She hath wings

Learning to soar above life's storms

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about

I am a wife and mother of three beautiful children. I love to write, do craft, cook, visit the beach, shop, go for walks in picturesque places, play music and sing.

  • The Social

    It seems like it was just yesterday –

    The Grand Chain and the Strathspey-

    My purple skirt and cheery face

    Dancing lithely in the space!

    Travelling step, then right and left

    The music churning; timing kept-

    Those were the days of love and dreaming;

    Cares forgotten- face kept beaming.

    Easy to imagine that I could go far,

    As I danced the pas de basque.

    On and on, the music played-

    With energy I could have stayed

    Yet sadly I laid those shoes to rest

    Thinking that it would be best.

    *****************

    Now my daughter learns sevens with ease

    Over two threes and skipping knees

    A fun way for energy to burn …

    I have a notion to return!

    The Scottish dance continued on

    The Irish too, when it was gone.

    It doesn’t matter what I choose;

    My feet were born for dancing shoes.

    © M.Patterson 21.8.22

  • Yes You Can Change!

    Notebook ready,

    A list is made;

    Timeline, SMART goals –

    Mood is frayed!

    How to step over

    A sizeable rut?

    Food the medicine,

    For the wounds that cut.

    Then there was injury-

    So much of that;

    Nothing was going to

    Whisk away fat!

    Well-meaning family

    Didn’t understand ;

    Circumstances seemed to be

    Out of my hand.

    The will to change existed-

    Just a really bad run;

    Yet somehow I’d finish ,

    What was begun.

    The children were keen

    To see me recover-

    It would have been a dream

    To have an energetic mother

    Yet the years crept by

    And tears fell a-plenty

    Nothing would motivate;

    I ran on empty!

    Slowly, something

    Now starts to emerge-

    The past being processed

    I get the urge

    To throw off this weight,

    And find my true face-

    No better situation

    Than this time and space.

    Little by little,

    (Consistency the key!)

    I find this path

    Is freeing me.

    Not for praise

    Or stealing the scene,

    Living more fully

    Is what makes me want ‘lean’!

    Today is a new day

    With much hope within it

    I’m going to choose well

    Until the time that I get fit-

    On and on,

    This journey will go;

    No doubt with a change

    My heart will soon grow.

    **********************

    Ready to receive

    All that life has in store,

    You and I can change

    So we can live more.

    © M.Patterson 17.8.22

  • Returning From The Rubble

    Returning From The Rubble

    To say it crippled me, would be an understatement. Not only had I lost Dad, but my health kept taking a nose-dive, the house fell further and further into disarray, and my motivation was about as strong as Solomon’s in the book of Ecclesiastes, who wrote, “ Everything is meaningless!”. Little pockets of energy powered me now-and -then, but it took some time to come to this realisation; life moves on. I was waiting for things to improve before I embraced the moment. Now I know this must be turned on its head. Time waits for no one. Yes I may carry a pain around in my heart every day, but I can still be purposeful. Trials will come and go just as they did before Dad took sick, but it doesn’t mean I can’t accomplish things of worth. I had believed the lie- that my happiest days were over. No! It’s time to get up and live. Now is not a time to hide away. Now is a time to share some of the many things I carry in my head and heart.

  • Princess Mozella

    Princess Mozella

    Today my little princess has a birthday. When indulging in pretend play, she often calls herself “Princess Mozella”. She is only a few years old and yet she has achieved a lot in a short space of time and is growing every day.

    Today we hosted a little afternoon tea with a couple of games and a Frozen theme. Her friends were so excited to dress up as princesses. What a wonderful thing it was to sit back with a few other adults and watch the children use their imagination. It was refreshing to see them happy with simple things and not requiring a screen.

    They played musical statues, “keepy uppy” (keeping a balloon in the air) , made masks and did a “snowball throw”; (the boys who were taller, had to throw plastic balls into the trampoline while the girls I the trampoline tossed them out, pretending they were in a castle). They also searched for little objects I had hidden around the room and swapped each one for a lolly.

    The cake was an ice cream cake remodelled with pre-made Frozen cut outs on top. This was a real hit and it was good that it suited the little girl who needed to avoid gluten.

    The kids reluctantly went home just after 5pm and we knew the afternoon had been a success. Days like today make me brave enough to organise and host more play dates in future and even offer babysitting!

    Princess Mozella will no doubt change her name a number of times and one day, disappear, but for now, the rest of the family enjoys her theatrical ways. Life for her is a musical and she takes centre stage, making sure there are at least 3 or 4 costume changes a day!!!

  • Ode To One Who Cares

    Your reassuring hand on my shoulder,

    Your empathetic eyes;

    A rare gem who cares more than many in the field,

    Clear-thinking and wise.

    Never-judging- always positive ,

    Declaring the distance I’ve come;

    You make the mountains shrink away

    And affirm all the hope that’s begun.

