On this day

On this day in 1979 I woke up early and was whisked away to Albuquerque, NM by my then husband. Our destination was Presbyterian hospital and the maternity floor. Several hours later I gave birth to my only daughter, Christina Marie.Christina was for a very young Swedish queen and Marie was for her paternal grandmother and maternal great grandmother.

She was named before she arrived because I had undergone an amniocentesis early in my pregnancy, due to my age, and knew her gender. The cells did not grow the first time and the test had to be done again. It was at least four months before I knew for sure that I was carrying a healthy girl.

She was born on a Friday, but because we lived almost 100 miles away I had to stay in the hospital an extra day. My poor doctor was exhausted with all the births he made possible that weekend. I still have a clear picture of him sitting in a chair in my room waiting to talk to me.

So, Christina,  I wish you a happy 39th birthday on this day, August 31, 2018.  

A knock on my door

Friday a man I didn't know knocked on my door and asked if I needed someone to cut down the dead Navajo Willow tree in my front yard. The tree had been planted in 1980 and suddenly died last year. We both agreed that it was now ugly. After being told how much he wanted I told him the job was his.

He had it chopped up and ready to sell in a very short time.

Then I told him I had a large pile of branches and tree parts in the back yard. As the result of having a new leach line dug I lost a tree.There has been a no burn restriction all summer so the pile just sat there. The man said he had a big trailer and could take it to the dump. I again said the job was his.

Then he noticed a pile of dirt also left behind by the leach line diggers. It wasn't good for anything but fill dirt. I asked if he knew anyone who needed it and he said, "I do!" I said the dirt is yours.

Now I will have a much cleaner yard because I answered the knock on my door. I am just hoping for another knock on my door by someone who wants to buy the wood.

Paying it forward

In 2011 I had an unexpected two week stay in our local hospital. Needless to say I got to know the nurses. One in particular was very kind and tried her best to help me deal with the fact that my daughter, who is also a neighbor, didn't care to stop by the hospital in all that time to see how I was doing.

Since that time the nurse and her family moved to another state and we became Facebook friends. She and her family are now dealing with a situation of their own that is not fair. Apparently when you live a human life you can expect to be thrown shit in your face from time to time. Anyway, the nurse and I have become good friends and I told her I would see what I could do to interest my followers to pray for her situation. The following is what I put on Facebook last night.

UPDATE: Some of you may remember the little two year old boy that I asked you to pray for several months ago. His situation is still dragging on and he and his family, especially his mother, need your prayers and positive thoughts more then ever.

This is the deal: He was happily living with his parents and grandparents when his father took him, without permission, to another state. He refused to allow any communication between his son and his maternal family for several weeks. For the last few months the child has been transferred between parents, a month at a time. The court date to officially end this trauma is September 28th. I have been told that his mother desperately needs your prayers as she is literally falling apart.

I know from experience that I have a great group of caring friends and I am also aware of the power of prayer. Please do what you can to help. I thank you all in advance.

Here comes #22 again

This #22 is driving me nuts- seriously people! why does it keep popping up in my life like it is trying to tell me something important?

This morning went rather well. I began the day with an appointment with my PA. He was extremely happy with what my blood pressure has been doing and decided to leave my medication alone. The nurse came and took a routine blood sample and did not even leave a mark on my arm. I love nurses like that! Assuming that my lab results are normal, I won't be coming back for six months. That's just fine with me, even though I like chatting with my PA.

I did just start therapy with my chiropractor to see if she can get my back in better shape then it is. An MRI I had last November showed significant damage. I should be in a lot of pain but I really am not. Anyway I decided I would give her a chance and we will see what happens. It will be even better if Medicare agrees to foot the bill for therapy adjustments.If they do they do, if they don't they don't.

It seems like I am supposed to be doing something, but I have no idea what that is. It may or may not have something to do with #22 or as I have noted before- 2+2=4, a spiritual number, having to do with balance. If I ever figure it out I'll let you know. In the meantime have a great day doing whatever it is you do!

It's here!

What Now My Love? A Writer's Journey Is now live on Amazon.com as a kindle book.

My dream happened. It was offered on August 18th, my grandmother's birthday. It has been 34 years since she left her body on earth, but her spirit is still here.

I hope you will check out the book and if you do, I sincerely hope you enjoy what is between the covers.

Thanks in advance to my readers and fans!

