Winter Wedding

A cool silver morning, hearts are up with the sun. The venue is prepared. Silk drapes and tablecloths of moonlight. Olive and gold run down the tables as the humble centerpiece waits in anticipation for the night. The soft blessing of snow falls down on the blissful morning, but bustling is on the rise. Everyone is getting ready. Shining hairstyles, steady tuxes, and dresses the color of wine. I arrived just before the ceremony and even then it seemed like the bride couldn’t sit still.

Guests file in the church, a mingling of those who know the bride verses the groom. When the piano starts, everyone takes their seats. They try to be quiet with radiant smiles, but as the bridal party ascends the aisle, giggles and gasps of love reach out for them. Everyone is looking their best and sweet awe encourages toddling flower girls to the alter. They tripped, but family was there to pick them up again.

The music changes and the air is stilled with expectation. Everyone stands. The groom’s already crying and his bride has yet to arrive. When she walks into the room, a few have to wipe their tears. She’s as sparkling as the sun in her dress as white as the falling snow. I stole a glance at the groom and he’s lost all composure. His eyes can’t steal away from his bride and you know his heart is as full as his face is flushed.

A proud father manages to keep himself together as he guides the bride down the aisle. Hugs exchange when he passes his little girl to her groom. Whispers only they can hear swap between them. The father loses a bit of composure, but his smile couldn’t be brighter.

Together, the bride and groom kneel before the alter. A foreglimpse, I think, of how they’ll posture through the highs and the lows of their years.

A couple passages from the Word and it comes to the vows. Neither bride nor groom choke up. You can hear their promise to each other from every part of the church. Golden rings are exchanged by trembling hands, but they dare not let go of each other. The bride can’t stop smiling–and giggling–while the groom looks like he’s holding himself together. The flames of two families unite and rivers roll from every eye when the grandmother blesses the couple.

Several more prayers and the newly weds are announced. Cheers echo through the church as they share a long kiss, a sweet seal of their promise. The bride raises the bouquet and, arm in arm, they walk the aisle and celebrate their love with those who love them.

With a firm foundation, and a dedication to each other that even someone who’s never met the groom could see, they embark on a new adventure. Blessings to these two who found their life partner. May they cherish each other and not lose sight of this love throughout their days.

Congratulations, cousin.

One Month Left

Tomorrow marks the start of December. The last month of 2024. Are you ready for it? Are you chomping at the bit for 2024 to be over or do you wish it could last a little bit longer? December is usually a month with a lot going on. Christmas and holiday shopping. Traveling to see family. Rushing to get deadlines done for work. Then, you have the possibility for snow.

Whatever December brings, I hope we’re all able to end the year on a high note. Dreams come true. Good news comes our way. We’re able to be with the ones we love to ring in the new year. Whatever is left in store for us this year, I believe everything will turn out alright.

Hope you’re ready for December, everyone. May you end the year with peace, joy, and love.

I’m Grateful

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Some may spend it with family or friends. Some may be working or maybe you’re spending Thanksgiving alone? Maybe you don’t celebrate it?

Some families have the tradition of going around the table and saying what you’re thankful for. I wanted to do that here and encourage you to think of at least three things you’re thankful for this year.

I’m grateful for family. I can always count on them when I need help. They answer my questions, help me understand, or they’re willing to just stand there as a supporting presence while I freak out over nothing. I’m grateful that I have a family that cares about me and I can care about in return.

I’m grateful for animals. The quirky ones and the stubborn ones. The ones that are being cute without even trying. I love that an animal can make your day. When you earn their trust and it shows. I’m grateful for the ones I’m around are willing to give me a chance.

I’m grateful for stories. The ones that take you on adventures. The ones that share the importance of friendship and how people aren’t meant to be alone. I’m grateful for the imagination and creativity it takes to craft a good story. I love how they may not seem important, but we all have our favorite stories that get us through challenging times. I’m grateful that artists, story writers, and creatives are needed to lift us out of the glum of the day to day.

3 Minute Sprint

Set a timer for three minutes. Put your hands on the keys or grip tightly to your pen. Start writing. Don’t stop until the timer goes off. Don’t think. Just write. Ready? Set. Go.

Okay, what do I write about for three minutes? Well, I see a painting of falling leaves. There’s a comet soaring through space. I just corrected a typo and that killed some time. I see peace on a plane of red. Is is plane? Or plain? You know the large space like the ethereal plane. I think it’s plane. No time to look it up. Sill have over half my time. I see the words “I wish…” and it makes me wonder what to wish for? A dozen spots? To stop writing typos? Maybe a dream come true. It’s usually a dream come true. Then, there’s the canvas of smoke. Black, stained words spill poison like dripping ink upon it. Right in the center, a reminder. That when all the world is dark. You’re still loved. How many times and I going to correct a typo? Ten seconds. What else? Three. Two. And, one.

Done.

That was stressful.

Letter to the Future

Dear Future Me,

I hope you’re doing well. I hope you’re happy and your dreams are coming true. How’s our kitten? Does she still like you? It would be cool someday, years down the road, if you found this in your long list of posts. I like to think you’ll smile. Maybe a tear gets in your eye? Because when you read this, you’ll whisper “don’t worry. It’s better than you think,” like I could somehow hear you. I hope the tears are all worth it and you beat back the doubt. That you’re confident and strong, independent and as creative as ever.

