many moons ago.

a while back now my older brother and mother both wrote up their "where i'm from" poems and posted them on their blogs and i decided i would write one and post it too. well, i wrote it that same week and then … somehow i forgot about it until i just found it right now. so although its been a long time coming, and doesn't have as many beautiful photos as mamas or as many unique anecdotes as jarons, here is my poem just the same:

where i'm from
by janaya l. johnson

i am from the smell of rain, from super glue and hot dogs after bedtime.

I am from the big backyard, sunny, prickly, it sounded like squeaky swings and trampoline springs.

i am from the aloe vera plant, the summer tomatoes, warm, firm and juicy.

i'm from the nightly dinners and laughter, from time spent with jayce and overwhelming love for the grandpa i never met.

i'm from no singing at the dinner table, and i can't wait til' daddy gets home! from "i left the key in the dryer" and "you can have it if you can open it".

i'm from helaman 5:12. from "but if not", and Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

i'm from provo to the desert, and "our hearts are tied to the land". from fry bread and beans, and ice cream on porches.

from the regret of not hugging grandma johnson the last time i saw her, and the stubborn ingenuity of maureen, not maurene.

from pictures and projects all packed up in boxes, memories saved for another day.

i am from the scar you can't see and the Father that healed me. from baby blanky and cartwheels and love that's eternal.


welp, i hope that was worth the wait. haha.