What You Might Least Expect

Over the Christmas holiday a friend of ours asked us to babysit his wife's two poinsettia plants.  My husband's first response was, "Does he know?"  I knew exactly what he was talking about.  Our friend had no idea that we have black thumbs.  We can kill any plant within a half mile radius.  After I had said, "Sure, we'll watch your plants," I explained out lack of skill in that matter.

To his credit as a friend, he still trusted us with his wife's beloved poinsettias.  I'm not sure it was a wise move, and I hope that his wife will eventually forgive him.

Now, amazingly, the plants are still alive and even apparently thriving!  Who knew?  I've even been enjoying their beauty.

I always thought the poinsettia plant was somewhat interesting.  The "flowers" aren't actually blooms; they are just more leaves, but of a different color.  It is and isn't what it appears.

How many things in life are like the beautifully colored poinsettia leaves?  How often does something appear to be one thing while actually another.  But in the end, does it matter that the colorful "flower" is not made from petals, but from leaves?  It may not be what we expect, but the end result is still the same.

Maybe at this time when a year is ending and a new one beginning, we can take the time to look at those around us.  Are the perfect?  Do they do things the way we would like them to?  Probably not.  But are they still beautiful individuals?  Do they have strengths and talents and characteristics that we admire?  Then let us focus on those.  That sounds like a great resolution to me!

So, with that thought, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

The Importance of a Satisfactory Ending

The more books I read, the more I come to accept that for me it's all about the ending.  I have read books that were hard to put down, but then I got to the ending only to be sorely disappointed.  That conclusion was enough to turn my opinion upside down about the whole book!

In life, what I hope for most, and strive to accomplish, is a happy ending.  When all is said and done, will my life have been one that brought more happiness or more misery to others?  Will I be able to stand before my maker and look Him in the eye, or will my gaze be downcast instead?

When I am crafting a book, the ending is one of the first things that I imagine.  Then everything in the book builds, leads, grows to that conclusion.  I believe I have taken the same approach in life!

Patience

Patience, it is said, is a virtue.  I am not a patient person.  For instance, once I decide on a course of action, I want to do it and be done with it.  But much of life requires us to be patient.

I'm sure you can think of a myriad of instances where patience is necessary.  Often, because it is necessary, we learn to be patient.  What alternative do we have?  The real question is will we let that patience work in us or will we let our impatience ruin the moment.

Writing a book is one of those areas for me that requires patience. It takes time to write that many words to start with, but it is more than that.  To say that I had all of the details of my story worked out in my head before I began writing would be an out and out lie.  It has taken time to discover my characters, their thoughts and feelings, and the experiences they will have.  It cannot nor should not be rushed.

I have read books by well-known authors who got impatient with later works, not taking the time to properly edit or work out the kinks in the story.  It shows - impatience has ruined the moment.  Fortunately, that is the exception and not the rule.  If anything, I usually notice a greater maturity in later works.  Patience with one book and then multiple books has performed its work and deeper, richer books are the result.

I don't know about you, but I don't like the process of learning to be patient.  However, I like who I become when that learning is done.

Ice Storms

Much of the country has been encased in ice sometime during the last week.  Amazingly, something so simple as frozen water can shut down airports, close schools, cause accidents and create general havoc.  Simple things, when brought together under the right circumstances, become anything but simple.

Isn't life like that?  There are so many things that seem little to begin with, but given the right set of circumstances, they completely overturn our lives - sometimes in positive ways and sometimes not.

In works of fiction, seemingly little things are wonderful tools to play with - a misplaced key, a strange phone call, a small patch of ice.  I must say I enjoy messing with character's lives in these ways in a book.  But with real life, maybe not so.  Probably, simply because I can't control the outcome.

Gratitude

Thanksgiving was just here and with it came many thoughts of what we are grateful for.  I am certainly thankful for big things like family, but I am also grateful for the little things like playing games and doing puzzles with that family, or "I love you" spoken from my mother to my father.

There are those in this world who are good at being thankful for the small things that occur every day of their lives.  They remind me to stop and pay attention to those things.  We don't always notice the bird's nest in the tree or the baby birds inside.  We may not notice the way the sun reflects off the snow in winter, making everything sparkle.

One of the joys (and challenges) of writing a book is being able to put in those small things we might not notice.  I get to write about the sunset and the sound of birds in the morning.  Setting the scene might include describing tree-lined boulevards and children laughing in backyards.  Stepping into a kitchen can bring with it pleasant aromas and the memories they evoke.

These little things add richness to a book, just like they add richness to our lives.  May we both - writer and not - remember to notice them.

Tethered Lives

It is a delightfully windy day.  Fallen leaves chase each other across my yard and down the street, twisting and turning at the whim of the breeze.  One lone tree still holds tightly to it's yellowing leaves, steadfastly refusing release.  Twirling in their tethered dance, those leaves reach for freedom, not knowing the cost.

The screen door beside me bangs and howls in the wind, fighting the lock that holds it fast.  Out back, the wooden shed's locks are not so strict, and allow rebellious doors to fly on creaking hinges, back and forth with abandon - yet neither are they free.

I suppose to authentically write teenagers, it helps to have been one and also to have been on the other side having raised a few.  But teenagers also get a bad rap.  Don't we all at some point in our lives want freedom from what restricts and binds us?  Do we watch others, and covet their experiences?

The more I observe others and talk to them about their lives, the more I am grateful for my own trials that tether me to my life, yet make it my own.  No one's life is free from trouble, disappointment, or stumbling blocks.  When I read books and write them I have to remember this truth.  If I am to be honest with my readers and true to my characters their lives will not be idyllic.

But life is what we make of it, how we deal with those trials and setbacks.  We can dance our tethered dance, yearning to be free, or we can enjoy the feel of the breeze and the beauty of the dance while it exists, while it allows us to embrace our challenges and make them strengths.

Happy Accidents

I have experienced lately some wonderful "happy accidents."  I'll call them blessings.  I recently found it necessary to change one aspect of my book.  During some brain storming with my daughter about how to adjust the plot we came across some hidden meanings within a character's name.  Those meanings lent themselves perfectly to the needed changes.  All things came together, just as they needed to.

These "happy accidents" are certainly not the exclusive right of writers, but they happen to us as we go about our day.  We can't make it to the store one day, only to find the item we were looking for went on sale the next day when we were finally able to go.  Or even looking at more mundane matters - my child may not have made it quite to the toilet before throwing up, but at least he wasn't still in his bed in the midst of dozens of stuffed animals and toys.  (That would not have been fun at 1 in the morning!)

This journey of life is full of challenges; I won't deny that.  But there are many things along the way that make things bearable if not better.  For those things I am grateful.