Future me, I hope this takes you back. Back to one hundred thousands words and a letter that brought a twist. I hope you think of that dreamer that we…well, put through the wringer. I hope we figured out his story and got it on the page. All the trials and dangers and adventures he faced. I hope we made it epic and that it matches his end. How that dreamer got back up again.

I hope you’re not afraid to put your heart on the page. That you haven’t grown bitter and you keep getting up again. I hope you have the courage to make our dreams come true. I know it’s a lot to ask from you.

But, you know what? I hope some things don’t change. I hope you still look to the sky for hope in its colors. Find heart shaped clouds and your old friend. I hope you still find the magic in the tiny things like pretending with automatic doors and the way embers dance and sing. I hope you filled out that book of your imagination and we can use it like we’ve always dreamed. There’s so much to dream and so much to wonder. Future me, I hope it’s an adventure.

I think I’ll sign off like our little dreamer. He wrote out of arrogance, but I’ll write out of hope.

Signed, a future author,
Nikki Diekemper

I Can Do

I can build things
I can see things
I’m learning what help can be done

I go with an option
It may not be your first choice
But I go with what I can do

I use what’s around
Make it happen in the now
And I promise you, it’s all true

It may be outlandish
It may not be the easiest
But I try to make it through

Let me do what I have to
Just To get things done
Fix what’s been broken a while

It may not make any sense
But the pretense
Is knowing that I can contribute

I know I can build things
I know I can see things
Just let me prove it to you

An Old Character

I found an old character
From my college days.
He loved being a pilot
Flying everyday.
His most treasured possession
Was, of course, his airplane.
The sky was his love
A big beautiful dame.
On adventures, he’d fly
For his platoon, he made a way.
Yet, his greatest dislike
Was when they entered a cave.
For he feared all the earth
Would be his grave.
A simple character
Was how he was made.
His friends called him “Swift”
But that wasn’t his name.
“I’m the greatest pilot”
That was his claim.
“The world just forgot
To give me my fame.”
I wonder what could’ve happened
If this character became a flame?
And not a forgotten memory
From my college days.

Repeated Adventure

I went on an adventure as a younger girl. It felt like a dream. So many islands with different ages and cultures. Yet, for some reason, I was alone. I found myself with just a notebook and a library of puzzles. How did I get there? I’m afraid I didn’t know. But, to navigate the puzzles was the only option I had to find my way home. I somehow did it. Just me and my little notebook. I still think it was a dream, but it couldn’t have been. Not when I’m staring at the islands again.

How did I get here? The first time I didn’t know and I still don’t know now. The islands don’t look like they changed. The observatory. The tall pines. Even the spaceship on the far shore. It’s all the same like time doesn’t exist. I’m not the young girl I was back then. I don’t remember the answers to the puzzles. How do I get home? Why am I here again?

I start down the dirt trodden path. I remember a secret door down by the docks. I started there before, I’ll start there again. The water laps against the creaky wood. I never touched it last time. I fear to touch it this time. All the puzzles hinted no danger, but the air between the islands. It feels like something is out there, waiting for me to make a mistake.

It takes me a minute, but I figure out how to open the door at the docks. The chamber beneath has something to help me continue. That’s what I remember, at least. It isn’t what I was expecting, though. My notebook sits upon the pedestal. I thought I brought it with me last time. How is it here?

Flipping through the pages. Looking at my notes, images, and maps. I can breath a little easier. With this gift from my younger self, I can make it home again.

On an Old Notebook

I pulled out an old notebook
To see what I could read
And down on its pages
Were dreams written by me

How old was this notebook?
It doesn’t have a date
But the dreams, I do believe
Still ring true today

What’s it say if a notebook
Holds dreams that still ring true
Is it a purpose or a guidance?
Something you were meant to do?

Yet, years stretch the notebook
Some words are faded and gone
Is there a deeper meaning
When a dream takes so long?

Reality makes it’s way in
And tells you its through
There’s no point in trying further
Your dreams die inside of you

What does it mean
To still yearn for a dream?
It is selfishness?
Or a greater scheme?

And what happens when
The world gets in the way?
Kills your dreams
And takes them away?

Yet, still

On an old notebook
To remind you its there
The dream still whispers
To let you know it still cares.

Book Review: Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Last week, I was able to finish my audiobook of Sapphique by Catherine Fisher. It’s the final book in her two-part Incarceron series. From my last book review of Incarceron, you know I wasn’t shy in saying how much I enjoyed the book and Sapphique is just as enjoyable. The old characters and new are likeable. There are twists you don’t see coming in the story and just enough doubt sprinkled throughout to make you question character intentions.

Catherine’s writing was very well done and you could easily paint a picture of the world in your mind. It definitely made me look forward to my long drives to and from work. That’s when I listened to the story the most. There were just a couple minor things that I had issues with in the story. The point of view shifted between the characters a lot during one scene, so keeping track of it got confusing at times. There was also a character in Sapphique who I wasn’t entirely sure what he brought to the story other than the arrival of a certain object, but his personality definitely made some scenes more interesting.

If you read my book review of Incarceron, I mention a character that I was rooting for as a redemption story. Things didn’t turn out with that character like I expected or hoped for, but I’m satisfied with his ending. It would be interesting to read a story following the events of Sapphique and how the characters continued on after its ending, but sometimes, that should be left up to the reader’s imagination.

I definitely recommend the Incarceron series to any lover of fantasy or sci-fi. It’s a great read.

Thank you, Catherine Fisher.