Picking up the Pieces

Quote of the Day"If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again."– Flavia Weedn

I read this quote of the day in one of my emails today and it got me thinking about how many times we make lemonade and applesauce in our lives. Not sure of what I'm talking about? When I was a child, when something bad happened my grandmother always said that you take the rotten apples and make applesauce with it. The premise was taking something broken, rotten or bad, and making it into something useful or good out of it.

I've lived by this principle my whole life. Writing is another way for me to make applesauce out of what life dishes out. On my other site, I use the heading, "Where Murphy's Law and the Luck of the Irish Combine in Writing." Now, I'm only Irish by marriage, but Murphy's Law reads...whatever can go wrong; will go wrong. Luck of the Irish is self-explanatory. When you combine the two you reach a status quo between bad and good. Sort of. It takes a little extra effort to look for the blessing or good stuff in everything bad that happens.

For example, I was in a head-on collision a couple of months ago. That is a very bad thing, I'm sure everyone can agree. Both automobiles were totaled. Here's my view on the situation. All the vehicles were totaled, but everyone walked away from the accident with a few broken bones and bruises. Cars can be replaced; people can not. Sure broken bones are a royal pain as they heal, but you can not heal from death.

The hospital did a CT scan because the x-rays showed something strange and they wanted a better view. The CT showed tumors in my abdomen. As I said in my previous post, I've had major surgery in the past few months. Now, everyone hears tumor and thinks cancer. I was one of those also. I cried. I pitched a fit big-time. I prayed. Then I chose action and a proactive stance over self-pity. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with sitting on the pity-pot, but just don't make it a life long ambition. It's just not what I'm about.

I finally reached a point of peace with the whole issue. I figured if I didn't wake up from surgery then my job here on Earth was complete and I could go on to a place where Murphy's Law didn't existed. Not a bad thing considering my life. If I woke up from surgery then my job here on Earth was not complete. Something was left undone. Either way it was out of my hands. So many people scramble to pick up all the pieces of the problem or their lives to keep control. An example of the shattered glass or shattered dreams. Inner peace is more important than control.

I had surgery, complications, and healing in the past few months. It has been a growing experience. If I had not had my accident, the tumors would still be in my body...growing and making me ill. Considering my heart stopped twice during surgery, I'm still here writing. The shattered dreams and glass of the accident are past. There it will remain until forgotten. What is important is that I am here, doing what has to be done. Writing, learning, advocating, teaching, and loving everything around me. So my pretty car is gone. It was replaced. The other people involved are living their lives to the fullest. Let's be honest here, not too many people walk away from a head-on collision without permanent damage. The three of us had a wake up call. Look at the shattered pieces of your dreams, stop trying to pick up ALL the pieces, pick one and create something wonderful.

The Master Juggler

Have you ever had so much going on in your life that you feel like you are constantly juggling? I think we all have. Mine gets so complicated at times, it's hard to remember my own name. It's pretty bad when you consider major surgery and hospital time...vacation time. Raise your hands and wave 'em wildly. Don't laugh, it actually happened just three short months ago in my life.

Like many people I juggle my family and career. Now, my family is complicated. Yeah, yeah, I know you are thinking how complicated can it be. Well, let me hit the highlights for you...one terminally ill husband, an almost 90-year old father in law with health issues of his own, four children (all grown but not all out of the house), six grandchildren who love their grandma, a dog, three cats-one of whom is four weeks old and too young to be away from her mama. Now that's just immediate family...the extended list of sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles would fill pages.

I can count four generations on holidays like 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. How many of you have an immediate family sit down dinner for sixteen? Well, that's standard for my house. Who needs to invite friends over when the immediate family in itself is a carousing, laughing, arguing bunch of youngens running down the hall every other day...even when it has been a month since we've gotten together... it still feels like yesterday. Now mind you, I'm not complaining. I love each and every one of them. I'll "kidnap" my grandchildren, in lots of one or two, for days. Having them all in my house for extended periods at one time is a yee-ha-ho-down for insanity, especially since they range in age from eight years to nine months old.

Then comes the career. I tried a lot of things over the years, job wise. Writing was the other thing I could do for me, about me, and for my sanity. I could hash out difficulties, spend time in my mind...ooh, a very scary place at times, and create. I found when writing I hit a chord with readers, on one end it was sympathy and the other end was thankfulness that they didn't have it quite so rough, and in the middle was empathy. It made them feel better about what they were going through. I chat with women going through health issues, dealing with the loss of family members, and dealing with a rare disease that doctors cock their heads at and go "Huh? I've never seen a case of this before." You think, "Nah, it can't happen." It happened yesterday in one of my husband's new doctor's office.

