Wednesday certainly rolls around quickly. In a couple of weeks we’ll be talking Turkey day. I like Thanksgiving. When I was a kid my aunt cooked some of my favorite foods, things like cornsticks and turkey (well sometimes chicken) and dressing. Plus she put salt in those cute little salt wells at everybody’s plate. That in of itself made the meal special. She was my aunt in name, but my “granny” in heart. Every kid needs a granny who loves them no matter what.
I went to a Circle meeting with my Mom today. That’s a group of women in her church who get together once a month for Bible study and fellowship. Their lesson was on the scene in the Bible where the women went to the tomb after Jesus was crucified and were surprised and shocked to find it empty. The study leader asked us to recall a time when we were shocked by some event in our life. Most of us remembered tragedies – a sudden death or the illness of a son or daughter that shocked us. But one woman remembered being shocked when her baby was born with red hair when both she and her husband had dark hair.
That made us laugh, but it also started me thinking about times when I could say I was shocked that weren’t necessarily sad or tragic times. I could say when I sold my first book, but that wasn’t really a shock. More a dream come true or a goal achieved. I wrote the book with that end in mind so I can’t really say that it was a total shock. A total blessing for sure. So I still haven’t come up with anything that I’ve actually done, but I can think of some things that might qualify. Winning a contest perhaps. Your son having twins. I guess I do know about that one. How about a long lost friend or relative showing up at your door unexpected? Maybe your child volunteering to rake the leaves. Okay, so that might be just a little shock. What do you think? Have you experienced something happy in your life that would qualify?
One last thing on this blog Wednesday – I was thumbing through The Reader’s Digest and came across an article about great inspirations. Martina McBride was talking about being inspired by the writings and speeches of Maya Angelou and how Ms. Angelou had once told her that sometimes we’re afraid to push ourselves and really reach as far as we can because we’re afraid that when we succeed, the world will ask more of us. I understood what she was talking about. As a writer I sometimes wonder if I hold back, afraid to spill it all out in one book for then what will be left for the next one. But the well refills. That’s what we need to remember. The well refills from the creative springs inside us. So may you always have the courage to be the best that you can be at whatever you do.
Okay, two last things. If you’re in the area, come see me Saturday at the Kentucky Book Fair at the Convention Center in Frankfort, Kentucky. It’s a great place to get some unique Christmas gifts and meet a lot of writers and readers. Oh yeah, and who better to give a gift to than yourself? Especially when it’s the gift of a good book. I’ll be on the back row with some other inspirational writers, and I’d love to talk to you.