The Blue Down Jacket

On By Baydreamer - Lauren ScottIn Poetry, Prose

The radio belted out “Joy to the World!”
You were a teenage boy, but on this
Christmas morning in ‘75, excitement
buzzed! Your dad watched and listened,
relaxed in his corner chair, but your mom
played Santa, just as jolly! The first time
we met. Do you remember?

You and your dad hiked Half Dome that year,
then…the many trips we booked…
those rocky inclines had my sleeves shaking!
Hiking to Italy Pass, 12,000 feet at the top!
We did it! Trekking through the Trinity Alps,
Thousand Island Lake in the Sierra.
And Mount Shasta!
I kept you warm when the air was ice.

What a team we made, and I couldn’t believe
how beautiful the world could be…

Then with the years your adolescence faded like
my blue dye, but I stayed loyal. Why wouldn’t I?
You are my brother, even still, all grown up
with a family of your own.

Lucky is what I feel because ages ago, I thought
I’d be buried beneath piles of clothes at the bottom
of a bag to be given away.
But mostly, I feel privileged for my significance.
I recall her vividly.
She left this world too young, too soon.

You see, when we hang out,
your memories transport you
to that morning when her laughter was music,
her smile was sunlight,
her energy as vibrant as “Joy to the World.”
You travel to the special place in your mind
when your mom was still in your life.

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
My husband’s loyal blue down jacket. ❤️

69 thoughts on “The Blue Down Jacket”

      1. My pleasure – and did I tell you I bought your book? I can’t remember if it told you – but the hard copy went with me for the funeral and we read a few of them at the hotel – and! I even grabbed a photo of my nephew with “more than coffee”
        It was fun!
        I have a few more stories about how the book tabeled with me and I will share jt more later – not sure when I will get the review up – I’ll email you about it
        ;and I like the book so far)

      2. I didn’t know you bought my book, but I’m thrilled! You made my day and that photo is one I’d love to see. 🙂 I’m glad you’re enjoying the memories. And I appreciate your review in the future. The book was a nostalgic project, emotional and fun to stroll down memory lane. My next book, a larger poetry collection, will be out around Mother’s Day. By the way, my sister enjoyed your book as she is an avid bird lover. ❤️🥰

      3. Oh thanks for sharing that your sister read and liked Avian Friends
        do you think you could ask her to leave a note on Good reads about it? I still need to set up the page for it – but will do that this weekend.
        also – two more things – firs of all, because your book was nicely priced – I was able to get the paperback copy and not merely the e-book – sometimes authors make their paperbacks too expensive (why?) and so I just get the Kindle version – but I prefer to get a nicely priced paperback and then I can take the books on trips or bring them to work – so because yours was so nicely priced – it got some extra attention – or just some different attention – because those e-books can get shared and discussed too
        —
        anyhow, just an offer – if you want me to help promo your Mother’s Day book release – I can add that into my post about “more than coffee”
        send me an email – okay?

      4. You’re very welcome! And I’d love to ask my sister, but she’s not a review writer. Many people aren’t and both of my sisters fall in that category. They didn’t write reviews for my book, but they loved the book. 🙂 I posted my review for your book on Amazon a while ago (hope you saw that, along with my blog post), but I can post on Goodreads too, and I can even add a note about my sister enjoying it. I’ll do that this weekend. Hope that will help. 🙂 As to my new book, the cover’s not ready, but I do have the title, so I can send you a little info. on it. That is so kind of you, so thank you in advance! As to e-books or paperbacks, I always buy paperbacks because I love the feel of the book in my hands. If those aren’t an option and I really want the book, then I’ll buy the e-book, but it’s just not the same. I don’t want to read a book on a screen. I have enough screen time. 🙂 But if they’re super pricey, then I’ll wait a bit too. So I understand and am so glad you were able to get the paperback. The cover is sentimental as I took the photo on one of our backpacking trips in the Sierra Mountains. Fun fact. 🙂 Anyway, I’ll email you this weekend, along with posting my review on Goodreads. Others have posted More than Coffee reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Those for me are the main book sites. Happy Friday and I’ll email you over the weekend. 💞

