“There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.” ~ Mark Twain
Mark Twain (Wikipedia)
As a writer, I believe in these words from the great Mark Twain with all my heart. Each of us has an interesting and unique story to tell, with a new angle, and a fresh take on our individual life experiences.
As a fitting example, my mother-in-law shared the following with me this afternoon when we visited her.
“My father first set his eyes on my mother, Amelia, or Millie as she was called, when he was twenty and she was only twelve. Even at that tender age, she must have stolen his heart, because he told her, “Millie, I have to go away to work at sea, but when I come back, I will marry you.” Upon his return eight years later, he was true to his word. He took her as his wife, and nine months after the wedding, I was born. My father loved the name Mona, so he was the one that named me.”
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The way she shared the story of how she came into the world resonated with me.
As life often goes, however, what started out as a romantic tale eventually encompassed great personal tragedy, hardship, and sacrifice.
My mother-in-law’s story of her family could easily fill the pages of an epic novel. It is a story I would consider worthy of recording and retelling one day.
Have you been moved by someone’s words in a conversation recently? As a writer or blogger, are you listening for new story opportunities in every-day life?
How about your own experiences? Have you ever considered writing a memoir?
Unless a major catastrophe strikes our world between now and February third, I can pretty much guarantee where my husband will be this coming Sunday. That’s right, he’ll be cheering for the San Francisco 49ers as they compete against the Baltimore Ravens in the Forty-Seventh Super Bowl football game, and I will be cheering alongside him.
But what makes this particular game so significant for us? Well, there are a few reasons. For me, the game itself is – dare I say it – secondary. Not being a huge sports fan of any stripe, I’ll be taking part to enjoy the following:
1. The Half-time Show with Beyoncé. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing this lovely lady perform, and I don’t even care if she lip-syncs.
2. The delicious and obligatory Super Bowl snacks. Can’t wait to dig into the colossal batch of Super Nachos I am planning to prepare, and the Super Spicy Chicken Wings that, of course, must accompany them. My mouth is watering already, just writing about it.
3. And we must not forget the ice-cold beer to wash it all down!
4. Sooky baby Tom Brady will be nowhere to be seen. Even though I’ll be rooting for the 49ers, I’d love to give the Ravens a pat on the back for eliminating Mr. Ego and his ilk from the Championship.
5. But the fifth and the biggest reason the game is so special this year? It is an Anniversary of sorts for my husband and me. You see, 1994 was the year we met and started dating. And I soon found out what an avid, longtime fan of football my new man was, when the season started that year. Being stuck-like-glue-to-each-other-in-love, I was quickly initiated, and even dragged into a big-screen pub two weeks before the Super Bowl to witness San Francisco eliminate the Dallas Cowboys.
And wouldn’t you know it, in that first magical year for us, his beloved 49ers won the Super Bowl (January 1995). This is the first time, in the eighteen years since, that San Francisco is getting another shot at the Championship. Can they do it again?
Honestly, it doesn’t make a heck of a lot of difference to me, personally.
But it would be kind of special to see a victory dance, and that victory smile again, on the face of the man I love.
I was a little disappointed this morning when I learned our area wouldn’t be getting the big dumping of snow that St. John’s and the rest of the Avalon Peninsula has in their forecast. Everyone there is bracing for up to seventy centimeters of the white stuff, while we are only expecting five to ten.
Boo! 😦
But then along came a little visitor down by our beach.
I thought it was an adult harp seal first, because he appeared to be mostly black.
But as I inched closer…and he turned to see me…
I could see more spottiness and some “whitecoat” on his other side.
When I reassured him that I meant no harm, he seemed to squint his eyes…sort of like my cats do when I talk “love talk” to them. 🙂
Don’t worry, little seal.
You are so very close to my house.
I’m not fond of seal meat or flipper pie, so you have nothing to fear from me.
So even though I’m going to miss the big snowfall back home, I never could have gotten these pics back in my old backyard !
To see photos of the baby seal, or whitecoat, that visited us last winter, click here, and scroll down. 🙂
One year ago today, on New Year’s Eve, 2011, I started this blog, Jennifer’s Journal. And as I mentioned in the very first post, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, I had no idea where my blog would take us. So here is what I found out.
1. I didn’t know I would have the resolve to faithfully post to my blog a little more than once a week on average. WordPress, being the best blogging site – in my opinion – had a lot to do with my enthusiasm.
2. I didn’t know I would be taking my visitors and followers on a pictorial journey of our 2011 trip to Italy and France. Nor did I know that one of these installments,
“Scenes From Italy – Part Three: Siena and Florence, Tuscany” would consistently be my most visited post, from all around the world!
3. I hadn’t made plans yet to take a Spring vacation in Florida, with my husband and my daughter and her family. My photo album from that trip,
“For the Young, & the Young at Heart: Disney’s Magic Kingdom“, would garner a record of 449 views on May 8th, the most views I had in one day.
4. I wasn’t fully aware of how beautiful it actually is where I live, here in Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland, until I read your lovely comments on my local photographic efforts. 🙂 “Autumn Walk on the East Coast” was a particular favourite.