Stepping back and taking a look

In my past I spent several years as a product demonstrator for a marketing company. Most of my demos took place at our local Walmart in the grocery department. I quickly learned a technique that I still use today. I would set up my table, then move to the front of it and observe the display from a customer's view.

It possibly instilled my habit of observation in other aspects of my life. It also, no doubt, led to a tendency for judgement, which I am working on. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. I need to remember that!

My new book has been proofread, happily I just needed to add commas, the corrections made and it is ready to launch on the masses tomorrow via Amazon.com. Today I changed hats and read the book from the view point of a reader.

The result is that I really love this book! Truly, it is one of the best things I have written since my first published piece in 1994. I kid you not!!

I am so grateful that I took the suggestion of the friend, who told me to check my archives. If I had not listened to him, this book may not have been written. I am also grateful that over the years I have learned to trust my intuition, the voice of my soul, and tune into my spiritual guides.

I have stepped back and taken a look, the rest is up to you, the reader.

Right under my nose

If you have been following along you know that I have been busy getting my newest book, "What Now My Love? A Writer's Journey", ready to launch into space. I have a friend in New York who also has a couple of friends who have volunteered to proofread the book. Sorry but I think I was born a perfectionist and even though I am working on it I haven't succeeded in completely eliminating the trait. There could be worse habits right?

So back to those people reading what is between the covers- the word I am getting is they all love it. I expect to get word back tonight on their findings. Then I will correct what they have found and with my son's help it will be offered as an e-book on Amazon.com this weekend. It will join my already published e-books, "Journey of an Enlightened Egotist" and "Spirits of Cibola County".

I couldn't wait to do a test of the book so I had printed out a copy to see what it looked like. I then added a plastic spine to hold it all together and I am happy with the result. I realized that not everyone interested would want an electronic copy, which can't be signed.

Over last weekend I added several new friends to my Facebook account. A couple are even neighbors. Knowing that I had a copy of the manuscript, which did contain some minor typos etc, I offered it to one of those new Facebook friends, who is also a neighbor.

Right under my nose I would get feedback from someone who actually lives here and no doubt knows/knew some of the people in the book.

If anyone out there is interested in obtaining a signed copy of my newest book please email me at begunn37@q.com or call me at 505-287-7278 for details. Please wait until after Saturday, August 18th, when it will be (hopefully) available on Amazon.com.

Getting a tattoo

Sometimes something comes through on my Facebook newsfeed that just cracks me up. This morning I couldn't help laughing at the following: If you're having a bad day remember, there are people out there who have their ex's name tattooed on them.

I really don't understand why anyone would want a tattoo in the first place, but everyone is entitled to follow their own path.

I have a family member who at 18 decided to get a giant butterfly tattooed on her back. The person she allowed to practice on her was just learning. It wasn't long before the image started pealing and began to look like a gross mess. I haven't seen it for years so I don't know what it looks like today. I often wonder if she regrets her decision.

Another young man in my family announced that he is getting a tattoo, where I have no idea. He said it is going to be an image, a quote and the name of his grandfather, who was an alcoholic who pretty much drank himself to death. I can't help wondering why he would choose this person to be his hero and just how long it will take him to realize what he has done.

The only tattoos I have are three tiny dots marking former radiation treatments. I certainly hope I won't have to relive that experience again, even though I had the best oncologist around and if it were not for him I would not be here to write this blog post.

An avalanche of birthdays

The next few weeks are going to be crammed with family birthdays. I just bought a bunch of birthday cards for the occasions. The first one is my oldest great granddaughter on August 20th she will be 6, her mother and her twin sister will be 32 on August 29th, next my daughter on August 31 will be 39. Then comes my only great grandson on September 2 who will be 8, followed by my youngest grandson on Sept 8 who will be 17. Celebrating her 1st birthday on September 13 is my youngest great granddaughter.

There is one other important date during these weeks and that is August 30th. On that date eight years ago my only daughter sent me a rather nasty email basically telling me I no longer existed . Nothing I have done in all those years has changed her decision to eliminate me from her life. This year I am giving her another small handmade gift and I have decided that if she does not bring herself to acknowledge me or my effort this time I am through trying.

Whatever will be will be and it is not up to me.  

Going back

For awhile things have started going back. I know that sounds odd but that has been my experience. Perhaps it has to do with mercury being in retrograde I'm not sure. Things just keep popping up that remind me of the past.

