For my Mom

 I often remember walking some land with my Mom in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The land was for sale and we were walking to the house site. I think I was 7 or 8.  She spotted a lady's slipper on the forest floor and knelt down to lift some leaves around it so I could behold the treasure she had found.  I do not remember what the lady's slipper looked like. I'm not sure I could point one out to you today.

I do remember the sunlight streaming through the trees and the feel of my hand in hers. I remember her reddish brown hair as I stood above her. I can see her smile as I squatted beside her and turned to look at her face. I remember how it felt to have my mother all to myself and have her share something with me. Just me.
    
Don't get me wrong. I was never neglected or forgotten.  As one of 8 children (and a twin to boot) I rarely had time alone with my Mom. She was my biggest fan and my kindest critic. I thought well into adulthood that I was my mother's favorite and only gave that notion up when I realized she loved each of us enough to make us all feel that way. I wonder if she had asked us all to go and I'm the one that said yes? Did she know that I was the one that would enjoy it the most? I wonder what she would remember about that day?
   
My mother and I have shared many awe-inspiring sights. One of my earliest memories is being wakened in the middle of the night when we lived in Juneau, Alaska to stand in the yard and watch the Northern Lights. She and I have stood together at the base of the Delicate Arch in Moab, Utah, and at Mesa Verde, Colorado. We have stood in silence at countless sunsets over the Great Smoky Mountains here in our own back yard.
    

Yet, I hold a sacred place in my heart for those few stolen moments with my Mom when she knelt on the forest floor to show me a wildflower. That memory comes to me often. When I see something precious or beautiful. When my daughter reaches up to hold my hand. When I think about or talk about or write about moments that glitter, I think of my Mom. I love you Margie.

Open your hearts and your minds ~ Carmen

Moments That Glitter

How many comments akin to, "you should write a blog!" does it take before a 40 year old pediatrician who dabbles in photography and writing thinks "maybe I will..."?
Not many apparently. Ha! I'm kind a like that owl in the old tootsie pop commercials. So here we go!

I think most of the people who said such things were  hoping for comic relief and I'm sure there will be much of that here. True that I survived the rigors and general mental and physical punishment of Medical School at the University of Utah Medical school and that I have been a happy and successful pediatrician in the mountains of North Carolina for the past 9 1/2 years. However, I am and always have been a little quirky, clutsy and goofy. Despite my best intentions most things in my personal life tend to get just a little off kilter.

I'm not one to roll with it or go with the flow. Those attributes describe my twin sister Kimmy perfectly but not me. That brings us to the reason I decided to write things down for others to peruse and to muse. Maybe I'll learn to take myself less seriously? Maybe others will chip in and say things like "hey, me too!" or "you think that's bad, guess what happened to me!". Maybe. 

I hope you all like the title. My next thought about writing a blog was that I wanted to share  little moments that change me and touch me and never leave me. What if we all took the time to notice those moments? What if we all took the time to share them with each other?  The title comes from a song that I wrote.  (It's not bragging if its blogging! Right?)

open your hearts and your minds,
                                                    Carmen


Moments that Glitter by Carmen Arkansas Nations

Who do you think of when your world turns gray?
Where does your mind turn when memories stray?
A friend on the playground so long ago,
she came in the spring time and stayed through the snow.
A father who held on just long enough to say
how much he loved you and then slipped away.

There are moments that glitter in the dullest of lives.
Moments we cling to in this whirlpool of time.
Come dance just a little while my hand in yours.
Come drink of this sunshine, our cup runneth 'or.


Some times ring out they shine bright and clear.
Witnessed by others in triumph and cheer.
That home run, that touch down ,the lead in the play.
The blue sky, the white veil of your wedding day.
Dreams come true and answers come. Your there in the sun.
The feeling is yours to hold as life marches on.

There are moments that glitter in the dullest of lives.
Moments we cling to in this whirlpool of time.
Come dance just a little while my hand in yours.
Come drink of this sunshine, our cup runneth 'or.

In a quiet soul and peaceful mind treasure does lie.
There for the taking if we'll take the time.
A walk with your Mama, a sister's embrace.
The laugh of a dear one, the curve of his face.
This time we spend it passed by and  rarely leaves a mark
except on the stories we tell in our hearts.

There are moments that glitter in the dullest of lives.
Moments we cling to in this whirlpool of time.
Come dance just a little while my hand in yours.
Come drink of this sunshine, our cup runneth 'or