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Showing posts with the label gifts

Soft

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(I spent the past couple days focusing on thoughts and writing and vulnerability. Instead of a photo, today I decided to write on the prompt.) I drove myself up the canyon. A winding road twisted among the bare trees, their tips budding with the promise of spring. I walked into a quaint cabin and entered a different world. Surrounded by women I didn't know, I subconsciously chose a corner, the shyness of my youth washing over me like a wave. I watched conversations and listened to discourse, taking notes on paper and in my mind. Women approached me, pulling me from behind my self-inflicted wall. Layer by layer my fears and inhibitions were stripped away. As my shell opened, my heart lay exposed. Soft , delicate, it beat in timid rhythm as vulnerability became my badge. There is no growth without risk. I cannot live and learn unless I let myself become pliable, supple, susceptible to pain. I wrote, I shared, I laughed, I cried. And, then, I cried again. I let my mind fol...

The Gift of a Challenge

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After a month of posting daily, I was done.  Too many nights when I struggled to find something to write about before I could retire to my comfy, warm bed. When I heard that BlogHer is doing NaBloPoMo in December, I thought no way .  Then, I thought again. I'm kinda flaky like that. Thing is, tho' this month has kicked my butt, (why couldn't it have trimmed my butt instead?)  I've learned a lot.  Two things in particular. First-reading good writing makes me a better writer.  Something about reading quality writing gets my brain in writing mode.  Aside from loving all the blogs I've discovered and being wow-ed by these women everyday, they inspire me with their prose. Second- the more I write, the better I write. We all know, practice makes perfect.  I'm not saying my writing is perfect, (so far from it!) but doing it every day has helped me develop my skill.  While I know some of my posts were, well, lame, I think some of them were pretty g...

Wish List

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( Jacob holding Sadie, Adam looking on.)  For about three months, I had 3 children in diapers.  I cringe when I think about how much that cost.  There isn't much that is more exhausting than having three children under 4.  This was my station in life a mere 15 years ago.  I was  'on'  24 hours a day.  Between changing diapers, making 3 meals a day, handling my responsibilities as  young women's president, keeping the apartment clean, oh, and nursing a baby every 2 hours, I had no time for myself.  With Mother's Day looming I mustered all my courage and told my husband what I really wanted for my special day- a few hours all to myself. Alone .  He looked at me like I was crazy. I have no idea what I got that year, but it wasn't the cherished alone time I desired.  (In my husband's defense, when I mentioned this recently, he was appalled that he didn't give me what I wanted. We were young. I don't blame him at all.  H...