      5. Well remind your sisters that all kind of reviews are welcome on good reads – and Amazon -!!
        this is not just for me – it is a general comment to encourage them to leave reviews even if short!!
        ***
        A mistake people make is to skip a review because they “don’t write good ones” and another mistake some folks make is to feel like they have to write high level reviews –
        Sigh!
        Both have drawbacks
        This who write high level reviews might write less because of the time it takes (or maybe they whip them out quickly because the review process can get faster if anyone does it enough)
        Those who leave short and simple reviews have the drawback if maybe not being specific enough – and so it might have less interest or weight than more detailed reviews!
        —
        But simple reviews add up and enough people leave “I liked this book a lot”
        It can stack to make an impact !
        So I would have your sister’s make an account and leave one sentence reviews
        Have them ponder any book and then challenge self to leave one sentence for a handful of books!
        It will demystify the experience and trying to come up with one good sentence can be super fun
        And sometimes leads to a better review than the pros who talk about plot arc or book sections
        – and while all kinds of reviews have value / so many folks stay away from chiming in because of the long reviews
        –
        My father n law had one line after reading Lady by the River
        “I couldn’t put it down”
        And he was going to leave that as a review but passed away.
        Anyhow –
        The perceptions and filters need to be considered
        😉
        I look forward to emailing and have a great day

      6. I couldn’t agree with you more, Yvette. That’s how I felt before I started writing reviews. But after time, I fell into a rhythm, which also occurs with more practice. Maybe I’ll give it a try. I’m also not good at asking for reviews, regardless of who I’m asking. 🙂 By the way, what is your email? I couldn’t find it? Or should I contact you via your blog form? Mine is baydreamer25@gmail.com.

      7. I will email you first –
        and just so you know – I am terrible about rounding up reviws too – hence my FIL never got his out there
        and my mother n law and her new hubby both read (and loved) Avian Friends but never shared a review and I let it go – sigh
        so I think our gracious side means we don’t pounce on people – hahahah a
        –

      2. I am thrilled, Cindy! So happy to “hear” that! I’m now working on my next poetry collection that will be out around Mother’s Day. 💗 And I’m currently reading Hidden in Childhood, enjoying the myriad of emotions the poems evoke, especially yours. Hugs ❤️🙏🏻😘

    1. Thanks very much, Sue! I appreciate your wonderful words. And you’re right about memories. My MIL passed away so young and never got to meet our children. Still sad after all these years, but we hold onto those special memories (and I write poems). 🙂 Hugs, dear friend. xoxo

      Reply

      1. Yes its is so sad.. My Granddaughters other Grandma passed away when she was only 2 weeks old.. And I know my DIL still feels the pain of her passing… Holding you in Love.. ❤

    1. Thanks for your beautiful words and visit, Karima. I’m glad my poem resonated with you, except for the fist to your chest. But we all know that’s part of life, missing loved ones when they pass and allowing emotions freedom. Thanks again! ❤️🙏🏻

      Reply
  16. Jane Sturgeon

    Precious memories, beautifully captured with your words and your husband’s blue down jacket. All connected by love, as are we. xXx 💕😘💕

    Reply
  19. Matt

    Really nice honey!
    I don’t use my old friend like I use to, but when I recall all we’ve been through, we will never part.
    LU M

    Reply

  23. What a beautiful, sweet and touching poem Lauren.
    Some things hold memories and when we think about them, we are good for a ride into the past. Sometimes it feels so good, as your poem is showing us.
    Thank you for this good moment ❤️❤️

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Marie. I love your words, “we are good for a ride into the past.” Well said. I saw this jacket hanging in the closet and talked about it with my hubby. And then I wrote, knowing it had a story to tell. Some parts adventurous, and some sentimental. I appreciate your wonderful comment. Have a lovely weekend ahead. ❤️💐

      Reply

I appreciate your thoughts!

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s