Author Archives: lifelessons

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About lifelessons

My blog, which started out to be about overcoming grief, quickly grew into a blog about celebrating life. I post daily: poems, photographs, essays or stories. I've lived in countries all around the globe but have finally come to rest in Mexico, where I've lived since 2001. My books may be found on Amazon in Kindle and print format, my art in local Ajijic galleries. Hope to see you at my blog.

Red Platform Heels

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Red Platform Heels

When I saw them in the store,
one half classy and one half whore,
the Crocs I had on seemed a bore.
Those heels were girlie, cut low, red.
I knew those heels would knock men dead.

As I left the store in them,
I was feeling oh so femme
until one shoe caught on my hem.
‘Twas then that I went tumbling down,
wrenched my ankle and tore my gown.

This fall was just a quirk, I thought,
with no regrets for what I’d bought,
for I was feeling oh so hot
that men would surely all be gawking.
I’d be more careful with my walking.

In Mexico, young girls or crones
go tripping over cobblestones
with no risk to their ankle bones.
Moving with sure-footed grace,
they never fall upon their face.

They chat as they cross streets together
even in inclement weather––
Their three inch heels of strapped-on leather
negotiate each slippery rock,
barely noticing where they walk.

So I got up from the floor
and sauntered once more towards the door
onto the street outside the store.
Where, once I got into the swing
I knew those shoes were just the thing.

My car was parked one block away;
but it was such a lovely day,
I thought that I would just sashay
up to the plaza for lunch and booze––
a trial run for my new shoes!

I belted up my dress a bit
so I would not trip over it.
Once more I felt sexy and fit
as I accomplished no small feat
negotiating each walk and street.

I must admit that I felt hobbled
as I walked over roadways cobbled.
Perhaps I grimaced, winced and wobbled.
But at the time, I was enthused––
thinking only of my new shoes.

When I reached the plaza and I walked by
a table of men, I felt each eye
peruse my legs from toe to thigh.
I knew that those new shoes were why
I held the gaze of every guy.

Maneuvering towards an empty table,
I walked as well as I was able,
but overlooked just one small cable
as I glanced over for their reaction.
That’s how I ended up in traction!

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/misstep/

Behind

 

(Click on first photo to enlarge, then on each arrow to see rest of photos.)

http://hughsviewsandnews.com/2016/03/08/hughs-weekly-photo-challenge-week-16-behind/

Flow Chart

Flow Chart

Ebb and flow, ebb and flow––
at first our lives seem very slow.
Once the Christmas tree came down,
vacuum cleaners all over town
removed needles curled and brown,
and echoed each child’s yearly whine
as they picked up remains of pine.
Why did Christmas have to go?

Then that slow tick of passing time
through other holidays sublime:
Valentine’s and Easter and
Mayday with its sleight-of-hand
as a basket-wielding band
(before they quickly pushed the bell,
turned on their heels and ran like Hell)
moved silently as any mime.

July 4th and Halloween
moved across the year’s broad screen
as days both secular and holy
that children loved came on so slowly.
Holidays just seemed to creep
trudging up a year so steep
impatient children had to weep
impatiently and make a scene.

Thanksgiving filled with birds to stuff
should have pleased them all enough,
but thoughts of Christmas swirled instead
through each greedy little head.
Christmas music, gifts and trees
pervade the brisk Thanksgiving breeze
bringing children to their knees.
Waiting for Christmas is so tough!!!

But years pass quicker as we get older.
From fresh to hot to crisp to colder.
Time that used to flow so thickly
suddenly moves by so quickly
that that dread April holiday
wherein we pay and pay and pay
does not seem far enough away
as we search for our taxes folder!!!

(Click on first photo and then on arrows to enlarge and move through gallery.)

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/flow/

Peachy Peachy Choppa Choppa Nya Nya Nya

When I was little, I knew how to get back at my 4 years older sister.  All I had to sing was this “silly little song” that Rosemary Clooney recorded with the Children’s Choir.  The thing was that I knew she hated it and would yell at me for singing it and then my mother, who was grooming me for small town stardom, would yell at her for yelling at me.  Oh yes, the world was peachy after I learned “Peachy Peachy Choppa Choppa Nya Nya Nya!”

But, this wasn’t the main reason I was delighted when I saw the color prompt was “Peach” today.  The main reason was that tonight I snapped this incredibly colored sunset photo that unless I’m mistaken, will pass for peach.  I’ve done no color alteration on it, by the way.  With the clouds and the islands, perfect.

(Click on first picture, then arrows to enlarge and view pictures.  When finished, Click on X in the upper left corner of the viewing screen to return to this page.)


