Shy
pearl light
dances to
adorning the
past

My Dad wore a working mans suit. He held a leather briefcase in his left hand. He began work early in the morning and arrived home late at night.

As soon as my Mum, Brother and I heard the knock on the old wooden door we knew he was home. Mum would open the door as my brother and I sat solitary on his shiney black shoes. We held onto his legs for dear life. My Dad walked into the lounge room. We unclinged ourselves laughing on the carpeted floor and allowed him to rest. We watched the television under the mother of pearl lamp shade.

In my bedroom hangs the lamp shade that once was in my family lounge room. It reminds me of my family memories as the same patterned pastel light dances across my ceiling. The light pours onto my walls of collaged photos, pictures, cards, gifts and the quote "My dream is to find happiness in my everyday life".


Tears
drowning

with a smile
to beautiful
you

From a distance, I examined my bedroom wall of collaged photos and frowned. I reached toward a recent photo of my friends and peeled it off the wall. I held the photo in both hands and stared at the faces. I scrunched it into a ball and placed it on my desk.

I scanned across the other 31 photos and took three steps backwards. I sat on my bed. An arm outstretched along my back and gave a limp hug. He said "What about the rainbow photo I made for you?" I turned around and kneeled on the floor. My eyes leveled with his. I replied "Sweetie, some photos belong in my photo album. They carry a feeling of weight." I sighed heavily. I raised my arms and gave him a bear hug. "The memoriable photos will stay up on my wall."

I turned my body around and stood up. I walked over to my desk and picked up a brown teddy bear. I held the teddy bear to my chest as I sat on the floor. He out stretched his arm and slid the bear out of my arms. He closed his eyes and hugged the bear. I questioned him "You know who I got that from?" He held it tighter "It's from my Nana.".

I leaned my head on a side so he would not see the tears run down my face. I lifted my hands to my face to wipe the excess water and laid down on my back. I smiled.


A
life we
share no more
than it takes to
grow

When I was in kindergarten my Grandparents gave me a teddy bear. Years later, the simple gesture of a hug from a loved one towards the bear showed me a link from the past into the present.

My past shaped me. I am now 19 and I have found happiness in my everyday life. I have a dream to become a Preschool Teacher, a Childrens Psychologist or an Art Therapist. I would like to help people and give to another person what others have shared with me.