Today someone posted something on Facebook that reminded me of my own school days, a very lonely time in my past life. I didn't have a lot of friends and although my family never went hungry, we were apparently what would be considered poor today. I knew better than to ask for name brand anything. I always felt less than and it took many adult years to get over that feeling.

Yesterday I saw a Marlboro cigarette package in my driveway and it reminded me of all the years I smoked that brand. 2019 will mark 20 years since I stopped smoking.

The other night I had a dream featuring a man I didn't recognize that claimed we were married in a previous life. It reminded me of the numerous spiritual concepts I now accept.

I keep running into elementary teachers that taught my child and grandchild. In a small town I suppose that isn't unusual but it reminded me of all the years I spent as a room mother. Something I posted the other day reminded me of an elementary principle I knew, who is now deceased. He suggested that I go back to school and get a degree in education but I didn't.

A couple of days ago a butterfly attached itself to my screen door. It reminded me that years ago someone introduced me to, The Dream Book, by Betty Bethards.It explains symbols and I have never been sorry I bought the book. I looked up butterfly and among other things butterfly means:emerging triumphant in new awareness.

I recently began making a crochet pillow that has two sides of different colors. Mine will be white on one side and yellow on the other. When I realized it reminded me of a shawl I had crocheted for my ailing grandmother shortly before she died, yellow with white fringe, it made me laugh.

The number 22 has for many years seemed important but I never knew why. On July 22 my youngest grandson and I had a falling out. It may or may not straighten itself out eventually. Perhaps it was a wake up call to remind me that it was time to let him go to live his own life. Or to put #22 another way: 2+2=4 and the spiritual meaning of 4 is: Balance of energies with a partner; growing in perfect balance. It is quite possible it had nothing to do with my grandson.

Perhaps these little "going back" reminders are just that. Maybe the universe is telling me it's time to move on and put the past where it belongs- in the past.

It really is true

I would like to relate a true story. I had a wake up call this morning that proved to me that what you send out into the universe really does come back to you.

First I am going back several years to a time when I was having lunch with a friend at what was then the 4 B's restaurant in Grants, NM. We had no idea that it would be torn down a few weeks after our visit.Our waiter was a very nice guy who was down on his luck and had reached the point of giving up. His wife was sick and he didn't know how he was going to handle his bills. I had just come from the bank and had in my possession quite a bit of money. Something told me I needed  to restore his faith in his community so I had my friend write the young man a note wishing him well and inserted $100 in an envelope as a tip. People all over Grants probably heard his verbal reaction when he saw what I had given him. He rushed to the door as we were leaving and gave us both a genuine hug.

The next part of this story happened several years later when I had the Writing Camp for kids. I had helped a friend edit a manuscript for a wonderful children's book that she was about to publish.It was something I wanted to do because she is a very talented writer and the book had an important message about bullying. I did not ask for nor did I expect to be compensated for my effort. After the book was published she sent me a check for yes, you guessed it, $100. Since then I have always felt that I really didn't deserve it.

The wake up call happened this morning. I had arranged with this same friend to look over my latest manuscript that is about to be offered on Amazon.com. Even though I have read it over several times I know it is possible to overlook typos. I had printed out a copy of the book and took it to the post office to mail to her. I kept thinking that the clerk looked very familiar and I asked if she had ever worked anyplace else in Grants. She replied, " I worked at 4B's for 25 years".  That's where I knew her from!

On my way home my mind went back to that time years ago and that $100 I put in the envelope to help a stranger. I couldn't help smiling and I hope you do too. 

What's next?

Even though I am happy with how my new book, What Now My Love? A Writer's Journey, looks I have decided to hold off sending it off to Amazon.com I always try to follow my intuition because I know it is the voice of my soul.

This book is partially dedicated to my grandmother whose birthday would have been August 18th. Also there is a lot of universal energy out there right now with the planets doing their thing. My intuition is telling me to let it pass before engaging in anything new.

It is amazing just how much information there is in this book. I know I was guided every step of the way to choose what is between the covers. I am going to keep the cost low because It isn't about money it is about getting my journey out there with the hope that it will inspire others to believe in themselves. If you don't believe in yourself who will?

In the meantime I will concentrate on finishing projects I have started and getting my yard and life in shape for the next round of my journey. Have a great day everyone!