“When I’m Sixty-Four” & More!

On March 25, 2025March 25, 2025 By Lauren Scott, AuthorIn Poetry139 Comments

There’s a lot happening in this post today, so I will start by thanking my friend, Dawn Pisturino, for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. I haven’t seen awards for over a decade, from when I first joined this amazing community. I’m grateful that Dawn thought of me. I like to think that my blog does spread sunshine, although sometimes, life throws curve balls, which is why this month hasn’t been a good example. Anyway, thank you so much, Dawn! Time won’t allow me to follow through with this lovely award, but I am grateful for your kindness! 🙏

The nominee is given questions to answer, so please visit Dawn’s post to learn more about her and to see the other wonderful bloggers she nominated: https://dawnpisturino.wordpress.com/2025/03/22/sunshine-blogger-award/

Then yesterday I was surprised with another award! Should I play the lottery? 😃
My good friend, Ernie from The Dawghouse, recently created an awesome award called “Dawghouse Choice Pawsome Blog Award.” When I posted several times this month about our beloved dog, Copper, passing on March 3rd, Ernie was touched. So, please click on the following link to read his post that brought tears for me: https://dawgydaddyresponds.org/2025/03/24/dawghouse-choice/ Thank you, Ernie! Now I’m touched by your kindness! 🙏

If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Dawn or Ernie, I encourage you to pay their sites a visit. They’re both amazing writers and have so much to offer to this warm blogging community. I’m honored to know them both. ❤️
https://dawnpisturino.wordpress.com/ & https://dawgydaddyresponds.org.

Copper’s passing took over my creativty this month, with the exception of my last two posts. Writing helped me move through the grief, and as a result, a book is taking shape. A collection of poetry not only about Copper when he was with us, the joy he brought us, but also about grieving. My wish is that my words will help others in a similar situation. All of my energy has been poured into this unexpected but therapeutic project. More info. to come as I make progress.

***A happy, young Copper years ago.*** 🧡

So, I missed writing about the new season that has arrived, Spring. Instead of a new poem, I’m sharing an oldie that expresses the transition between winter and spring. I hope you enjoy!

A Cup of Spring

Miss Spring sips her tea
as we anticipate her arrival.
She says, “Be patient, for
soon I will bring you
colors so pleasing and
new life, delightful.
But first, Mr. Winter must
finish acting out his scene.

Previously published in my memoir: More than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose

And lastly, this is out of the norm for me, but since this month has been anything but normal, a song came to mind because it’s fitting for today:

Did you guess? Yes! Light 64 candles for yours truly! Here’s my version (not Beatles worthy), but worthy for my day:

Sixty-Four Candles on the Carrot Cake

Another year has buzzed by
like jets in the big blue.
I repeat, “Where does the time go?”
I know some of you
join me in wondering too.
Memories transport me
through the last twelve months
where I walked with smiles,
tears followed when due.
This body doesn’t feel old,
age is just a number,
but it yawns a bit,
and yet, gratitude rests in my heart
for more than complaints justify.
He’s older by one year
so we’re both climbing the ladder.
We still give each other cards
in spite of any gray hair
and nice to know there’s a perk
in one more year with Medicare!
I’m not afraid to say the numbers;
every laugh line has been well-earned.
I’m thankful for my roots,
for perseverance, and for my bones
that continue to hang in there!
So, light those candles,
extinguisher on the sidelines,
Cheers to another year of life,
my husband – best friend,
my daughter and son,
all of my family,
my friends,
despite hurdles on the path,
I have won, so bring on the fun!

My son made this delicious carrot cake (my fave)
a few years ago.

My husband’s birthday was last month and Copper ‘gave him a card’ and also landed in several photos. I will miss my Copper Boy as I celebrate another year of life. Love you, Copper! Life can be bittersweet. ❤️😢

Well, thank you for being here today, and for reading this long post!
Thank you for lending me support throughout my blogging journey.
Thank you for being you! Have a wonderful day! ❤️💫🎉🥂

Most People

On October 25, 2018October 27, 2018 By Lauren Scott, AuthorIn Discussion, Music39 Comments

Dear Friends,

There’s been a lot going on, which has taken me away from blogging. So, I apologize for missing your wonderful posts, but I hope to start reading again soon. In the meantime, I’m sharing a song that struck a chord with me. Luke Bryan is one of our favorite country music singers, and if you like country music, then you’ll know who he is. If you’re not a fan of this genre, then I invite you to listen to the words because they truly say it all. With all the hate and violence, Luke sings, “Most people are good.” This song encourages us to still believe in humanity and not focus 100% on what the media shows us.

With continued heartbreak in the world and with our daily doses of stress of various types, I thought this song would be a soothing addition to your day. It might also change your outlook if you’re struggling to find the good. I hope you enjoy it! Lauren ❤🎵🎶

Smorgasbord of Fun

On May 3, 2018 By Lauren Scott, AuthorIn Awards, Blogging21 Comments

Two lovely friends recently nominated me for awards and a quote challenge. Even though I haven’t
participated in awards for years, I feel compelled to graciously accept them both. However, instead of nominating individuals, I’m leaving it up to anyone who wants to follow through. It’s too hard to choose, anyway, because you’re all deserving!

