A New Day

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Once upon a time, there was a little girl who discovered books could take her to faraway places. She could meet people and animals that she could never meet in the real world. She would go off to her room with a book, and experience exciting adventures.

As she grew, she realized she could create her own stories. Her joy of writing blossomed. Writing for pleasure provided peace, in a hectic world. One day, she decided to submit her writing to a contest. The results were encouraging, so she continued to write.

Recently, questions flooded her mind. Why was she writing? Why was she blogging? What was the point of it all? Yes, she loved to write, but she was feeling overwhelmed. Her peaceful writing world was slipping away. As her peace diminished, self-doubt took hold and began to steal her joy.

Yesterday, that girl received an e-mail from an editor. The encouraging words within the e-mail reminded her of why she wrote. The perfect timing of this email was an answer to all of her questions. She was ready to walk away. Instead, empowering words from a stranger, told her to keep writing.

Self-doubt can paralyze our creativity. Our dreams and goals are uniquely ours. Continue to do what gives you joy and push away the self-doubt, and it will make you stronger. And most importantly, surround yourself with people who constantly encourage you…thank you, Derek, Mom, Dad and Jan.

I’m curious, what’s your secret weapon to deal with self-doubt?

Penny Candy

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Growing up, Saturday was haircut day for my father. My sister and I loved to tag along to the Barber Shop. We didn’t go because we liked to hang out with a bunch of old guys, we went because Ben Franklin was next door and they sold penny candy. If you’re not familiar with the concept, penny candy was sold as individual pieces, rather than a larger package.

The cashier provided me and my sister with a brown lunch bag. Once my father gave us each fifty cents, we were set. I remember the excitement I felt as I strolled down the aisle. My eyes scanned the bins that held a variety of candies, so many choices for a child.

One of my favorite candies was the Jolly Rancher. It was a hard and somewhat sticky candy. It came in a variety of flavors of grape, apple, cherry, watermelon and raspberry. Cherry was the best.

Smarties were another favorite. The small pastel colored wafers tasted sweet at first, but then they tasted tart. The great thing about using one penny to purchase Smarties was that each roll had around fifteen or so wafers. Even as a child, I was a smart shopper.

Despite all of the mouth-watering and cavity causing candies to choose from, the majority of my fifty cents went toward my all-time favorite candy, the Atomic Fireball. This candy would set your mouth on fire. I remember having contests with my sister and friends to see who could hold it in their mouth the longest. To say Fireballs were hot was an understatement, but if you could survive the heat, you arrived at a sweet layer of rock hard sugar.

The days of penny candy have long passed, but the memories remain. I still enjoy an occasional Fireball now and then, but they don’t seem as hot as when I was a kid.

Did you have a favorite candy as a kid?

Nice to Meet You

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I always love to hear stories of how couples met. My good friend met her husband years ago through a personal ad in the newspaper. This was long before Match.com or other dating websites. They’ve been together for over twenty years.

My parents met while on a double date. My father was actually my mother’s friend’s date. When my mother tells the story, my father was driving and as she and her date sat in the backseat, my father kept giving her the “eye” in his rear view mirror. Of course my father’s story is different, she was eyeing him.

Derek and I worked in the same building for over three years before we met. He was one floor above, working as a loan officer. I was below, working for a law firm. We never met. I always took the stairs and he rode the elevator, so there was never an opportunity for a chance encounter.

One night, my girlfriend and I went out to a local bar to listen to some music. When I spied Derek walking by I mentioned to my friend that he looked like my high school crush. Sometime later, Derek approached me and we talked until the bar closed. He asked for my phone number and as they say, the rest is history.

Meeting in a bar doesn’t make for the greatest, “How we met story.” I do think it’s interesting that Derek worked one floor above me for three years without us ever meeting until that night.

I would love to hear your, “How we met story.” Let’s share how we met our husbands, wives, partners, significant others, best friend, etc.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sisterly Love

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“Sisters never quite forgive each other for what happened when they were five.” ~ Pam Brown

My sister, Jan, is three years older than me. Growing up, we had our share of sisterly battles. When the battles broke out, lines were drawn and our bedrooms were off limits to one another. It wasn’t uncommon to see handwritten signs taped to the door that read, “NO TRESPASSING, THIS MEANS YOU.”

After each battle, we’d eventually forget what we fought about, with the help of our mother. However, there is one thing my sister did that I’ve never forgotten. It involved candy, a sleeping bag and lack of oxygen.

It was a Friday or Saturday night and we had decided to have a camp out in the finished basement. We watched a few of our favorite televisions shows and devoured a large bowl of popcorn and then I got sleepy. About that time, my sister said, “Jill…I hid some candy in the bottom of my sleeping bag. Do you want some?”

Within a split second, I crawled head first into her sleeping bag. Next, I heard the sound of a zipper and then darkness. I remember I yelled for her to let me out, but I only heard muffled laughter. I kicked and screamed. There was no air. I was smothering.

What felt like hours, but was really only a couple of seconds, my sister unzipped the sleeping bag and my lungs inhaled the air. She laughed and I tore up the stairs to tattle on her. The camp out was officially over when I hung the “No Trespassing” sign on my bedroom door and crawled feet first, into my bed.

Today, my sister vaguely recalls the night she almost suffocated her only little sister. I can laugh about it now because I know she was only playing. However, I do blame her for my claustrophobic tendencies that I experience today. Thanks, Jan. You’re still the greatest sister!

Did you battle with siblings, cousins or friends?