Chin Up

02/09/2024

Travis’s favorite Bella. The breeders named my Bella, but it so fit her and felt like a sign that we didn’t change her name.

09/17/2023

So true, memories are necessary.

09/10/2023

Here is a new book to look into. Please share with friends!

Nancy has been writing her entire life, including long letters to her English professor grandfather and notes passed surreptitiously to her best friend in junior high. In her professional career, she worked as a paralegal, a reporter, and an editor. She has received numerous awards for her writing,....

08/14/2023

What’s on m mind Facebook asks? This picture is on my mind. I think this shows exactly the reason I look at the moon and stars every evening.

08/14/2023

This is a picture of the boys the day of Travis’s celebration of life, service at their home. Friends had come from Hawaii to be there and sent Hawaiian leis for everything you see here. If I know Travis, he couldn’t have loved this more.
Life does go on for the rest of us, with special memories floating in each day. I can’t be more thankful for those.

07/25/2023

Just sitting with a friend enjoying the river and people watching. Makes for a great day ♥️

07/16/2023

I found this book in Alma, WI at the Visitors Center. It’s a small, sweet, book called “Holding On” for Mothers and Sons. This song comes with it.
Author: Terri Reiland
Illustrated by: Gail Pommerening
CD Performed by: Vicky Emerson

It touched my heart because, I’m Still Holding On.

Vicky Emerson sings heart warming song for Mothers and Sons. See www.foxcouleepress.com for gift book by Terri Reiland and Gail Pommerening.

07/12/2023

I have a new book review!

Chin Up!, written by Colleen J. Barnes Anderson, is an emotional compilation of poems dedicated to her late son, Travis, and to the young children he left behind. Expressing throughout the book that losing a son like Travis is similar to losing the sun itself, Barnes Anderson holds on to and is eternally grateful for their memories. Chin Up! tells the story of a mother’s grief and how she remembers the life of her son.

I am so glad I stumbled upon Chin Up!. This book really delivered meaning and emotion to its pages in a way that I will remember for a long time. First, the summary and dedication pages were lovely. I was compelled to read the book from cover to cover before I had even gotten to the first poem. I just knew this author had beautiful words to share about a subject that is dear to her heart, and she so openly allowed the reader to be a part of that.

In fact, it was probably my favorite thing about the book. Chin Up! contains 38 poems, all two pages or less in length. Moreover, the poems were written in free verse, in a very open and approachable way, like late-night diary entries or never-sent letters to her son, Travis. This made the book incredibly easy to follow, relate to, and finish—and to be read again. While the entire book offered highly meaningful and emotional poems, my personal favorites were “To My Son,” “I Lost a Son, I Lost the Sun,” “Don’t Cry,” “I Search the Darkness,” and “Sometimes I Struggle.” Even now, I could read these poems again.

There aren’t many negatives I could pick out from the book. Aside from a strangely written stanza and a couple tiny mistakes, there was nothing else to focus on besides the dedication the author put into writing this book in the memory of her son. While in the process of grieving, Barnes Anderson took to God and hoping to find glimpses of Travis in the nature all around her. Therefore, this book might be better suited for individuals with a connection to God, as well.

In all, I rate Chin Up! 5 out of 5 stars. As Barnes Anderson expressed, I, too, would recommend this book to those who have gone through the pain of loss and who might use this book to feel understood and to heal. I’m sure individuals who appreciate poetry and an author’s beautiful vulnerability would also enjoy giving this book a read.

05/15/2023

A sweet picture to see at the end of my Mother’s Day. One of my favorites. Look at that tummy and those little pointed toes.
Pure sweetness.
Thank you to Jay, Melissa, Charla, Scott, Aiden, Mia, Preslie and their friends for a great day. ❤️

05/03/2023

Now that’s a park job! LOL

05/02/2023

Good sunny morning!