Category Archives: memoir

Coming Full Circle

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“The honeysuckle is learning to appreciate all the small drops of sweetness in life.”

 ~ Sue Batton Leonard

testcart-2Last summer, when I was in Cambridge, Maryland I walked into Walmart. I selected what I wanted to buy and took it to the check-out counter. The sale was rung up and the cashier asked if I wanted to donate to the sick children in JohnsHopkinsHospital.

“Of course,” I said. “How could I not?” I thought.

The cashier thanked me for donating to the cause and said “Have a Blessed Day!” I smiled at her and thanked her back. As I walked out of the store, all I could think was “Have a blessed day? I’ve had a blessed life!”

You see, long ago I was a sick child in JohnsHopkinsHospital. And because the doctors and nurses did not give up on me and gave their time and expertise in caring for me, they saved my life.  Several events have taken me on a journey of realizing the blessings that I have been given, and it is all is told in my upcoming memoir.

It was such a simple thing to donate to the Johns Hopkins children and the monetary value was little compared to what I’ve been given – decades of  fulfilling and vigorous livin’. But a large group of compassionate people donating to a great cause can make a big difference.

The next day, I entered Walmart once again because I had forgotten something, and again I was asked if I wanted to make a meager donation. I answered in the affirmative.

Pay it ahead or pay it back, it’s all good. What is important is that we remember those who give us the sweetness from the vine of knowledge, friendship and love.

Those are my independent thoughts, words and views today on All Things Fulfilling.

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Counting my Blessings

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Gratitude doesn’t change the scenery.  It merely washes clean the glass you look through so you can clearly see the colors.” ~  Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway

Did you know that being grateful has health benefits? Researchers have found positive scientific health results when people focus on pleasurable things rather than thinking about every day hassles, challenges and headaches that come with life. If you are interested in reading more about the science of positive thinking, here is a link to an article by Robert A Emmons. http://bit.ly/KSy1i4.

gratitudeWhen I  took down the last of the Christmas decorations  I decided the canister that was filled with red and gold decorative Christmas ornaments will serve as my Gratitude Jar. Each day a daily note about the small things I am thankful for has been put in it.  I use only “mini” pieces of paper so I will not be verbose in my writing. Short, simple words to describe a sweet and simple thing that I found to be fulfilling throughout each day is the goal. I’ve also decided to drop a penny into the pot for each good thought and for extra luck. It won’t amount to much over the course of a year but saving for another day is a good practice to get into.

I  began to fill the jar on January 1st, so it contains a month’s worth of daily entries into the jar and I have a lot more to be grateful for! Some of my last week’s entries stated this:

  • I am grateful my manuscript in in the hands of a capable and knowledgeable publisher
  • I am grateful I am almost finished recording the audio book
  • I am grateful the cover design is almost nailed down
  • I am grateful – looks like I may have found an audio editor!!!

Look forward to your return tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

 

Fulfilling Reading for 2014

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Over the past four or five days, I have mentioned some hefty goals for myself in the New Year. According to the article I posted a week or so ago about how our morning routine helps us to accomplish our goals, please note there is a much better success rate of achieving our aspirations if we write down our plans. The commitment to making them happen is much greater.

So, I’m going to state right now I want to read more non-fiction in 2014. I prefer non-fiction over fiction, and get sidetracked by fictional stories too often. It’s too easy to be drawn into stories of other people and go on journeys with people I don’t even know. There’s an article in the Huffington Post called Why We Care about Fictional Characters,http://huff.to/JBZ5Bl by Blakey Vermeule, who writes that “people need to know what other people are like.” That explains why I get pulled into others tales.

Here is my short list of non-fiction I want to read in 2014:

  • Give and Take
  • David & Goliath
  • Contagious
  • The Examined Life
  • Lean In: Women, Work & the Will to Lead
  • Master Mind
  • Decisive
  • Faith Powered Profession

live fulfilledPersonal insights into what makes a person “tick” can be gained through reading non-fiction: memoirs and autobiographies. One of my goals as I have gone through the writing process of recording my own personal story, has been to give the reader some insight into why I find living ones life with purpose, faith and personal fulfillment is so very important. It matters.

Hmmm….each one of these books on my list looks terrific. Where do I start?

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Simply Nutty Holidays

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Its a gift to be simple, Its a gift to be free,
Its the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
Will be in the valley of love and delight. ~ Elder Joseph

Does anyone roast chestnuts anymore? My Dad used to roast chestnuts for us kids over an open fire every year in our big stone fireplace. That’s just one fulfilling nostalgic Christmas memory from my childhood.  I am sure he thought it didn’t mean a thing to us, but I remember it vividly – the earthy, nutty flavor sprinkled with just a tad of salt. I liked sitting fireside, watching the flames flick and flicker as he tossed the nuts around in the pan to keep them from burning. I haven’t had roasted chestnuts since.

