Wishcasting Wednesday

What do you wish to step into?

I wish to step into confidence in my talents and abilities.  I wish to learn and grow, knowing that continuing to develop a practice will create a space for the focus that is missing right now.

I wish for the focus that is needed to write the way I want to write and share the way I wish to share.

I wish to encourage and be encouraged by all of those around me who have already found the path I am seeking, and who have their feet firmly planted on it, stepping forward day by day, project by project, friend by friend.

I wish that all those who are wishing today may receive the blessings they desire.

Very First Blog Post 2010

Dear Mom,

Thank you for being my mother; for loving me always and never giving up on me.  Thank you for seeing me through the gawky teen aged years when I longed to fit in, but didn't, and for standing by me when I was a college student hiding my talents because I didn't want to stand out; to be noticed; to be different.

Thank you especially for supporting me through the turmoil of years in a bad marriage.  You knew things were not good, not the way they were supposed to be, even when I was still unable to admit it.  You were always there when I needed you, providing an open ear and as much support as you could muster and I could receive. 

Your steadfast confidence in me has been my North Star and kept me on course through the last twenty years when I was raising your grandchildren alone and trying to make a living, writing and studying in the wee small hours of the morning, and singing like a caged bird.

Now, in your later years, it is my privilege to care for you; to become the vault for your memories, slipping away from your mind and leaving you frustrated and forlorn.  I will hold your hand as you have held mine and we will continue to pass the time together, mother and daughter, great-grandmother and grandma, completing the circle of life assigned to us by God himself, sharing tears and happiness together.

Thank you, Mom, for showing me the way and giving me the freedom to sing.

Love,

Your daughter, Lynn



Looking at the history of my blog with Jamie and Shannon for Kickin' It Old Skool Blog-a-thon!

Coming Out of My Shell

I will be ready to start my new journal sometime in the next few days.  It is always a happy thing for me to begin a fresh book.  It is rewarding to see that I have filled all those blank pages with multi-colored words.  Sometimes they are really good words, sometimes they are achingly sad words, sometimes they show great joy.  Sometimes my words are wonderful and share exactly what I am feeling and what I know to be true about myself and the world around me.  Sometimes they show just how lost and alone I feel.  But all in all, they tell a story of the 'me' that very few people really know. 

I'm not ready to open my journals to show anyone that 'me', but I am happy to share once in awhile a quick short glimpse into that person.  Most of the time I am all smiles and laughter, trying to be encouraging to all those around me.  Then there are times when I see the frightened little girl who is afraid to share her biggest dreams because they are bigger than she is; bigger than what she can hold in a bread box.  But the frightened little girl is trying so very hard to break free and sing aloud in the grocery store and laugh at the rain and open herself to the fear and excitement of new friendships.  She is trying to bolster herself and become more than she is - more than she has been.  More than other people see.

I want to look down into the stream and see the jewels that lie below the water's surface, embedded in the sand and silt below.  I want to see the jewels of my life, not the dull rocks that I have been seeing in the past.  I want to lift them out of the cold water and polish them until they gleam, reflecting the sun's rays and glittering in my hand.  I want to show people that I can be a precious gem, not just a dull rock.  I am struggling to find the way to do that.  I need to move myself forward and discover the right path for me, where my words make sense and my songs are glorious and filled with joy.  I am searching and trying.  I am wandering and wondering.  I am practicing and praying.  I am moving forward. Even though my feet feel mired in the muck, I am moving forward. 

Want to join me?

The Happy Book

I have decided to follow along with Jamie Ridler's group working through
The Happy Book to gain some creative inspiration. So this week's assignment was to pick a mascot and take him with me everywhere I went.
I chose Piglet. He didn't mind accompanying me and leaving the Hundred Acre Wood and Tiger and Pooh for the day. He thought it would be a wonderful adventure. So here are a few reflections on our day together.

Piglet sat with me while I wrote my 1,000 words on 750words.com. He has a keen eye for gramatical mistakes

and was sure to keep me on the right track.

Then we headed for Charleston (SC) for my mother's appointment with the audiologist.

Piglet wanted to know if he should be thinking of a hearing aid, too.

We stopped for lunch at Ye Old Fashioned Sandwich and Ice Cream shop where we had way too much to eat. Then, of course, we stopped for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts on the way home. Piglet insisted.

Piglet was oh so happy to be home. He enjoyed a few quiet moments among the geraniums before he headed back to the Hundred Acre Wood. It was a fun day.

Now it's time to see what next week will hold.

Susie, Susie

Susie, Susie,
quite the floozie,
sat beside the road.
She watched as the
princes and frogs passed by
and then she kissed a toad!

She closed her eyes
and baked three pies,
hoping her plum to find.
But the pies she burned
and the lesson she learned
was to depend upon her mind.

Procrastination

Woo Hoo! A brand spanking new month! A great time to turn over a new leaf. Hmmm...so many possibilities, I can hardly stand it!

Procrastination is the word of the day. What? Me? Procrastinate? Never! Well, hardly ever. Well, maybe once in awhile. Sometimes, I admit I find it difficult to put one foot in front of the other and move forward with whatever I have decided to do, well thought about doing, well considered the possibilities of doing, but then I must consider the ramifications of doing what I have thought briefly of doing. Oh, shucks. Am I really supposed to do that?

Maybe it would be better to wait. I do need to think about it for a little bit, don't you think? Well, tomorrow is another day. Who's to say it won't be a better day to begin a new project? Besides, I have lots of other things to consider at the moment. And maybe, just maybe, I might, you never know, actually do one of those things that I still am considering doing.

But not today. Today is for thinking. Planning. Putting off until another day, tomorrow or the next day.

Now that sounds good. The next day. I have checked my calendar and on the next day I have nothing. No place to be, nothing to do. So that's it. I'll start on the next day. That will give me plenty of time to think about how to start and what to do to begin. I had better check to be sure I have everything I will need to get started. I'd hate to have the next day roll around with that blank calendar box and then not have everything I need to get the ball rolling. That would be a real shame.

And I should probably X out the box on my calendar so nothing else comes up to interfer with my getting started on the next day. That sounds like a good plan.

So, now I'd better get a second cup of coffee and sit here thinking about what else I can put off until later. Maybe later in the day. Maybe this evening. No, evening is not my best time of day. Morning is my best time of day. Morning is when I am fresh and my brain is fully functioning. Evening is when I tend to slump down and take the path of least resistance. So it has to be done in the morning hours, when I am fresh and ready to go. That's the time when I have the most energy.

But not this morning. No, not today. I have already used up too much of my energy and brain power thinking about it today. So the day after tomorrow still sounds like the best plan.

So, today I'm writing about procrastination. But, I'm not a procrastinator, so I don't know what I can say about the subject. So, see you day after tomorrow. I'll be ready to go then. I think.