Forget It

 In 2005 one of my poems was published in Poetry.com. I am sharing it again because that was a long time ago and people forget!

Forget It

What are you going to do

When what you want and believe in

Doesn't seem to be coming true?

Like chicken soup

A little hard work is good for you.

 For anything worth having

Is worth the struggle too.

If it came too easy

Just by holding out your hand

You would wonder and worry 

And not understand.

Believing and working

To always do your best

Makes more than the getting

The valuable quest.

What are you going to do

When what you want and believe in

Doesn't seem to be coming true?

Forget it? Forget it!.

Writer's tools

Besides the obvious a writer needs a variety of tools to be successful. First they need-

Observation: The skill to observe everything and everyone.

Imagination: Curiosity to ask- what if?

Intuition: Listening to the quiet voice inside.

Confidence: Belief in oneself.

Courage; To write no matter what anyone else says or thinks.

Imagination

In encouraging my writing camp students to use their imagination I asked them to give a voice to something that didn't have one.The more interesting were a couch and a car. Below is my contribution: my dog, Ejay.

A Dog’s Tale

Hello humans, my name is Ejay. Some of you may know a little about me because my mom writes about me on Facebook. More than one picture of me has appeared there too. Most people think I am adorable. Wait, guys can’t be adorable. Maybe handsome is a better description.

I was born somewhere in Cibola County, New Mexico in February 2012. I don’t remember much about my first home or if I had siblings because I ran away from home when I was about 10 months old. I was picked up by animal control and spent three weeks in a facility that housed other dogs and cats. I was put in a cage with a roommate, waiting for my family to come and take me home. It never happened, although they were contacted.

Finally, an ad was placed in the local paper with my picture. I was apparently ready for adoption- yay! I thought, please someone come and get me. I don’t like it here. I will be good, I promise!

A couple of days later the lady who was to become my new mom came to check me out. She looked at me, I looked at her and wagged my tail- a lot! I was taken out of the cage and it was love at first sight. After all the paper work was finished, I was officially adopted.

After my new mom led me to her car I hopped up on the front seat to get a better view. As I did that my mom noticed a piece of wire attached to my belly. She was able to remove it and we were off to the office of the local vet for a quick visit and to get my shots. We also set up an appointment for neutering. I found out what that was a bit later. I will keep my opinion about that to myself. Finally arriving at my new home I discovered I had acquired a fur sister and brother. There was something strange about them though. They didn’t know how to bark and made meowing sounds. They did have four legs and a tail though!

I found that I had a pretty big yard to roam around in. It looked as if I was going to have fun chasing birds and wild rabbits. I discovered that, Smokey, my fur brother, enjoyed catching mice.

My first night in my new home was rather scary. My new mom put me in her bathroom with a blanket, food and water. It was dark in there and I kept throwing myself against the door in hopes she would let me out. That lasted one night. From then on I slept in a basket with a very comfortable pillow, right next to my mom’s bed.

I am grateful that I have had a comfortable home to live in and humans to love me. Thank goodness for the picture that connected me and my mom!

I Killed My Best Friend

 Every now and then I like to post this document I wrote several years ago in hopes it will cause someone else to think, so here it is:

 

            I KILLED MY BEST FRIEND

 

For a variety of reasons I grew up having very little self-esteem. When I graduated from high school I had no clue what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life. I had been an average student who finished school because it was expected. At 19 I was a very lonely person who desperately needed a best friend.

 

The friend I choose for the next forty years was three inches tall, smelled bad, controlled my life and led me in the direction of poor health. The relationship was what would be considered abusive today. At the beginning no one warned me of danger and in all those years nobody offered to help me let go of my destructive companion.

 

There were of course, those who shook their heads and fingers at me making rude comments about how disgusting this relationship was. They probably thought they were helping, but they only made me angry and caused me to stubbornly refuse to let go.

 

When I was 62 years old I looked in the mirror and did not like what I saw. I decided I did not deserve to be controlled by an object that could not possibly move from my hand to my mouth without my help. I realized I was the only one who could end the relationship and I have never been sorry that I did.

 

Believe me when I say, the only way you will successfully stop smoking or any other negative addiction is to become self centered and care about yourself. Whoever you are, believe that you are a valuable person who deserves the very best life has to offer.

 

There are many people around you who want to help. The hardest thing you have to do is learn to care about yourself and be willing to accept their help. I know from personal experience that once you do that the rest is a breeze.

 

Do you really want a best friend who is three inches tall, smells bad, controls your life and is leading you in the direction of poor health and perhaps death? If the answer is no, follow my example and give yourself permission to live the healthy life you deserve.

 

 

.

 

Questions

Recently I have been asking a question a day on Facebook. I am amazed at the response I am getting from people I haven't heard from lately. Today's question really got me thinking. It was" What was the most challenging part of childhood?"My answer was- fitting in. After awhile I realized I have never fit in with the rest of the world. Perhaps that's a good thing! 

The one thing I have always hated is lies. Unfortunately I married two men who loved to lie. Two of my children have lied to me and maybe that's why they no longer speak to me.

You did good

A message "Freedom isn't Free"led me to remember something I wrote about while doing interviews for the Cibola Beacon. I looked up the two stories involved and think the people I interviewed may not be living now. In reading the two stories, which were husband and wife, I realized what a good writer I am. Every single story was approved by the person I wrote about. After four years another editor took over and wanted to change something I wrote. I said NO and that ended our relationship.I did go on writing but not for the paper. It just dawned on me that some of the people I interviewed may now be deceased. How cool is it that I got to write their story just as they wanted it to appear?

Blood test

I had to wait all week for the results of my latest blood test. As it turned out I still need to take vitamins D and B 12 along with my normal BP medication. I guess that's not too bad for my age. There are many people taking a lot more than that. I am grateful for the outcome.

Gone

 I did some checking today on my ex husbands family. I was really surprised to find out how many that I thought were healthy are no longer living. Since it was mostly a Catholic family I pretty much skipped a lot of long masses. A couple still living appear really old. It does make me wonder why I am still here!

Questions

 A few days ago I decided to start something new on Facebook. I simply asked a question every day and waited to see who would post an answer. It reminded me of a past experience that I laugh about now. Someone asked me what I did and a friend said, "She asks questions." I should of listened!

Anyway today's question was: Who inspires you to be better? I waited for an answer and in the meantime thought about mine. This is what I wrote.

I think that's a really good question. Most people will probably say God or the Creator. That's a lot to put on one entity, considering how many people occupy the world. I am going with Spirit Guide or Archangel, both appointed by God to help humans evolve. My go to archangel is Raphael, the master healer. Next would be my soul mind that not only knows why I am here, but remembers every moment of my previous lives.