go outside and until dark we’d play!

Tammy Harvey

12/13/2024