You’d like to hear the song “Peachy Peachy Choppa Choppa Nya Nya Nya?”  Go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsjttU_-sK4

http://jennifernicholewells.com/2016/03/10/color-your-world-peach/

Proof of the Cold Snap in La Manz

(Click on first picture to enlarge photos,  then on arrows to view other photos in gallery.  When finished, Click on X at upper left of screen to return to this page.)

They’re saying on the message board that this is the coldest spell they remember for La Manz.  If you need any further proof of it, here are some shots with Daniel in first a shirt and then a hoodie!  May be your  last chance to see that phenomenon which ranks right up there with David Dagoli’s amazing shot of the agave field covered with snow or very heavy frost this morning. This is the first time in 6 years that I’ve seen Daniel in a shirt, much less a hoodie.

 

 

More Pacific Blues

Duke and Daisy accompanied us to Tenacatita.  After the rains and high winds we’ve been having, it was too choppy to snorkel, so we all roamed the beach.  I picked up three bags of coral and shells from the beach and totally sliced open one water shoe. But, how could I be blue?  I left that to the ocean.

(Click on first picture to enlarge photos, then on arrows to view all photos. After viewing, click on X at upper left to return to this page.)

http://jennifernicholewells.com/2016/03/09/color-your-world-pacific-blue/

Beeing There

This beach companion was fascinated by my Diet Coke. Pedro says this is proof that they actually do slip sugar into diet drinks here.

(Click once on first picture to enlarge photos, then click on right arrow to advance to next picture.  When finished, click on X at top left of the page to return to this page.)

He ended up submerged, in spite of my best efforts to dissuade him from taking the icy dip. This called for pouring the coke and corpus onto the sand.  In lieu of artificial respiration, I blew on him and from a seemingly comatose state, he came to, crawled away, and in time flew away.  I wonder how many watery graves this fellow has escaped.

Legacy

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Legacy

The thoughts and looks and talents of others of my kind
are written on my body and written on my mind.
My genetic family, departed from this earth,
exists in my coloring, expression, voice and girth.

I’m glad I got mom’s optimism and her rhyming wit,
but her success with pastry? I have none of it.
I cannot bake a cherry pie. Light pastry is a riddle.
The few cakes that I  ever baked were soggy in the middle.

Why couldn’t I inherit my mother’s slender legs
instead of my Dutch aunties’ solid ample pegs?
For women on my dad’s side were noted for their girth
as well as for the many years they spent upon this earth.

Thin skin that picks up bruises from each ungentle touch?
I’ve inherited it all–thank you very much!
My mother’s taste for chocolate, my uncle’s taste for gin––
both sides of my family I carry safe within.

My grandmother’s hands that always needed to be busy,
my Aunt Stella’s tendency to wind up in a tizzy.
“Blahsy blah!” she would exclaim, and flop her arms and walk
in tight little circles. I couldn’t help but gawk.

But sometimes I find myself getting flustered, too,
my mind stomping in circles as I figure what to do.
My upper arms look more like hers, my stomach like my mother’s,
although I’d rather have Aunt Betty’s if I had my druthers.

I could go on for stanzas, listing each thing that I’d rather,
but my recital has already turned into mere blather.
So I’ll just say a thank you to those who came before.
For in spite of all your ills, I have you at my core.

Somehow the parts you left in me, although they aren’t all pretty,
are very rarely mean or dumb or dense or dull or petty.
You left me curiosity that fills out all my days––
as well as that  Dutch work ethic that doesn’t let me laze.

Dad and Mom, I thank you both for your good sense of humor
and for your facility at blending fact and rumor
into stories that you then simply had to tell.
And thank you for instilling the need to tell them well.

Slight exaggerations are expected, I have learned––
one vital ingredient of stories finely turned.
And though each story must be told starting at its top,
the secret lies in simply––knowing when to stop.


If you haven’t had enough, HERE is another piece I wrote to a similar prompt.

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/legacy/

 

Pacific Blue

Strange how many times the Pacific is not Pacific blue!  In these photos, somewhere in the water is the color of blue that this challenge calls “Pacific Blue.”  The phrase has an added meaning to me, however, because I go home in six days and this time I am really not ready to go back.  Here are some of the reasons why.

(Click on first photo to enlarge, then click on arrows to view gallery. When you are ready to return to this page, hit the X in the upper left side of the page.)

http://jennifernicholewells.com/2016/03/09/color-your-world-pacific-blue/

Beach Rainbow

In my seven years of coming to La Manzanilla, it has only rained twice. Very early this morning was one of those times.  Since the morning is cool and blustery, perhaps some La Manzanillans missed this spectacular sight that I viewed when I went out to the porch to collect my (still soggy) clothes that were meant to dry overnight.

(Click on first photo to enlarge. To view enlarged gallery, click on each arrow, then on X at upper left of screen to return to this page.)