Part 1 – I was nominated by Sarah at secretartexpedition.wordpress.com for the Blogger Recognition Award. Thank you so much, Sarah, for thinking of me and for the beautiful words you wrote about my blog, too. In accepting this award, we need to write a brief story of how our blog was started. So, here goes…

“When I turned fifty and since I love to write poetry, my son suggested that I start a poetry blog. I had never blogged before and really only heard about the world of blogging after watching the movie, “Julie and Julia” about a woman (superbly played by Amy Adams) who sets a deadline of one year to prepare all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Meryl Streep played the role of Julia exquisitely. As Julie cooked throughout that year, she also blogged about her experiences, some good, some stressful. Not only was it a great movie, but I was intrigued.

Soon after, I took my son’s suggestion, and that was in 2011! Throughout the years, it’s been an enlightening journey of making amazing friends, as well as, a growing experience in writing.”

In accepting this award, we’re also supposed to give advice to new bloggers, so here is mine:
“Think of something you’re truly passionate about, then embed that passion into your blog posts. Don’t worry about stats – just have fun, then see what follows.”

Here are the Rules for the Blogger Recognition nominees:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide links to their blog.
Write a post to show your award.
Attach the award to your post.
Write a brief story of how your blog started.
Give a piece of advice to new bloggers.
Select the other 15 blogs you want to give the award to.
Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them.
Be inspired to live your best life every day.

growingselfbloggerawardimg_7849-e1495735162603 Sarah also nominated me for the Growing Self Blogger Award.

This award has been created by Roda from over at Growing Self and you can read in her own words what it is about:

“The Growing Self Blogger Award has been created to acknowledge and celebrate amazing individuals, in the blogging community, who are persevering through life’s challenges not only to GROW as individuals, but to reach out and help others GROW as well.”

Thanks again, Sarah! I’m honored on both counts!

And here are the rules to this award:

1. Put the award logo/image on your blog.
2. List the rules.
3. Thank the individual who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
4. Describe the award and mention the creator: Roda _ Growingself.blog.
5. Nominate up to 5 blogs. Remember, the purpose of this award is to specifically celebrate those individuals who have made a difference in your life or the lives of others.
6. Give at least 1 reason why you nominated each individual.
7. Notify your nominees of the award.

I want to finish this part by saying that if you haven’t visited Sarah’s blog yet, please do so. She is the most amazing painter, and each time I pop on over, I am in awe of her talent. Below is her recent painting of Franklin – watercolor on paper, April 2018. Isn’t he absolutely adorable? And Franklin is just one example of Sarah’s ability to beautifully portray nature with the means of a skilled artist.

duckling

Part 2 – I was nominated by Annika at annikaperry.com to participate in The 3 Day Quote Challenge. I’ve always loved quotes and their ability to personally resonate for some reason or another.

For the next three days, I will be posting a quote and explaining why it’s made an impression on me, though life probably won’t allow me to do posts three consecutive days in a row. So, rules are meant to be broken! 🙂

To the challenge…The rules are as follows:

Thank the person who nominated you.
Post a quote on 3 consecutive days.
Share why this quote appeals so much to you.
Nominate 3 different bloggers for each day.

Thanks so much to Annika for this nomination! She is an amazing fiction writer, who can tell stories that evoke every little emotion inside of you. Her debut book, “The Storyteller Speaks” read more like a #1 on the bestseller list. It was a page-turner and definitely a book that can’t be put down. Please pay Annika a visit and while you’re there, you can purchase a copy of her book simply by clicking on the book image on her sidebar. It’s as easy as that!

Now for my quote. Funny thing is I heard “Have it All” by Jason Mraz today for the first time and absolutely loved it. What first came to mind after listening to both words and music was simply happiness! Happy, Happy, Happy! After watching the video, you can’t help but feel good. So, instead of sharing a quote, I’m going to share the first part of this song, which is more like a wish for you…

“May you have auspiciousness and causes of success
May you have the confidence to always do your best
May it take no effort in you being generous
Sharing what you can, nothing more, nothing less
May you know the meaning of the word happiness
May you always lead from the beating in your chest
May you be treated like an esteemed guest
May you get to rest, may you catch your breath

And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow

I want you to have it all (have it all)

And now you have reached the end, but not without the video link so you can get yourself some happiness, too: https://youtu.be/BFkTu8Y1KLs.

Please note: I was able to link the video, but for some unknown reason, I was unable to link Sarah and Annika’s blogs, but you can copy and paste. They’re in red font so not to miss them.

I hope you enjoyed this post, in spite of its lengthiness, and found some little tidbit that brightens your day….because “I want you to have it all!” ❤

“Let the words fall out”

On June 3, 2013June 11, 2013 By Lauren Scott, AuthorIn Music12 Comments

Sara Bareilles – Brave

I’ve been singing this song around the house
and absolutely love it…
the music, the lyrics, the message,
and, of course, Sara’s awesome voice.
Instead of writing a poem, using this song as inspiration,
I chose to post the lyrics, as they are truly powerful
and speak for themselves.
(I also deleted some of the repetitious background verses.)

You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do
And they settle ‘neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

Everybody’s been there, everybody’s been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

Innocence, your history of silence
Won’t do you any good
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don’t you tell them the truth?