    You’re a calming influence ; Your humour disarming-

    As well as healing hands-

    I’ll never forget your timely words

    And the knowledge, ‘he understands’.

    © M. Patterson 8.3.22

  • A Little Howdy!

    A Little Howdy!

    Dear Readers,

    It has been quite some time since I wrote anything and published it on this site. I haven’t forgotten about writing. In fact, I am on the brink of trying something new. I am going to learn some skills to help me try my hand at writing a children’s book. For many years now, I have had the desire to write and publish something, yet I knew I needed to know more about drafting and publishing my work. One of the local mums I know, led me to an online course and has inspired me to start the process. My Dad, who I am missing very intensely (I lost him early November), encouraged me to make some goals and learn what I need, encouraging me that I had the seeds I needed to write well. In a season of healing and processing loss, what a wonderful thing it is to have a love of writing. I believe it will be a source of comfort and sorting out the myriad of thoughts which are all clamouring for attention.

    I am wondering what your favourite books were as a child, or what, in your opinion, are must-haves in a good picture book? Please comment below this post. I will reply as soon as I can.

  • Farewelling My Father

    Farewelling My Father

    Just a few short months on and I am now crying, not tears of anticipation, but of farewell. I watched my dear father pass away – that very spiritual moment when his soul left his body and went to be with the Lord, almost 2 weeks ago. This week we will celebrate his life and are fortunate to have a larger number to be there to support us than when his illness first began, thanks to the double vaccination rate being over 80%. I learnt so much in the last weeks of Dad’s life and though there weren’t many days between his homecoming from hospital and when he breathed his last, I will always treasure the precious times I spent with him and the words he spoke personally to me. Writing is something he always encouraged in me and yet it was so hard to even pick up a pen in his final days or shortly afterward. It will be my honour to stand and tell his friends and family and one day, perhaps a broader audience, about the impact of Dad’s life on mine. Like a unexpected gift, the words came to me and flowed together, succinct enough to not require much reworking. I wish, like so many other loved ones of his, that I could have had more time to ask him all the things I wanted to know and to tell him more from my own heart. Yet the important words were spoken. “I love you. I’m proud of you. God has a plan for you…”. I walked into his room as he was unconcious and dying, and told him, “I love you Dad!” and a dreamy half smile, like a baby having a pleasant dream, came upon his face as it was radiant for a second. That was the last response I had from him and I knew he had heard me. Dad had been there for me in so many ways over the years. Now at last, he could be at peace, knowing his wife and children were with him to say farewell.

  • He Sees You

    Tonight I finally accepted that Victoria wasn’t going to go back to zero Covid cases in the foreseeable future. It was such a blow – we worked so hard for it in 2020 and the start of 2021. If not for those months of respite when we could almost return to life without worry of Covid, I would have wondered if it were in vain.

    Today the Premier stated that case numbers, in fact, would surely increase. Not even the optimist within me could make that go away. I felt the strain already this week – in the midst of our 6th lockdown, and only halfway through as declared today, even the children are increasingly more gloomy, despite their ability to lose themselves in imaginative play. When everyone had gone to bed and I found myself in the quiet at 10.30pm I should have felt elated – silence is hard to come by thesedays. Yet, I wanted company in the room – I just didn’t want to have process anyone else’s issues. I wanted space for my own thoughts. How difficult it is to process them in this season of my life.

    Thinking about some other events this past week, I am able to finally step back from it all. My father experienced a number of miracles which resulted in him being able to recover at home instead of being stuck in hospital for weeks, wondering if he would make it out to see us all again. It seems as though the rollercoaster has finally returned to the ground. It will be a challenging road ahead, but I am so grateful that he is here to tell his story. One day I hope to have permission to write it in full – it would help so many people.

    I watched the news of Kabul closely – feeling as though any lockdown would be better than permanent hiding. It was hard to make sense of how some got rescued but many didn’t. Tonight, I listened to a beautiful song sung by Nicole Mullins which made me cry by the time I was a few minutes in . I was so grateful to the kind friend who sent it to me in the moments when I felt so downcast. It was as if God had tapped her on the shoulder to send it to me, so that I would know the truth.

    It is very easy to feel like a statistic thesedays. You have either had Covid or not had Covid. You have either recovered, are recovering or sadly, you didn’t make it. Life is more than that. Life is precious and unique for each individual. We didn’t lose that in 2020. God didn’t stop noticing us when our world changed forever. He has felt every pain that we have and come alongside us.

    Tonight I was reminded afresh, that God sees me (and you!). I have no less purpose than I had before. I still have access to that same power that raised up Jesus, through knowing and following Him. I’m not defeated or less of a person because I am in a tough season.

    It is so important that we reach out and encourage others in these times. That timely word or song or gift on the doorstep will disarm and keep those channels of communication open. We mustn’t shut down. This is a time to embrace the vulnerable in each other and help each other stay strong.