Friday Zooms

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a Zoom meeting. I’m visiting this morning with an illustrator for “Roxie, What Are You Doing?” The artist lives in Oregon. I’m excited, and hoping we have an agreement after our talk. Wish us luck. If it’s meant to be, it will be.

I’m excited yet a little nervous. This is a real risk, and I believe we’re both at the ready spot to take it. I’ve never met her, but in looking at her art online, I have a good feeling. Time will tell. I’m not going to count on writing the rest of December. If I have time to fit it in, I will. Depends on how the meeting goes.

I purchased a beautiful painting on Cyber Monday for our bedroom. It turns out the area over the bed isn’t big enough for the 50 inch square quilt I was going to use. It will work on a different wall but not the original one. It’s beautiful shades of blue, and looks beautiful on the Caribbean Blue wall. Trouble is, the quilt I use on the bed during this time of year is pink, green, black, and gold. I don’t know how this will look. I’m cutting out a snowflake quilt that will look great under the painting, but haven’t started to sew yet. Always something new and creative to do!

There is an accumulation of dog hair (a/k/a fibers of joy) around here. Someone else dropped laundry in our bedroom hamper. Where does it come from? We need to have enough rest, it’s going to be a busy weekend. Yesterday and Today is at the Slowdown in Omaha. It’s a Beatles tribute show we’ve seen every year for probably the last eight years. It’s very good. The backstory for the band tugs at your heart and warms your soul. The absolute love of the music and each other has propelled the McGuigan brothers to local rock star status. We are so lucky to have them!

The Christmas tree may find it’s way upstairs and into a state of decoration, too. Sunday, we have a telethon fundraiser for Moving Veterans Forward. It’s a phenomenal organization which does great things for formerly homeless Veterans. They reach out into the community where the Veterans live. Gratitude is what you witness when a client moves into their own apartment. It’s amazing to see.

Monday is a Commander’s Christmas Volunteer Party. It should be fun, and we have a great time. I believe the people we work with volunteering are some of the best friends we’ve ever had. And it’s so good to do good with others. Makes life meaningful. I hope you find something meaningful to add to your life. Start your own outreach, it’ll be great! Great things can be accomplished with many hands. Reach yours out today, and know you’re appreciated. Have a beautiful afternoon and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Aaaannndd It’s Monday Again

I just looked at my personal email and decided nothing was super important. Then I looked at my business e-mail and see it’s off to the races again. I’m getting better at rejecting a lot of training, but some are still relevant. If I sign up for mostly free Zoom instruction, I usually learn one thing I didn’t know before, so I consider it an excellent investment of time. Today, I am watching Jerry Jenkins talking about Getting Published this Year, 2021. He ought to know- he wrote the “Left Behind” series, which published back in the 90s, I believe. It dealt with Jesus’ return to earth in present time. Can you imagine?

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

I’ve included a picture of our dear Roxie as today’s Header photo. I received a notice today from WordPress. It’s already been two years since I set up my domain! I didn’t really start writing with any frequency until we lost Roxie later that year in July. In this photo, she is holding onto her bone so Lexie won’t get it away from her. I thought it was a hilarious look on her face. It still is. I miss her. I know Lexie does. She howls and whimpers from time to time. She never did that before. Poor girl!

My handy daily meditation book had a couple of thoughtful topics over the last two days. One dealt with the human tendency to take on undeserved guilt. I did that my whole childhood and continued it until probably twenty years ago. If Mom was mad, I thought it was my fault. She could be mad at my brothers, but I felt I had to make her happy. That’s not a good way to be. It’s not ego driven, it’s a codependent reaction. It made me feel bad about myself when I couldn’t do what I thought I should do. Little did I realize it had nothing to do with me.

The second meditation was good, too. It started with the famous Yogi Berra quote:

“It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over.”

A few days ago, I was too tired, overwhelmed, and had a day of constant interruptions. I considered quitting writing and just doing my usual creative endeavors (which I miss a lot)! I’ve never backed down from anything in my life. Every challenge strengthened me. I can’t quit now, I have a lot to offer as writing about people, their hurts and problems, and how they solve their issues. Human interest, if you will. The Babe and I talked about it, he said, “You can’t just quit.” Bless his heart. He is a gem, I am holding onto him with both hands!

So here I sit again today, in the Home Office in Gretna, Nebraska, writing my blog and getting ready to edit my last chapter to make sure I include all my plot points. Today’s meditation? Also apt for me.

“Growth is the only evidence of life.”

Truth be told, it is probably apt for quite a few of us today and every day. We are meant to grow. Not so much in size (some of us have a time, don’t we?), but in spirit, intelligence, experiences, and everything else that makes us who we are. We cannot get someone else to do it. It’s not like shoveling the snow or mowing the lawn. We can pay someone else to do that. We can’t pay someone to do our personal growth for us. It’s as easy and hard as that. We must do it for ourselves.

This is one reason I love to read. Unfortunately, I read a lot of books for learning; all this week, I’m reading one or two just for the fun of it. The fun of reading. The balance for the work I hope to accomplish this year is play and laughter. Laughter helps everything go better. It reduces stress. It cheers us. Our personal growth is our own responsibility. What are you doing to make sure you’re doing your part? We need to keep fueling the fires of growth until we take our last breath. Stretch out, shake off the fear, and take a deep breath. Soon, you will look forward to it, instead of fearing it. You’ll be able to do far more than you ever dreamed.

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Only 30 minutes until my hour Zoom class. I will get my novel written this year! Hope Jerry Jenkins has some tips that make a difference. Have a day full of growth, enrichment, and forgiveness. Be the Change. Meet in the middle. Let’s be safe out there. Be kind. See you tomorrow! Thanks for reading.