The Anticipation

“I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.” — Frida Kahlo

This is me but writing. All day, I have literally been so excited to get home and write. I had a good day and I was very present, but the thoughts were flowing in. All I can think about is getting to the good part of the story. Some writers skip right to it. Maybe I should, buuut I have learned to pace myself as a writer. So I am staying focused on character development, build up, and I could scream from anticipation.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

How’s your writing going?

Light the Way

“Novelists are people who, in my experience, hang on, well past when others would keep hanging on.” -Alexander Chee from First Fiction

Hanging on is a bit of an understatement, and I think hanging on is only one part of the process. I understand, though, we stick it out. It takes quite a bit of resilience to write a novel and see it the whole way through. Thankfully, there are enough writers that came before us to light the way. I hope that I also light the way. I hope my writer’s life is a reminder that you can write. You have full permission to choose the writer’s life with your whole heart, and I will support you the entire way.

I’m not sure why that’s so hard to find. I’m not sure why the world is always trying to snuff out the dream of a writer’s life. I’ll tell you right now, regardless of what the world thinks, you get to choose the writer’s life. They don’t need to understand. They don’t need to know how you do it or how you’re going to make it work. The writer’s journey is yours to claim, to own. Make it a mystery. Tell it all. Write in secret and share it everywhere. Be your own kind of writer.

Books Through Skin?

“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.”
― Mark Twain

Why is this? Just reading this makes me want to get back to the library. I haven’t always been a big reader, but I have always loved the library. There’s so much more than books: museum passes, toys to borrow, DVDs, comics, and resources you may need.

When’s the last time you went to the library?

Who is Lupita Nyong’o

“You can’t eat beauty, it doesn’t sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion for yourself and those around you. That kind of beauty inflames the heart and enchants the soul.” – Lupita Nyong’o

Lupita Nyong’o is an actress in movies like The Woman King, Black Panther, and Wakanda Forever. She is the first Kenyan and Mexican actress to win an Oscar.

Speaking of Wakanda, if you know me, you know I love me some Marvel. But I also loved Woman King. Woman King made me feel more like a woman than any other female warrior movie I’ve ever seen. I just don’t connect well with the female characters that Stan Lee created. But Woman King by Gina Prince-Bythewood, that was for me.

Have you seen Woman King?

Chase Your Dreams

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney 

There’s no good reason to waste time doing things you don’t love. I’m a big believer in chasing your dreams. I think there are safe and secure ways to live, yes. I’ll always support that. But we can’t let safe and secure keep us from chasing our dreams. We’ve got to do our part to keep our dreams alive.

This is a gentle reminder.

What kind of things make you feel safe and secure? I’ll go first: My writing friends.

The Small Offerings

“Living well is an art that can be developed: a love of life and ability to take great pleasure from small offerings and assurance that the world owes you nothing and that every gift is exactly that, a gift.” — Maya Angelou

I’m so glad I’ve learned that living well is an art. I thought a few things would give me a well-lived life: my daughters, my husband, the church, and a decent career. But there was something that was completely missing from all those things. It was myself. I was there, but there were parts of me that I didn’t welcome on my journey. Eventually, I came to learn that I’m a lifetime of getting to know and that I get to bring all these changing and unchanging parts of me wherever I go. No questions asked. I also learned how to get to know me and that I’m worthy of knowing. Once all those things came together, I found ways to appreciate life in a free way. It’s like life welcomed me with open arms, like it had been waiting there for me the whole time.

What little gifts has life offered you lately? What are you hoping for?

#Momlife

“Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it.” -Ernest Holmes

Today I spent the morning with my little boo. We made books together. I love that when she’s doing something she likes, she can do it for hours. She made a book titled Love book. She felt like my book had too many pages, and you know what, I can agree with her. I laugh because I thought at first it wasn’t enough, but I should have listened to her. After we made our books and cleaned up, we experimented with making pepperoni and cheese wraps. The cheese pull was entertaining.

How’s your Saturday?

Connection

“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” -Aldous Huxley

I look forward to this weekend. I don’t have a lot planned, and that’s the way I like it.

Improving myself isn’t my priority, but it is a responsibility that I value. My priority is motherhood and connection. But I think this quote is an important reminder that you don’t have to worry about everybody’s improvement. Just be there. Just show up to listen, relate, and share, but not to fix. I like this reminder.

Ok, weekend plans? What are they? Hopefully, there’s some self-care tossed in there.

My Sunshine

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” -Walt Whitman

I was looking for quotes about the fall season; instead, this one came up. And I had to have it. There are a few people out there that just light up my life, and when they come around, all the bad news falls away. I usually call them my sunshine. They are welcome to the wide range of feelings that come with being human. That won’t even take away from the joy they bring me because it’s not just the positivity. It’s a whole vibe. It’s a “I’ve seen dark days, and I don’t want that for you” type of vibe. It’s a “times are hard, but let’s have a really good cup of coffee” type of vibe. It’s all about that vibe.

Tell me about something or someone that makes the shadows fall behind you.