The Queen of My Heart and Food to My Soul

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        Today, we take this moment to wish all our mothers, near and far, a very Happy Mother’s Day. To all of my friends who are mothers, may this day be an extra day for rest, relaxation, peace, and joy for you. For those of us who no longer have our mothers here to talk to and be with on this special day, may we embrace fond memories of them, holding them near and dear to our hearts. And for all of the grandmothers, great grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, and guardians who stand in as a mother, may you have an exuberant day also.

        I hope if your mother is still living, you will spend more time with her, ask her to share her family history with you if you haven’t asked already, and tell her you love her, not just on this day but with greater frequency going forward. Without our moms, we wouldn’t be here today. Have a FANtabulous Mother’s Day! 🌺💐🌹

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To Mother, With Love 💞💐

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Sometimes words cannot define the value of the breadth and depth of love a mother shares.

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Don’t Forget About This Mother on Mother’s Day

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Tomorrow, we will celebrate Mother’s Day to honor mothers or the memory of our mothers and other matriarchal individuals who served in such a capacity. Maternal instincts cover a wide range of underappreciated gifts and gift-giving.

Let’s not forget however, the mother of mothers, Mother Earth. Mother Earth provides for her innumerable children, that includes you and me, in countless ways every single day. All too often, Mother is disrespected and abused while she still tries to tirelessly provide for all of us. We have to stop and ask, how are we honoring her for her sacrifices?

Like our biological or adoptive mothers, how are we showing Mother Earth our love and appreciation for all that she does, and all that she gives unselfishly? As I listen to the early morning sweet young chirps outside my window, I up my gratitude meter to another level of joy and peace. How are you celebrating her on Mother’s Day? 🌎

To Mother with Love: The Poetry of a Poet’s Poem

We are approaching this 2020 Mother’s Day quite differently than we did Mother’s Day 2019 or the ones before. This year, many people I know are experiencing a motherless Mother’s Day, and oh what a difference a year makes. My heart goes out to all of you who may not be able to tell your mothers Happy Mother’s Day. Yet, for those of you who do, in spite of our global pandemic, you can still show your mother, grandmother, aunts, sisters, or anyone who has been a mother figure in your life some love. Plus, you need not wait for Mother’s Day to express such loving sentiments to them.

I purchased some greeting cards for my mother because our family shared a passion for giving cards for special occasions. Before I was able to give them to her, however, she passed away on Easter Sunday 2003. I never got the chance to give her these special cards that held a distinguishable meaning for me as I knew it would for her. It was part of the Maya Angelou series of Hallmark Cards. My mother was also a poet and that’s why I knew she would have appreciated the simple yet sentimental words from this amazing poet. Here’s a portion of the poetry from one of those cards:

Our mothers –
we belong to them.

Exquisitely,
our beliefs
and
our breaths
are made tangible
in their love.

So many wishes and dreams
have come true
because I have you
for my mother.
-Maya Angelou

The poetry of such comforting and endearing words expressed so sweetly and simply is a bundle of joy that could warm every vein meandering throughout a mother’s heart. Although it has been 17 years since my mother’s transition, I just could not part with these cards. The purpose of this purchase has a heartfelt connection to my mother, the poet, and her poem.

Wishing all of you mothers out there, in whatever form or fashion you employ, to enjoy this Mother’s Day and all of the days that follow.

To Mom With Love!

Oh, the joy of being wrapped in the loving and protective arms of your mother. The wonder woman that so many moms encompass is empowered by a myriad of adjectives we probably never realize existed. Mothers have a mystical magical way of letting you know that everything will be all right and not to worry about those things you have no control over even if they silently do the worrying themselves.

As Mother’s Day approaches, if you are fortunate enough to have your mother still living, then you are a blessed child, in more ways than you can imagine, no matter how grown you may be. It is with my wish that you spend time with your mom or dad if he has been acting in the maternal role, not just on Mother’s Day, but as often as you can.

Mother’s are not as perfect as we see through our eyes, but who is? Yet, there is something irreplaceable about moms. Many sacrifice so much to make sure their children do not go without. Many mothers have to travel the parental road alone, perhaps as a widow or single mother. Far too often the presence of our mothers is taken for granted. Those of you like me whose mothers are passed away wish they had another opportunity to spend more time with their moms. It’s not too late for those of you whose mothers are still here.

So, to all of you mothers, in whatever maternal capacity you unselfishly serve (grandmothers, aunts, etc.), may you have a pampered, privileged, and fabulous Mother’s Day, cloaked in the loving arms of your family, biological or extended! 🙂

Make a Roasted Shrimp & Poblano Salad for Mother’s Day

Image credit: Mike Garten | The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen

Looking for an easy dish to make for that special mom on Mother’s Day? Well, here’s a healthy spicy salad, Roasted Shrimp & Poblano Salad, from The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen.

This recipe yields 4 and only takes 35 minutes to prepare. The ingredients include shallots, peppers, canola oil, chili powder, radishes, lime, avocado, deveined shrimp and mixed greens. The Nutritional Information (per serving): Calories 215; Protein 17g; Carbohydrate 9g; Total Fat 12g; Saturated Fat 2g; Dietary Fiber 2g; Sodium 940mg.

