Poem

In a world with
infinite footprints-
Make your own

-M. Taggart

Poem

I feel it first in my forehead
It’s a bit of pressure
Not so much that it brings me ‘down’
But it does bring a sobriety about it
And if I don’t listen,
it grows until I’ve ruined it
Or until I fulfill the calling
Which I’m doing now
I believe we all have this
In one form or another
I’d like to not ever ruin it
Even when it comes out
like this- I have listened

-M. Taggart

A Spring Crinkle #truestuffstory

Spring.

However, we’re due to receive roughly 2 feet of snow starting sometime late Tuesday and lasting until Friday.

I ran the generator yesterday. It started on the first pull. I still don’t trust it, so I’ll go ahead and run it again tomorrow. You can never start those machines enough! I learned the hard way. When I didn’t start it enough.

I love big snow. So, I’ll lean into this storm and hope for huge amounts! I hope we push past two feet! If it’s going to snow, let is snow! If we lose power, again, so be it. We know how to manage.

If this storm is anything they are claiming it’s gearing up to be- I’ll be sure to share photos with all of you.

The last storm was brutal. A friend on here mentioned that they ended up shoveling for a few hours…well, I ended up getting my plow truck stuck, and thought of him, as I ended up shoveling for a few hours. Thankfully only one car drove by to see me, shoveling out a plow truck.

It’s ok though, I laugh, they laugh, we all laugh.

I’ll be sure to sprinkle in a few poems. Possibly an Odd Walking Thought. I never know when those are going to hit. And storm updates. On goes the cycle!

Have fun out there,

Matt

The 8-Year-Old, Writer.

Gavin is having a bit of an issue with his writing teacher.

It’s troubling him. He feels dread when thinking bout this class. Apparently his teacher yells.

His teacher is on him about sentence structure and how to create an introduction, followed by chapters, followed by chapters, followed by perfect mR and Msr’s. Eh.

Followed by a conclusion.

Gavin has an imagination abundant in, Everything. He’s brave. He’s stealth mixed with clever-wit. He speaks with great annunciation and kindness. Gavin is at his best when he’s allowed, well, to be himself. He’s not being allowed to use his imagination. Thank God he told us about how he’s feeling and how crushed his writing and spirit has become.

Thankfully, I may, or may not, know at least one thing about writing 🙂

I will not let a school setting destroy the Gift that Gavin has within his mind, heart, and soul. I’m not saying his teacher is a bad teacher- not at all. But I know when he needs me to jump in and help bring the joy back to where it belongs.

Writing should fill his soul. Not empty it.

Imma teach him to break the rules, just a little bit, to help them come to a compromise of minds lol

I, for one, would much rather read about a lion riding on the back of a dragon who contains the ability to speak in dragon tongue and announce when to unleash the raging fire!!! Rather than, the cat jumped over the mouse. The mouse ran. So fast. So. So fast.

I don’t even care if his 8-year-old-self misspells each word: bring on that dragon raging fire with the lion standing on it’s back yielding tangled tongues that shred the thunderous skies!!

I can’t wait for Gavin to get home.

Cheers everyone!!!

Matt

🙂

ps- He’s 8. He’s already written two books. Self illustrated too! His teacher hasn’t seen them. We should fix that.

Poem

And just like that
I’m up again
and Every day is new

-M. Taggart

Late Winter Storm

And just like that, Old Man Winter is Back!

Here, in our region of Maine, we were just gifted with nearly a foot of snow. The storm is unique in that you can stand on the snow, without snowshoes, and not sink. A tough, thick layer of sleet and ice has encrusted, and packed, the top of the snow.

I can literally jump on the snow and nothing happens. It’s been a few decades for this experience to repeat itself.

I went outside with Gavin and the dog. We went from full on mud season, to this frozen tundra, overnight. New England’s weather is fickle. And while Mother Nature may not hold loyalty toward any one region, she is fiercely loyal to the natural unexpected to become expected here in New England.

I love it. I love the extreme differences. I haven’t any interest in perfect weather, day-after-day. Maybe tomorrow we’ll see a tornado 🙂 that’d be fun!

Have fun out there!

Matt

lol Gavin didn’t even bother putting his snow gear on. Who really needs it when you can float.

It’s gonna be OK

Just in case you need to hear this,
You are enough.

Maybe there’s no one near to you to say this, so I am.

I know how it feels to climb inside and feel alone while standing in a packed room. And if someone is killing your mindset with a million slices, go find a mirror and tell yourself that you are enough. Because you are. Look in the mirror and repeat it over and over. “I am enough.”

We all have these moments in life where it feels like torture. I’ve been through multiple versions of this. I always knew it would be ok. But, even while knowing that, it didn’t always help. The OK part sometimes doesn’t come for a while.

It’s gonna be OK. I hope you start with the mirror because the easiest person to lie to is yourself. Start there. Build what you need via truth. The mirror can not lie unless you tell it to.

-Matt

Poem

I’m just now sipping my coffee
I’m having it black, with a bit of sugar

I’m viewing a photo, that I took of the sky,
yesterday afternoon.
Weather was coming in, it was starting to rain
The clouds were gathering together

Now I’m looking at the photo
Wondering if it’s good enough

Of course it is
It is what it is and it’s good enough

And this coffee isn’t so bad either

-M. Taggart

Poem

Sometimes we just need to feel
a bit of sun

It’s been like that today,
for me.
I can feel the wrong way pulling
So it’s time to pull back

-M. Taggart

Success!

Hey everyone!

My friend’s surgery was a success and he’s currently recovering very well. I asked him if he wanted to read the post that I wrote (on here) about him. He did want to, and has read it. He asked that I let all of you know that he appreciated the words, and that he says ‘Thank you’ to all of you who took time to send thoughts and prayers his way.

We’re very thankful that he’s in recovery-mode and that the open heart surgery was such a success. When Gavin and I finally got to the ICU unit and saw him, he was sitting up in a chair and waiting for us to walk into his room. At first they wouldn’t let Gavin in, but that didn’t last long lol. We had a friendly discussion with the ‘guard’ and it was determined that Gavin could go into the room. And then, because this is how the universe seems to work, within an hour they informed everyone that he was recovering so well that they were moving him to a different unit and boom- there were five of us all around him telling stories.

I don’t think it could have gone any better. And he deserves this- to have gone well. He lives his life with such energy (works with children) and delivers such a great point of view on life…he’s a special man and we love him. Simply put, it was great to hear his voice.

On a comic note, Gavin took over the room for a little while. He was creating jokes on the fly.

I couldn’t imagine Gavin not having been included on this trip. He’s a better traveler than most adults that I know 😉 He even brought the transformer that my friend had given him. He told my friend that he planned on giving him one of his own transformers when they visit us this summer.

My friend is on pace to be back home this Saturday, or Sunday. They had him up and walking yesterday.

Thank you, again, everyone. Being able to express what’s happening on ‘here’ has been helpful and healing. I wanted to give the update, and share the positive news.

-Matt

(I refrain from using ‘his’ name because he’s kept this emergency very quiet and I respect his wish to do so. Even though he is very well known in his community- very few people are aware of what’s happened to this point.)