Inspiration
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Three Things I’ve Learned About Gratitude
When my kids were little, we attended lots of activities. There were piano lessons, basketball, soccer, tee ball, trips to the library, zoo, museum, birthday parties, and many play dates with friends. Because we lived in the land of sunshine rare was the day we stayed home. I remember as a young mom driving home after afternoon outings with my children, often feeling exhausted in need of alone time, stressed over what I’d make for dinner, and listening to them bicker or complain. I’d get upset. Here I was doing all I could to make sure my children had a wonderful life, and they seemed ungrateful. I remember explaining to…
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Fifteen Years Later
Fifteen Years Later. A letter to my younger self. There you are sleeping not knowing the phone is about to ring and change your life. You’re about to learn some important lessons. It’s going to hurt. Really hurt. You’re not going to know if the decisions you make are the right ones. I suppose that’s one of the scariest parts of being a parent. That’s why I’m here fifteen years later. I want to tell you that when you pick up the phone your life won’t be the same. One thing I know for sure. What’s about to happen will make you a better person. I’ll explain. You’re thirty-three years…
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Writing From the Heart
I stood in front of the class and breathed. Would this work or would I fail? Could I take an exercise from a writing workshop and teach it to high school students? These past few weeks have been a whirlwind. I’ve taught and subbed for years but have never taught eleventh grade. My husband explained a phrase used in business, fail fast. Take risks, if you fail at least you tried, learn and move on. That’s been my motto these past few weeks as I’ve tried to keep thirty-four seventeen-year-olds engaged in class. Each time something didn’t work, I’d fail fast and try again. Sometimes what worked for one class didn’t…
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Stretching Outside My Comfort Zone
Stick me in a room full of kids or teens, and I’m comfortable. I’m in my comfort zone. I’ll listen, I’ll talk, laugh, feel as though I’m right where I belong. Ask me to go to a party or a gathering of adults, and it’s another story. I’ll probably say no, or I’ll go and hope that I can find someone who has the gift of gab. They’ll talk. I’ll listen. The past few months, I’ve decided to make some changes. I knew I needed to stretch outside my comfort zone. I was spending too much time at home in front of the keyboard; I had to encourage myself to…
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Still, I Write
I’ve been to a lot of writing conferences and workshops over the past twelve years. One of my favorite experiences was three years ago with Emma D Dryden on Martha’s Vineyard. We were a small group of writers who wrote, learned, and cooked together. That’s where I met Beverly. I’m grateful she agreed to write a post for VOICES. I look forward to reading her novel. Introducing Beverly James!
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Precious Time
The butterfly counts not months but moments and has time enough. Rabindranath Tagore I was asked by someone very special if I could remember when my kids were little. My answer had a lot to do with why I still insist on family vacations even though my children live on their own. I answered that I remember moments. I remember the feeling of first holding my daughter in my arms and trying to wrap my head around the word mom. She studied me wide-eyed as if she was saying, so you’re the one I’ve been listening to all these months. I remember when my son would give me kisses by planting his toothless…