Click here for ingredient measurements and directions for this amazing Roasted Shrimp & Poblano Salad for Mother’s Day. Bon appetit and Happy #FoodPornFriday!

National Nutty Fudge Day on Food Porn Friday

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Do you love pistachios? Do you love fudge? Why not combine the two and make this new twist on an old favorite. Today, we celebrate National Nutty Fudge Day on Food Porn Friday. Check out this Dark Chocolate Pistachio Fudge Recipe from Crave Local, that’s easy to make and just as easy to eat! 

Go ahead and sink your teeth into this chewy decadent treat, that you can celebrate today and enjoy any time of the year. You only need 4 ingredients. Why not make a batch for Mother’s Day?

Happy #NuttyFudgeDay on #FoodPornFriday!
#HappyMothersDay

Celebrating Our Mothers

Mothers. It seems like we can never tire of saying enough about them. For those of you who are still blessed to have your mother around, then treasure those precious opportunities to spend time with her. For those of us whose mother has passed on from this life, we will always have fond memories of times we spent with them. For those of you who have fathers, guardians, aunts, grandmothers or stepmothers who are surrogates acting in a maternal capacity, then it behooves you to cherish that.

For all mothers, past and present, I honor you with this poem “I Applaud You” and wish all of you a very Happy Mother’s Day!

I Applaud You

I applaud you for the strength you unselfishly earned
your nurturing gift you so willingly impart
your character, immeasurable and priceless
your gentle spirit, so humble and genuine.

I applaud your determination to fight for the common good
your comfort during times of sadness, pain and grief
your encouragement during those moments when someone wants
to give up
your heart, more precious than the facets in a perfect diamond.

I applaud your tears of joy, glistening down your cheeks during
celebrations
your carefree attitude to enjoy life and live it abundantly
your wisdom from life’s lessons of hard knocks and
disappointments
your test of endurance to stand up, amid all reasoning to stay
down.

Regardless of what you’ve suffered
been diagnosed with
or the pain from heartbreaks you’ve endured,
I applaud you for your survival skills
despite the cards that you were dealt.

Your inner beauty radiates your graciousness
turning obstacles into stepping stones
ugliness into beauty
discouragement into courage
skepticism into faith
despair into hope
with complete reverence of God
I applaud you.

– Kym Gordon Moore (from the book “Wings of the Wind: A Cornucopia of Poetry,” 2013)

Mother’s Day, Ekphrastic Poetry and Sweet Treats

Casey Zvanut
“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” Ekphrastic Poetry Contest Winner

Each month I have the privilege of helping to coordinate and moderate poetry open mic, at the Indian Trail Cultural Arts Center with Susan Didier, Community Development Specialist. On Saturday, May 9, we hosted our Pies, Pastries and Poetry open mic event. Participants were asked to share their personal poems about their favorite dessert made by someone that was maternally connected to them, or a special poem about “mothers,” with our audience.

The evening also set the stage for presenting the winner of our first A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Ekphrastic Poetry Contest. Our contest was based on a picture donated by local artist Eugene Smith, entitled The Nightingale. Our winner, an overly excited Casey Zvanut read her winning poem, The Night Queen. She eloquently shared a little bit about herself with us. “I’ve been in love with language since I was a child. I am a product of Memphis, Tennessee, the Arkansas Delta and central Mississippi, so you could say that the poetry of the “Blues” is in my veins. I’ve lived in North Carolina for almost 16 years with my amazing husband and two crazy, wonderful sons, and my love affair with words led me into education for the last 16 years.”

Christian George, the second place winner shared his poem, The Nightingale’s Song and Norman Bartee, third place winner shared his poem, The Nightingale Ekphrastic. Brian Bacik also recited his rendition of his poetic interpretation of The Nightingale picture, with the audience. Among other participants who read their poems commemorating the theme of the open mic event were Dwight Roth and Marilyn Murphy. Audience members who also shared some of their personal poems were Jan Anderson and Stephanie Jones. It was truly another fun and wonderful night of art, poetry and engaging conversations.

Erin Penland
Multi-media Artist

Erin Penland, multi-media artist made a few remarks to the audience about her rewarding experience since she began participating in the monthly open mic events, along with a synopsis about her artwork and photography. Erin also shared her artistic collage interpretation of poetic elements that she was working on, during the night’s festivities.

Mothers in the audience were given a marble-petal tea rose and complimentary gift for attending this event, which fell on the day before Mother’s Day. If you’re in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and would like to attend or participate in our future poetry open mic events, we welcome you to join us at this FREE event, on the second Saturday of each month. Contact Susan Didier, at 704-821-2541, for more information. You can also reach Susan at sdidier@admin.indiantrail.org.

Our theme for next month is “Up, Up and Away!” Even if you’re unable to attend our open mic readings, why not have fun and try writing a poem using our poetry prompts. Stay tuned for more details coming soon!

Happy Mother’s Day!