It's also the side I show in the writers forums I frequent. As it says in my bio...hard earned wisdom. This is my nonfiction side. The serious side of my writing articles and books. I believe that even hard earned wisdom can have humor. In in the face of adversity, you can learn, laugh and count your blessings. It could always be worse. Don't ever think it can't be, because just as soon as you do WORSE happens.

I used to look up in the sky and saying, "What now, God?" Well guess what, He showed me. I don't do that anymore. But that falls under my Christian genre articles and books that are part of my nonfiction repertoire. Being a lay speaker in my church only seemed natural when it was offered. I simply look at it as being able to come through the fire, being crispy around the edges, and not totally destroyed. If it helps someone else see what's going on in their life or better cope with it, then I've accomplished my goal.

Now, the fiction side of my writing is play time for me. I allow my mind to think of all the bad things in this world and put it in writing. As if I didn't have enough calamity in my own life I create more in fiction. Hey, sometimes you just have to read someone going through worse than you are. Let's be honest here, would you read fiction if it didn't have insurmountable odds conquered? That's the whole point of fiction...happy ending or not. It's an escape. It pulls you out of your body and transports you somewhere else. It may or may not be somewhere you actually want to be, but you struggle along with the protagonist and root for him/her. You curse the antagonist for putting the protagonist through it all, but you keep reading.

Most authors work on one article, book, or novel at a time. I write four or five. Right now, I've got a southern fiction- The Sacrifice, two non fictions- Wild Child-living with your brain injury child and To Have and Let Go, four of my juvenile fictions almost complete with illustrations, a science fiction tentatively titled Residespace, and an espionage thriller- The Mayan Serpent in the works. And just like any other writer, all have their respective deadlines on a flow chart.

Juggling is a way of life for me. Life is constant change and adaptation. My hopes for this site is to ease the way a bit. I will be posting excerpts of works in progress and some articles here to get some feedback, when I can juggle it into my schedule. I know you are probably wondering when, but ah ha, you are dealing with the master juggler...me. My schedule is set in sand and you know how sand is. Everything is doable in its time and place. Helen Reddy's song...I Am Woman...playing in my head. Don't remember the song...remember, I am a dinosaur headed for natural gas. Look it up and listen to it.

Kicking and Screaming into the 21st Century

Welcome to my Blog,

I've joined the 21st century kicking and screaming along the way. For a few years now, Blogs have replaced the old journals and diaries of the previous century. I've written in journals all of my life. I've got a footlocker full of them.

As I look back over time, I guess I've always looked at new technology with hindsight. The microwave oven, although invaluable in my life nowadays, was something I waited to get. Computers, I have to admit it wasn't until my father got one that I first realized the ease of it as a writing tool. I used to spend hours upon hours tapping away on my old typewriter editing and reediting, which now sits forlornly in the garage. I never saw the need until I got my first one. I looked at blogging the same way. How could journaling here be better than having a book in hand for all time? Less finger cramping for one thing. Computer monitors are backlit so I don't have to turn on the lights and wake everyone up was another.

My daughters finally convinced me to connect with myspace and start a page there. Like everything else, I procrastinated for YEARS before I finally made a page for myself. What really spearheaded my action was a message in the Books and Writers Forum in Compuserve. I've been a member there since before AOL/Worldcom bought it out. I finally saw the value of having a myspace account and a blog. Marketing was a major selling point for me. It was a way to get myself out there without going there. Well honestly, I still have "to go there." As a writer, I'm always looking for tools to help me along the way...this is my newest one. Even if I protest against it, usually dragging my feet and scuffing my shoes in the dirt, I have done it now.

Before there was email, it was letter writing, telephone calls, and actual one on one conversations. Can you believe it? Talking face to face with someone? Introducing yourself and seeing them? All of these are being replaced in the cyberworld. You can find anything on the net. Now, even me.

With postal rate increases coming along almost yearly, this is cheaper and faster. Now, be honest, cheaper is important. With the price of gas reaching over three dollars a gallon, people buying hybrid cars, and everything else...you save money where you can. Oh, don't get me started on gas price or rising costs of everything...I'd be here all day!

It all made sense and seemed normal to me. That in itself is strange, because I'm the Queen of Abby Normal. Long live the Queen! I usually find unconventional ways of doing things to make things work. I struggle against conformity constantly. Why conform, when unconformity is fun and exciting...but that's another blog for later.

Thanks for stopping by and reading. Y'all come back now, ya hear?
Jo