Time For A Rona Rhyme

My Son's Paper Flower Bouquet!

One of my son’s school projects was to create a flower arrangement with flowers made of paper.  Now, my son is a huge fisherman, so I can see him making paper fish maybe, but, paper flowers?  Hmmm.  He’s the type of guy that could easily wear a T-shirt that says, “I might look like I’m listening, but in my head…I’m fishing.”

During this quarantine, he and I have actually had quite a few talks about fishing.  I even have dreams about fishing now.  In fact, last week, I dreamed that I caught a record-breaking grouper.  It was gigantic!  Guess what I caught it with?  Chocolate.  Yes, fishermen, listen up…you might be on to something if you start using chocolate for bait!  Ha ha!

Anyway, in between my son watching videos on how to fly-fish, which rods and reels are best, and secret fishing “honey-holes”…he needed to sit down, focus, and create a floral masterpiece…from paper.  And, he did it!  Wow!  He sure did!  I was so impressed with his finished product.  My girls jumped in on the fun and helped to make some, too.  My children never cease to amaze me!

My ten-year-old daughter then grabbed an old magazine, cut out one of the pages, and made a beautiful flower for her recycled project, following her brother’s lead.  It was inspiring to see something so breath-taking come from something as simple as paper!

It made me think that even simple words, when put together in a special way, can create something new to enjoy.  For me, that’s a rhyme.  So, I figured it might be time for a Rona rhyme!

Rona, Rona…are you STILL here?

The unwelcomed guest who stays all year!

How long will you seriously be around?

We’re all feeling a bit unwound.

It’s now respectful to NOT shake a hand,

It’s something that’s just so hard to understand.

Hugs are no longer a way to show love,

This craziness is nothing I’ve ever dreamed of.

We show family our love by staying away,

That’s difficult to grasp on any given day.

The refrigerator talks to us, “Girl, step back!”

“You cannot be hungry for another snack!”

Stretchy waistbands say, “Don’t worry.  You’re fine!”

“You can start exercising after some wine!”

We’ve all become teachers…ready or not!

Even though math is a thing we forgot.

You made us lose track of weeks and days,

We just walk around in a Netflix haze.

We TikTok here and we TikTok there,

We barely wash or brush our hair.

Children are wearing the same clothes for Zoom,

We call it our homeschool uniform…Boom!

Now, we wear masks and live in alarm,

Before biting, mosquitoes sanitize my arm!

Rona, Corona, Covid-19,

Please, go away, you’re being too mean.

You made our world stand completely still,

And, truth be told…we’ve had our fill.

While you are here, you ARE teaching us though,

We need home, faith, and family more than we know.

We have time to feel grateful for people and things,

Building courage to handle whatever life brings.

We’re superheroes by just staying home,

Saving lives by choosing not to roam.

We’re learning what we’re capable of,

We’re especially learning new ways to love.

While we’re ready for you to go, Rona, please!

We’ll hold on to the memories; get down on our knees.

Lord, help us remember the lessons we’ve learned,

During Corona…when lives overturned.

As I look at the bright bouquet of flowers that my children made from simple paper, I’m reminded to enjoy some of the simplicity of these days.  While unpredictable, worrisome, and difficult as the days can be, let’s try to look for the simple joys around us. 

Let’s pray that God will give us the special sight to see and appreciate these joys.  Last week, I found joy…in paper flowers…and chocolate bait.

You can do it, Sunshines!  I believe in you.  God does, too.  Bye for now.

My Daughter's Paper Flower