My most humbling smile this week came from a fellow blogger choosing to showcase my story. I’m not going to add the link or pat myself on the back. It just ‘tickled me pink’. My blog has been a relaxing enterprise mostly grounded in leaving my thoughts and creativity for my granddaughters to discover one day. I consider it a journal/time capsule. But having another writer find worth in it was heart warming! Doing writing prompts has been great fun. I love a challenge because I’m one of those people who can become bored easily by repetition. I’ve also learned that not every prompt ‘speaks to me’ and moving on is better than laboring over them. It’s not a contest in my mind. Some of the posts from other writers are extraordinary! Their complexity and word crafting certainly exemplify an array of real talent. I’m not ashamed to admit, either, that some of the poetry I sincerely don’t even understand. I’ve learned that there are so many styles just as in visual art. Observing that buffet has revealed my own ‘style’ to me. I didn’t realize I had one. lol All in all, I’ve found getting back to creative blogging something to smile about!
Frogs doing their thing. Our forest retreat. Dogs just being ‘dawgs’. Spring run off cutting through.
One part of my weekend was spent working at our forest campsite. I trimmed raspberry bushes and found our Concord grapes budding nicely. The dogs got to sniff around and get exercise and we stood around planning our chores for next week. Spending entire weekends will happen in the near future.
Then it rained. Once I returned home, I baked a couple of apple pies. One for my sister (who’ll be having open heart surgery this Thursday) and one for an elderly lady next door who has been having health concerns. Her family has been in and out a lot so I thought a nice treat would brighten their day. Making those pies offered me my Weekly Smile. My indoor activity turned out to win the day. The joy of giving is hard to beat!
Norah was delivered to me from an Arkansas shelter (via trailer truck transport) on July 20, 2019. Her story was sadly very common. She had been turned into the shelter, the January before, about to give birth to 9 pups. The pups happily found forever homes but Norah (formerly Georgia) was still waiting there in July. That summer was bittersweet because on June 27, 2019, my 15 year old Jack Russell (best pal), Ollie, crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I was heartbroken but searched almost immediately for a dog to rescue. I’d known Ollie’s days were numbered and decided that I’d let his passing determine the timing of my search. The rescue shelter (Humane Society of the Delta) was constantly overflowing with HUNDREDS of dogs. That area has a crisis in that, the culture there, has an attitude of dogs as ‘throw away’ items. I found Norah on the last page of their online site. Her adult status and imperfect ‘figure’ due to giving birth made her a hard case to place. BINGO! I was hooked. I changed her name to Norah because it means ‘honor’ and her new home was in honor of Ollie. My smile happened this weekend. Norah had had quite an adjustment to make for trust issues. She had a sweet disposition but seemed overwhelmed by ‘the good life’ as a treasured pet. (I’m glad I don’t know anything about her pre-shelter treatment. It wasn’t likely nice.) We own 30 acres of forest land where we spend a lot of time camping, and for 2019 and 2020, Norah had to remained leashed for her own safety. This will be her second full summer as a ‘camping dog’. Our other dog knows not to run off and roams freely. At some point, the bond Norah and I have developed has taken a firm hold and she is now able to be unleashed under supervision! This is a BIG milestone! She keeps me in her sight and doesn’t try to haphazardly roam away, which is something she attempted in ‘tests’ in 2019 and 2020. Now Norah can be a real dog! She can lie on our deck and sniff and dig holes all she wants. Norah knows we’re family now and she’s FREE.
Well, I had a revelation this last weekend. Blogging is fun but time consuming to boot. Once I established a rhythm of writing, there came the responsibility to respond to comments and to support the writers who frequented the prompts that I also enjoy. There are several great ‘prompting’ blogs, and soon I realized there were more than a few daily choices, almost like a Christmas morning overload of surprises. What had started as a delightful pastime, had become a fulltime job. There was also a lot of thought put into how to respond to posts. That is a skill in itself. I’ve noticed that the people who addressed me by name, made me feel warm. Also, adding an extra line besides the common ‘well done’ was important. Polishing and learning about blogging courtesy was my new interest. I promised myself to stay genuine and thoughtful in each reply, too. So, I decided that Sundays are not necessarily for writing at all. Courteous responding and commenting on other people’s blogs would be my focus. Also, many household chores were elevated to the ‘must do’ list so that guilt wouldn’t interfere with any weekly writing pleasures. It worked very well for me! I’m smiling about resolving my problem. Now, let’s hope I can keep that routine. I’m not a person who responds well to scheduling. 🙂 Oh, I had a chance meeting with an old friend on Saturday. He was a neighborhood kid who used to come over to my house with his sister to engage in creative play after school and on weekends. (I didn’t only ‘play’ with kids for a living, I loved it!) He’s 46 years old now and I hadn’t seen him in years! We took a stroll down memory lane about making Christmas ornaments and creating Halloween and Fall Foliage Parade costumes. He still has some of the first dough ornaments we made over 30 years ago! It was a delightfully fun and uplifting surprise. To reconnect with him, and find out about a difference I had made in his life, is worthy of a BIG smile! Have a happy week! I’d like to thank Trent for his wonderful Weekly Smile prompt. It’s one of my favorites.
Many smiles for me last week, especially yesterday. It was my birthday. My grown up married former day care friend, now friend, texted me from Australia. He’s studying to be a Veterinarian and has been there for two of four years. He never forgets. Another adult (age 21) former day care friend also contacted me with an old photo of us from long ago. It was of us celebrating a birthday.
I had lunch with my kids and granddaughters. Which always makes a Mom/Grandma happy! Finally, my son is a chef at a local bistro and surprised me with a fancy dessert that he brought home after hours. It’s called Coconut Cake with Mango Curd and Pineapple. YUMMY! It would have been even prettier if it wasn’t in a take-out container.
Oh… many local birds kept me company while I sipped coffee on a lovely birthday morning outside. Doves, robins, sparrows, blue jays, crows, and a persistent cardinal who serenaded me for twenty minutes. MY heart is full!
My youngest granddaughter had a sleepover with me on Friday. She’s 8 1/2 and ever since she was a toddler, we’d lie in bed together during a sleepover and make up stories. (We have some great stories and characters that we’ve created through the years. Someday, I’ll share them with you.) On Friday, we read her new book instead. She had already read it once but when we read the book together, she realized how extra funny it was! Having your Grandma laughing as you read is a real reason to crack up. It quickly turned into a giggle fest because her new book is HILARIOUS. Let’s put it this way. One character is a toothbrush who wants to be a dinosaur lawyer. Did you read that twice? Ridiculous is an awesome realm for the ‘sillies’! If you know a kid between 7 and 10, I highly recommend this. Oh yes, read along with her for a BIG SMILE.
Mensen maken de samenleving en nemen daarin een positie in. Deze website geeft toegang tot een diversiteit aan artikelen die gaan over 'samenleven', belicht vanuit verschillende perspectieven. De artikelen hebben gemeen dat er gezocht wordt naar wat 'mensen bindt, in plaats van wat hen scheidt'.
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