A few years ago, I saw chestnuts in the store during the Xmas holidays, and I got all excited. I bought some and brought them home, I thinking I’d give it a go by roasting them in the oven. http://www.wikihow.com/Roast-Chestnuts. They were such a disappointment. The nuts, I realized, once I got them home were old, dried and shriveled up even before I popped them in the oven. Into the trash they went. “So much for that,” I thought.

chestnuts roasting on open fireIsn’t it strange how small memories from childhood stick with us? Christmas doesn’t always have to be about extravagant giving. I’m sure you’ve heard it before. “It’s the thought that counts.”  Put extra time into other kinds of gift giving such as creating unique, memorable gift wrapping, setting a beautiful table, cooking food that you delight in having only occasionally. Rather than insanely rushing around trying to do too much, spend sacred time with your friends or family. It will mean so much. It’s difficult to enjoy the Christmas season, that comes just once a year, if life is too harried.

~Simplify~

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Tearing up over Books

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Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.” – Bill Cosby

I have found out over the past few years that writing a book about a character who cracks you up with laughter and who has played a powerful role in your life can be just as fulfilling as reading a funny book.

Today, I’m in such a happy mood – feeling very chipper. All as a result of reading a few books that have had me in stitches lately.

Ok, I’ll admit it – you couldn’t classify either book as fine literature. You’d be hard pressed to compare the books to the top classics of all time. That would be akin to trying to compare comic books with the Bible.

But to my way of thinking, both books are a panacea for lifting the spirits. Publisher’s Weekly says Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits  “is a hilarious read, perhaps best enjoyed while eating Krispy Kremes with a few girlfriends.” I concur with PW vehemently.

belle-weather I love the author’s humor. The Chicago Sun-Times says Rivenbark “Dishes out what Southern women really think and say when they’re not performing that soft-syllable grits-and-grace routine.”

Belle Weather is food for the soul. It has all necessary ingredients to cheer the spirits even though there is not a whole lot of meat in it to stew over. The thing you might learn is that it has been too long since you’ve read a book that’s made you laugh so hard you’ve got tears running down your face. Don’t you love reading books for pure pleasure?

Another book that has captured me hook, line and sinker  was Rebecca Wells’ New York Times Bestseller called Little Altars Everywhere. I adored it and as I read it, parts were as if I was experiencing a case of deja vu.

Little Altars

You’ll learn more about the value of humor in one’s life when my book is published in the spring.

Do return on tomorrow for more thoughts, words and views from www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Scratching the Memory Bank

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Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. ― William Arthur Ward

Illustration of Mother and Children Carrying Thanksgiving Dinner by Douglass Crockwell

What memories this nostalgic image of Thanksgiving stirs up. I will forever be grateful for how my mother so beautifully pulled off our childhood holidays. Tradition ruled in our house.

Just setting the table for a holiday meal was a chore in and of itself. All the good dishes came out of the china cabinet, and the silverware had to be shinned to a spit and polish before it was approved to go on the table. Setting the table with one fork, knife and spoon was almost considered blasphemous back in the era of my growing-up (1950’s and 60’s). My twin sister and I were well-schooled in the setting of a proper table and how to place an assortment of forks, knives and spoons in order of use.

As if getting the holiday dinner table set with a huge spread of food made from scratch wasn’t enough for a mother to handle, the entire family had to be dressed in grand fashion. Mom donned her most beautiful dress, heels, nylons, pearls and spritzed herself with perfume saved for special occasions. My father dressed his spiffiest, so as not to be outdone by his wife. Then she dressed all four of us kids to the hilt. But not before the clothing was properly ironed til the creases, pleats and darts were sharp, crisp and straight. My little brothers wore clip on bow ties for special occasions. My sister and I donned our fancy holiday dresses, with crinoline petticoats underneath.

My mother wasn’t being pretentious by dressing us all to the nines. It was how most families dressed back then for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. We wouldn’t have dreamed of showing up at the table in anything less.

This Thanksgiving I want to thank my mother for all of the fulfilling memories that I have of our childhood holiday celebrations. As a mother myself, I know that the matron of the family usually does the lion’s share of the work. All these decades later, my mother still feeds anyone who shows up at her house. And she is still the perfect hostess with the “mostest.”

