John's Gratitude

My Yellow Rose

You have ever been my Yellow Rose.

From the first day that we met, you have brought beauty into my life.

Your eyes so bright, your smile so soft,

And your winsome laugh could warm even the coldest of days.

You decorated each day with your creativity.

Your tremendous energy and spontaneity transformed

What might have been a mundane life into a daily adventure of fun and laughter.

You were a true lady. Modest and gracious; delicate, yet strong.

Your strength of spirit never wavered in crisis.

You ever and always amazed me.

How I have loved you, and I always will.

You have been my spice of life for twenty-seven years.

I will miss gazing into your sparkling green eyes.

I will miss your wit, your heart, your spirit, and your brightness.

I will miss your passion for learning,

And how you would share with me each new discovery.

I will miss your heart-stopping beauty.

I will miss you My Love, my everlasting love.

I commit you now to the Savior we worship together.

In His hands you will rest, until I am able to follow you there.

Wait for me my love.I will be looking first for you, my Yellow Rose.

Dear Tammy,Please also post my deepest gratitude to the entire ODB community. Helen loved you all! I am reading the comments, which are a salve to my sorrow. God bless you all.

John, Helen's husband of 27yrs, will be reading this to Helen at her service and wanted me to share his Yellow Rose.

One Last Deep Breath

Helen has lost her battle with ALS. She passed, surrounded by her loving family on May 5th. Her family read her blog so if you would like to leave your condolences I'm sure they will get them. She loved this club and writing haiku. You all supported her by giving her a voice and I know she would have thanked you.

Wrapped in angel wings

soul lifted up to heaven

yellow rose is home

I will miss you Helen!

Love always, Tammy

SPRING

season of winter
becomes spring blossom by blossom
as the frost is slain

BREATHING - HAIKU

Since my lungs are getting weaker because of ALS, I sleep with a Bi-Pap machine which helps my lungs exhale.



My breathing is slow
all I get is a thin stream of it
I inhale anyway.

MY DNA

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Life

I am often asked how I am doing. My stock answer is ‘as well as can be expected, under the circumstances.’ The truth is, I’m never sure which part of the question to answer. Life has a kaleidoscopic quality – something beautiful one minute followed by something different the next. Constantly changing, never precisely repeatable – a captivating swirl of events, memories, and emotions. What I’ve noticed this year is that thoughts, events, and emotions swirl by so fast that I don’t have a chance to settle in to a single, enduring reaction to the whole experience. I think I’m glad for that, even though it’s tiring to swing through such a wide array of emotions several times each day. Sometimes I wish desperately for a different reality; sometimes I realize how extremely lucky I have been.

One Deep Breath - "Mud" Haiku

Hi everyone! This is Tammy from The Daily Warrior and I wanted to let everyone know that Helen has been adjusting to some big changes in her life due to her ALS. She is struggling with her speech and typing. She wants you to know that she reads your haiku each week and it means alot to her to be part of One Deep Breath. She is having very hard days and I know you will keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

She fights for her life
feeling alone in the mire
we can lift her up