Life Line

We at times are vulnerable, our strength depletes
falling as spilt water from the overflowing glass
to frail to bend, to mop up what lies around us
A cry for help not loud enough for others to hear

The tenuous task of gathering ourselves once more
our ability to be strong, is as powerful
as it is to be weak, moments when our resolve
is questionable, our enervated self

Do we wish to prove to those who know us, we have
no imperfections, yet, within us we cannot
lighten the cross we bare, to undertake what is
before us we sometimes fall in spite of our
believed strength

This is when we ask, we beg, for another to lend a hand
to build us up, to mop up the spillage from the floor
It is not cowardice to ask for comfort and support
the life line that is needed, for we are only human
and nothing more.

Copyright JMTacken 10.5.2014

I wrote this after reading Rara’s plight at the moment.

http://www. rarasaur.wordpress.com

 

Today’s Service

I want to thank every one of you for your encouragement, positive vibes, crossed fingers and support leading up to today.

The Service went really well, I kept telling myself (convincing myself) that the number of people wouldn’t matter 2-20 or 200 then 250 people flowed through the doors and strangely I felt okay. The speakers were introduced, I read one of my poems, there were laughs and tears and when I had finished the amount of people that came up and spoke to me…… well I am floating on Cloud 9 right now.

So forgive me for having my ‘moment in the sun’ as a dear friend said tonight.I only post this as some of you may have been curious as to how I went, not for wanting comments or praise in return.

Mr. S and I went to the pictures and coming home I checked my phone and emails and this is what I had.

These brought tears.

Text message from the partner of the deceased:
Thank you so much for today..Sorry I didn’t speak to you but I was a bit overwhelmed and had to go home. You did an amazing job and summed M up so well. You made it sound like you knew him and we all appreciate the effort and empathy you brought today. Again from C, M and I as well as our community I want to thank you.

Email from his partner:
Jenny I wanted to thank you for today. Sorry I didn’t speak to you personally afterwards. I got home with M’s car and remembered I had left without a word to anyone. My kids also thought you were great, even our conditions, so thank you again. We were wondering if there was anyway we could recommend you to others, because we felt like you really understood everything we said to you, and you did an amazing job at representing the man that M was.

Email from his sister:
Hi Jenny
Sorry I didn’t get to meet you today, but I wanted to thank you for putting on such a lovely and appropriate service for M – it so well reflected his life and personality.

Now I need to sleep, though I am still on those clouds, it maybe hard to accomplish!

Thank you so much my WordPress family  🙂

The young man (Series – Part 2)

Where did your life go from childhood days, cast out, moved about
one family to the next, enlisting in the Army, in the hope to leave
the country of your birth

How many times ~ how many? Three you said, when a gun was pointed
at your head, but a guardian angel held you close and let you
breathe another day

Thrown in jail, hard wooden beds, a cell for three fits twelve, facing
court your penance, for trying to escape, you revisited eight years ago
it doesn’t look the same

Bomb blast, the SS and their cohorts gathered round and you and friends
were ordered to pick broken bodies off the ground, how hard this would have
been for you

The head of the girl you knew, had spoken to that afternoon, your friend
that served you drinks ~ and you were told put ‘it’ in a pail to throw amongst
the pile of corpses

~ did you scream then Pop?

Running, forests now your home, European winters so cold, threadbare clothes
for covering, partially frozen lakes you had to swim across, that chilled you
to the bone

Empty tin with water from the stream, covering an old potato this is all
you ate back then

Is this why you love food so much?

Trains, twice, you were nearly caught, as guards stood eyeing civilians
a password given ~ freedom called

‘Professor Schmidt here’ you yelled as you confidently walked past those who
carried rifles, who didn’t give a second glance

Far from the border where you hid at day and scoured through night, until a group
of smugglers helped you and your friends plight

The escape plan had been hatched, a man who hid you in a truck and told you to move
quickly, when he whispered coast was clear

Into a grocery store and up the stairs you fled, waiting for a day and night
till in the morning you were called, when an officer with a gun marched to
the cabin door

Danny with a knife in hand, ready for the kill…. but

This man was in on ‘the act’, this ‘good samaritan’ helped you both escape and as he plunged
a tape into your hand said ~ ‘Make sure you give this to the Americans ~
when you reach your promised land’

©jmtacken 11/11/2013

Dad in the Middle

This has been difficult, as it is a story and I have tried to condense it as much as possible.

I’ve been flying a year with WP!

A little while ago, July to be exact I wrote about not having that little blue badge that WP hands out for ‘flying with them’ for a year. The reason I did not receive this then is because my orginal name started as randomramblingsfromamum ( I know a tongue twister really). Then I changed it not long after I began. So now I can say it…. drum roll
I hate maths but I’m sharing my numbers (isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?)