Happy Thanksgiving to All from West to East Coast of these United States! We are grateful  for your interest in this blog and in  www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. Do return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling. We will be featuring a newly released film just in time for the Christmas season.

Miles of Memories

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“Family, like branches on a tree. We all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one.” ~ Unknown

Memories….for me they really come flooding back during the holidays. Since I’ve been writing a memoir, things get even more stirred up.

luggage 1950sMy native Baltimore has been on my mind a lot lately. These old photos make me think of all the times my parents and I and my three siblings took to the road. We traveled many miles up and down I-95 together in our station wagon, often headed to Vermont. Lake Champlain in the summer and then to Stowe and other ski resorts in winter whenever we could work it into our school vacation schedule. Many Baltimoreans thought we were a strange lot. After all, Maryland was known as the “Land of Pleasant Living.” Friends would ask “Why would you want to go anywhere else?”

Our family station wagon was always filled to the ceiling, with luggage and other ski gear. And arguments began before we even started down our long driveway because no one wanted to sit on “the hump!”

After the seventh or eighth hour of being on the road, tensions became heightened in the “wagon.”  We kids started fighting about one or the other taking up too much room. Although, I, being small in stature, didn’t get accused quite so often.

dashboard of station wagon“Time for car songs,”  my mother would say. Tunes from The Sound of Music always rang out first.  We weren’t deep in talent like the Trapp Family I can assure you of that. But anything to pass the long arduous miles helped. Twelve hours in a car grew old quickly with an AM radio with reception that faded in and out and crackled so badly you could barely hear the tunes. Even our voices sounded better than that.

The film The Sound of Music with Julie Andrews has a place in the memories of almost every family of my generation. It’s often played on TV this time of year. I believe the movie and the legacy of the von Trapps’s will live on and on because of the ability to order the film and stories of the family’s history through e-commerce on the world-wide-web.

julie andrews

Speaking of road trips, if you are going to be on the highway this Thanksgiving week, please drive safely. And have a fulfilling holiday!

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Nostalgic Images Stirred

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“When people…rethink their personal stories, they begin to build a sense of connection and responsibility…they begin to view their personal stories as intertwined with history.”~ Paul Rogat Loeb

I have kept it no secret that I have been writing a memoir over the past few years. For those who knew me in my early childhood days, they’ve asked “has writing a life story  been painful?” I have to laugh.

I laugh because as I have written the personal narrative, it has stirred and returned me to some fulfilling memories of an era that has gone by and will never come again. That’s life. That’s progress – ever moving forward.

I realize how woven history is with my story. I am a survivor and have lived through times of great historical importance. As an author, in telling the story, I’ve tried to capture those nostalgic times. If you are of the baby boomer generation, what societal changes do you think has had the most impact on life in America since the 1950’s? I’m interested in your opinion.  

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Give to Extended Family

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“No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.” ~ Aesop

Christmas catalogues are beginning to arrive in the mail. Last week I received one that stood out among the others. You know, all the regulars,  such as Land’s End, L.L. Bean, The Territory Ahead and my favorite – Pottery Barn.

The catalog that interested me the most was Samaritan’s Purse. Not only because you can order gifts that fit every budget, but also because of the humanitarian benefit that comes with giving from it. It’s fulfilling to know that each present gives the receiver a sense of hope.

The images below are a just a few of the 43 choices that that particularly struck me on some level, I suppose it has something to do my life values  that were taught to me by my parents. But, there isn’t a gift on the list that doesn’t uplift  the lives of others – and that’s a good thing!. The catalog is available on-line through this link. http://bit.ly/1bfZ9hh .

Extend the love beyond your family this holiday season, by giving a much needed gift to people in other places around the world.

new heart

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Minds, Metaphor and Imagination

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Have you ever wondered why we use metaphors in writing and speaking and the influence the imagination has on clearly understanding concepts?

children-quoteIn James Geary’s book, I is An Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How it Shapes the Way we See the World, Geary explores how children think differently than adults and thus their perceptions of the world are different. Intuition and pattern recognition also may play a part in children’s comprehension of concepts that are too big for them because they have not yet experienced certain ideas in life. Geary’s book is an interesting read for anyone who wants to know more about how children learn and think.

Metaphors are interesting. If you want to know more about the use of them in communication, http://www.brainpickings.org/  is a site that will stretch your mind and imagination. A summary of Geary’s book is posted on the site www.brainpickings.org, as well as other things for your brain to digest and to conjure about.

The beautiful child was the center of attention, with his golden curls and tuna fish complexion. – Author Unknown

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