Tag: perfection

Spring Cleaning
I took the spring cleaning outside this week. Fortunately, I had help from my son who didn’t realize what he had signed up for when I asked. We spent two long days planting new shrubs, clearing out years of leaves that had built up around the plants, and cutting back the dogwoods that needed a good trimming. It was when I brought out the leaf blower that I quickly realized I could not tackle the outdoor cleaning the same way I do the indoor. Whereas the vacuum cleaner can get all the dirt and leave the carpet with nice marks to show off the hard work, a leaf blower just sends leaves flying in all directions. You can imagine my surprise when I was often attacked by the very leaves I was trying to send in a different direction. After many attempts to leave not a trace of these old, decaying leaves, I realized how futile my desire at reaching indoor completion was. I was never going to get rid of all the debris. I could spend all day chasing those leaves around with that blowing machine, but there would always be some lurking behind a rock or under a low lying branch. After a very long afternoon of leaf-cleaning, I had to accept that sometimes good enough is good enough. My son was much quicker at reaching that conclusion, but he hung in there with me. The next day a friend came over and gave me the kudos I needed on my lovely yard. I will hold onto that one day of feeling like I completed my yard spring cleaning. At the end of that day a hail storm swept through and a yard full of leaves knocked from the trees greeted me when I went out to inspect the damage. I guess I’ll be getting to know that leave blower again.
5/26

secret escape hatch
inviting door left ajar
to accept or not
5/29

favorite helper
assisted with all the chores
ready for some rest
5/30

newly in the ground
small and unsure of future
much growth expected
5/31

some days can’t just pick
one color isn’t enough
need a splash of pink
6/1

passage meant for me
promise of light at the end
pass the long shadows
June 1, 2024

garden, haiga, haiku, haiku Saturday, perfection, spring, summer, Walks with Zephyr
Perfectly Imperfect
Does anyone else get tired of trying to be perfect? Perfection surrounds us everywhere. At least that is what media wants us to believe. But even as a writer, I am always striving for just the right word or phrase, just the right plot development or cliffhanger. Writing is actually more time spent revising. Ugh, it’s overwhelming sometimes to always be going for perfection. That is why I love writing my haikus. I never go for perfection. They are simply just random wonderings or observations I have in my life. Oftentimes they are created right before I post them and there is only time for a quick proofread. I think of them more as a conversation rather than a debate. You don’t really prepare to talk with friends, but you might have to research your points for a debate. So if you catch mistakes in my haikus or blogs, chances are I caught them too, afterwards. It’s like when you replay a conversation later and regret something that was said or misunderstood. I prefer to think of a world that is more forgiving of imperfections. I may groan or laugh, depending on the mistake, and then I move on to wonder about something else. If you are reading this I hope you can appreciate my imperfections and come to learn that life is more fun down here below the perfection bar.
4/29

ready for the show
waiting for curtains to rise
reveal star of the show
4/30

little lost scooter
waits for tiny hands to find
for the journey home
5/2

some days stand alone
bravely holding head up high
facing what may come
5/3

under the grey clouds
common lilac brightens day
spring scents drifting by
5/4

introvert wakens
slowly unfolding itself
greatness emerges
May 4, 2024

haiga, haiku, haiku Saturday, perfection, poetry, scbwi, spring, Walks with Zephyr, wondering