Posts –  590

WP Followers –  486 – thank you each and every one of you. I am enjoying this journey on WP and the opportunity to share my ramblings and meeting new and interesting people on a daily basis. You have spurred me on with your gracious comments and support and for that I am truly grateful and I hope I can continue for another year (without annoying anyone) 🙂  My writing is something that is important to me (like any writer) and what I am vehemently passionate about. To see all of you enjoying what I do, makes the late nights, the early mornings, the phone near my bed in case a thought strikes at 2am…all the more worthwhile. So once again, let me say that I thank you for your kindness and your support (quite chuffed really).

🙂

Visitors –  25,697

*******

I am also going to possibly annoy some folk by putting up the Liptember cause till the end of September. So I will apologise for this in advance, if you tire of seeing it.

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LIPTEMBER MONTH OF SEPTEMBER – Shaun from http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com has kindly and generously written a blog for Liptember to help Kayla raise funds for the fight against Mental Illness. He has donated recently, as have a few of my readers. Please read and if you can donate (for those that haven’t already) we would be most grateful. Please re-blog his post too if you can, to get this out there. Thank You!

We are in the process of getting a Pay Pal address for those who have had difficulty donating.  

A Parents Love – a video – please read

[youtube.com./watch?v=g0sihX98mAw]

Whilst looking up songs for my homework, I came upon this… PLEASE…. read these words…

Time to say thank you

Again overwhelmed
with the response
and the followers
to my small humble site.

Each one whose
encouraged me just to write
been so supportive and
helped me along, with all of you with me
I shall write and stay strong

I dribble and rave sometimes as we know
I get deep and meaningful
my heart I do show
but that’s Jen or Mumsy
as I’m otherwise known

I now have 200 that follow
I’m amazed that I do
and 10,000 visits oh can this
be true?
I’ve written 300
now 301 there’s plenty
more writing
in this little one

So thank you to the ladies
the gentlemen too
for reading my writing
liking and following
all the words that I spew
forth from my head onto
a page you’re really too kind
or otherwise brave!

Credit pic – www.tumblr.com

Oh and click on the pic 🙂

This is the Lady – My Mum

Mum

I have written about my Pop but not Mum…so it’s her turn tonight.

This is the English Rose at my daughters Wedding 3 years ago.

This is the lady who says now she’s not beautiful & that growing old means people “look at you as though you are stupid or they don’t understand you, or have patience for you”.

This is the lady who gets frustrated by not being able to do what she did in her younger years.

This is the lady who suffered a fall a couple of years ago and now has difficulty walking (one of my little penguins).

BUT  This is the lady that brought me into this world.

This is the lady who held my hand to cross the roads.

This is the lady that looked after my children, so I could work.

This is the lady that took care of me when I was sick, or had a bad back & couldn’t tend to my daughter.

This is the lady who has supported me and my family with her unconditional love & affection.

This is the lady whom I have laughed with and shared tears with.

This is the lady that I have argued with & fought with.

This is lady who can say a sharp word or two to me if she feels the need.

This is the lady who has shared so much love for other people.

This is the lady that has such a good and giving soul.

This is the lady I look up to & admire for her strength & her courage to leave her home of England and come to Australia for a better life, knowing that breaking away from her parents was the hardest thing she could do.

This is the lady who has shown so much commitment and unquestionable love to my father.

This is the woman that lays Pops clothes on the bed of what he is to wear every day and continues to do so, because she thinks he can’t colour coordinate (though everything is beige) 🙂

This is the lady who bares no grudges towards anybody.

This is a lady who was told she should start her own cake business as she is a brilliant cook.

This is a lady who held ‘simple’ dinner parties for 20 people without blinking an eye.

This is the lady that was a brilliant hostess.

This is a lady that went back to work, standing on a cold concrete factory floor to work on a production line so that she could save some extra money to take my brother to England for a visit to see his Grandparents.

This is the lady that will have glassy eyes when helping Pop up from his chair.

This is the lady who lost her youngest son eight years ago and bares the grief silently within her heart.

This is the lady who has been a loving & giving person not only to myself but to her grandchildren.

This is a lady with so much pride & strength that sometimes I think she forgets that she has any.

This is a lady that looks at us with love as only mothers can.

…Yes we may have ‘words’ now and then…we are Mother & Daughter.

…Yes we may not often see eye to eye on things.

…Yes we are both different ..but in so many ways so alike .

…Yes you have grown older..but I have too.

…Yes I am proud of you, admire you, value you, adore you.

… Yes but most of all I AM THANKFUL that you are my MUM & I treasure now more than ever having you with me still..

So do not think for one moment that you aren’t beautiful because my darling English Rose YOU ARE NOW and always will be to me…

I LOVE YOU

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