Spirit Not Withstanding

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Posted on May 7, 2015

“A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.” ~ William Arthur Ward

What’s a girl to do when she’s a bystander because she is too young to be a Junior Girl Scout? She creates her own sense of fun, and I loved it.

Look at the joy on this little girl’s face! I’m calling her the “Dazzling Earring Girl.” She went about her way finding a creative use for the paper roses I had made and given the Girl Scouts while she was waiting for her sister to complete her craft project.

One never knows where life will take us and “Dazzling Earring Girl” might just have the tag line “jewelry artist” under her name in the future!

You know what I like about the Girl Scouts? Please excuse my bias because I was both a Brownie and a Junior Girl Scout. In my opinion, it is an organization that endorses postive values that parents can teach their children about keeping their values straight in life.

I hope this little girl in the picture remembers to always to seek the light! The good news is on this Thirsty Thursday her joy will dazzle other people. Glad she joined us!

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her memoir and book of short stories. On Sunday, May 10th I’ll be honoring Mother’s Day on All Things Fulfilling.

The Young Artists in Them

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Posted on May 5, 2015

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~ Pablo Picasso

On Friday, a number of nine and ten year old students, who are Junior Girl Scouts, expressed their love of writing during my presentation “One Day in the Life of a Writer.” When I admitted to my weakness of rising extremely early at 5:30am to 6pm to write and record what I have often been thinking in the middle of the night, a few said they, too, wake in the wee hours of the morning with ideas to put down on paper.
So, each junior Girl Scout was given a spiral-bound notebook to embellish with reflections of their own personality, design sense and color preferences. The notebooks are bound to hold up no matter where they travel and no matter how long it takes to fill the pages with words.They’ve been given a strong foundation backed with Duck© Tape! I never realized there are so many colors and patterns of Duck© Tape now available.

With a promise of returning to teach the Girls Scouts how to make paper roses, the group set about doing their own craft project after my presentation. The rest of today’s story will be told in photos – enjoy the colorful personal journal creations made by Girl Scout Troop #12622.

Isn’t individual creativity a wonderful thing? Come back tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, I’m looking for some opinions. And on Thirsty Thursday, you’ll enjoy a post called Spirit Not Withstanding!

Happy Cinco de Mayo from Sue Batton Leonard, the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

May Day, May Day

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Posted on April 6, 2015

“Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and our highest endeavor ought to be to set off that spark in one another.” – Kenny Ausubel

I’ve got a big responsibility ahead of me for Friday, May 1^st. I’ll be speaking with Junior Girl Scout Troop #12622 about my memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. For a couple of weeks I have been churning ideas over in my mind about how to creatively engage a group of 9 & 10 year olds. After all, it’s been decades since I was a Girl Scout and I want to make sure what I share is engaging, age appropriate and relatable.

I’ve been wrestling with several approaches. Finally, I decided to say “May Day, May Day” and call on two former Girl Scouts, baby boomers just like me, to help me come up with some suggestions. Their spark of an idea has given me something to really build on and I can’t wait to share “One Day in the Life of a Writer” with the youth.

I am so looking forward to connecting with the Girl Scouts and sharing my heart and soul about my passion for writing. Thank you former Girl Scouts, Sharon & Caryn, for your excellent suggestions.

I have three weeks to refine and polish up my act. From now until May 1^st , I need to remember to:

P.S. I hope they are still selling them on Sunday mornings at the United Methodist Church of Steamboat. If not, I have an idea where I can find some – from a lady who says “she has been hording them in her freezer. She said she likes to bring them out on July 4th.”

This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. Her books include Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.