Monday, May 9, 2016

Mother's Day


I just wanted to send a shout out to my mommy for being the best mommy I could have!  She has always been there for me.  At every doctor appointment, at every hospital stay.  She was there every day after school to dry my tears and feed me food I would eat.  She made me go out and about with her, when I would have rather holed up in my room feeling sorry for myself.  She gave me strength and courage to speak up for myself and be the woman I was meant to be.

I think being a mom is the most difficult job in the world.  It is a thankless job.  You can try the best you can but still wind up with a selfish child.  Or you can be the worst and somehow get lucky with a loving child.  Kids don't come with rule books.  We the unruliest lot, more than any animal.  Yet mothers endure a lifetime of pain and heartache to do this thankless job.

Why do they do this?  I don't know, and I am glad I am not a mom!  But I am eternally thankful for the mom I do have.  She always had good treats for us to eat, and wasn't uptight about our eating habits.  She knew I was fussy, and just made me the things that I was willing to eat.

She sewed our clothes, made clothes for our dolls, and made us quilts.  She makes the best food, and of course, still makes the best desserts.

We have fun together, meeting once a week for coffee at Starbucks.  She is most generous when we go shopping.  She read to me when I was little, developing my love for reading for all my life.  

We enjoy playing trivia games and cards, and we have fun in the midst of competition. She shared her love of Hollywood with me, developing my own interest in film.  

She taught my sister and I manners, to write thank you notes, to balance our checkbooks. She taught us to cook and bake, and how to keep clean our homes.  I am amazed at the people I meet that don't know how to do this stuff.  I guess I just assumed.  But she took her job seriously as a mom, rolling up her sleeves and taking on this most monumental task.  

Yet even so, she loves being a mom.  She never stops worrying about us, telling us to watch out for the deer when we drive away.  She is thoughtful in all she does, is the most loving person I know.

I am blessed to have such a mommy.  I don't know what I would do without her.  She is the one who encourages me and keeps me strong.  I love my mommy.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Why I Write


I read a post from a fellow blogger, who was lamenting that he worries about how well or poorly received his new book was.  I know how that feels.  I self-published 3 books last year and got little to show for it.  I did get one response from a publisher who was interested in my memoir, but after having an overpaid lawyer look at the contact, I was advised that it was not good, so I declined.  I don't regret that.  At that time, my dad had fallen and was in the hospital, and I had already decided to get my certificate in teaching ABE/ESL.  

I encouraged this fellow blogger with something I tell myself when I am discouraged about my writing.  As I write my blog, week in and week out, I wonder why I bother when I get so little response.  But once in a while, someone outside my family and friends will thank me for my post, and I am encouraged that although that one person may not seem like much, they are of infinite worth to God.  And I am reminded that I don't write to make money or be famous, although that would be cool. I write to hopefully make a difference in this world, however small.  

So don't feel like what you do doesn't make a difference.  We all have a story to tell, a life to live, a gift to give.  It may not seem like much.  But it matters to God. And it matters to that one person you give to.  So don't give up, don't give in.  Keep doing what you do.  If you love it, and you are good at it.  If it makes you forget all the problems in your life, and you feel like you can rise above it.  Don't stop.  You can make a difference.