5. I came to learn how the poems, musings, and photographs of my grandchildren would be a popular subject for many!
7. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support my blog received, as I was losing my mother. I cannot fully express what a source of comfort those caring comments were, and still are.
8. I didn’t know I was going to publish sixteen of my poems, and that I would be proud of them. 🙂
9. I wasn’t sure (but I am pleased I did) that I would keep my resolution to start writing a novel, and am now starting Chapter Six of the first draft. My post about it, Then You Must Write It, would be one my most popular blog posts, generating many of your comments.
10. Novel writing or not, I love my blog as the vehicle of self-expression it has turned out to be, and I will continue to update it in 2013. Connecting with many of you and making new friends is one of the best advantages of blogging.
So, let me say to all of my followers and visitors from sixty-six countries, a GIANT THANK YOU! And a Happy New Year to you all. 🙂
The past few years have taken our mother on a difficult journey, and our family right along with her.
Mercifully, she finally succumbed to her illness last week, and
we were able to say our goodbyes as she entered into her eternal rest.
I found this poem that speaks of my sweet mother’s lifelong attitude of pragmatism and hope. Somehow it gives me strength and reassurance, reminding me how lucky I was to have known and loved this woman who was my mother.
All Is Well
Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away to the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other,
That we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way
which you always used.
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it.
It is with great honour and appreciation, that I once again accept an award nomination from one of my peers here at WordPress. Almost Spring has graciously nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award, saying that she found my blog “truly inspirational and of much variety.” The sweetheart! I am touched by her nomination. I urge you to check out her blog which is all about her painful, yet brave journey from “we” to “me”, as her marriage ended. Her experience certainly struck a chord with me.
Versatile? Yes, I suppose my blog is a reflection of my many moods and passions since I started it at the end of 2011. And who better to know what a blogger goes through and deals with every week, than another blogger? Who better can identify with the sometimes frightening task of putting yourself out there, and daring to show your vulnerable side to whomever may happen upon your poems and musings?
In keeping, somewhat, with the award rules, I will share seven random things about me, followed by a list of seven blogs I follow and suggest you try as well.
1. I wrote a teen romance novel when I was 15 (a second novel should happen any year now! ).
2. I feel more spiritual in the natural outdoors than I ever have inside a church.
3. I have one daughter and one son, all grown now. And I am immensely proud of them both.
4. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived several different lives.
5. I am most definitely an introvert.
6. I’ve always been a night person, not a morning person (will this change as I get older, I wonder? I hope??).
7. When I was a child, my dad called me a little Question Mark because I was always asking “why?” and “how come?” I think I’ve retained that curiosity about life (maybe I’m simply nosy).
Here is my list of lovely and versatile nominees, in no particular order:
– travel adventures by a couple of fellow Newfoundlanders, and now brand-new parents
These are not all that I follow out there in the blogosphere; I am also subscribed to a few breathtakingly lovely photography and travel blogs, and two inspirational quote blogs. Occasionally I check out food blogs too.
Have a wonderful week, everyone! And remember, there would be no feel-good awards to win without the kindness of the people who bestow them. Thanks again.
Disclaimer: the following rant is in no way intended to minimize or satirize the very serious issue of racism in our world today. It was conceived with tongue firmly in cheek and for entertainment purposes only… sort of.
Are you tired of hearing countless dog lovers dissing cats as a matter of course? Have you grown weary, as I have, of people professing to be proud animal owners, and yet they sh*t on the existence of my beloved pets? I swear, if I hear one more dog owner claiming that dogs are the superior pet, I’m going to start the meanest cat-fight you have ever witnessed.
Don’t get me wrong. I love dogs. I adore dogs. I have owned dogs myself in the past, but right now my life is more suited for the feline variety of pets, due in part to their low maintenance, but also because of the compatibility of our personalities. We are quiet, for the most part, and slightly aloof. We are independent. We keep ourselves clean. And we love each other unconditionally, and pine for each other when we’re apart. ( But I’m getting off track here with my cat love. I am head over heels about horses too, but can in no way accommodate one in my life at this time either.)
Even media personalities are hopping on the “dogs and dog-people are best” bandwagon, spouting their prejudices like it’s something to be proud of. But folks, just because your opinion is popular doesn’t make it right. It makes you sound like you have succumbed to a form of speciesism. Besides, you hardly ever hear cat owners/lovers badmouthing dogs, the way so many dog owners/lovers badmouth cats.
Where is the tolerance? What happened to the idea of Live and Let Live? Can we not embrace all animals for their individuality and wonderfulness? I’ll even go out on a limb here and say it is comparable to the ignorance of a person saying he loves mankind, but in no way can he tolerate foreigners. It just doesn’t make any sense, like so many other kinds of prejudice ( and don’t get me started on that).
Can we not all embrace each other for our differences and uniqueness, and just get along?
I have to say that I am so enjoying the local book club a couple of friends and I started this past January. Just two nights ago, our group gathered for another meeting to review our latest selection. And such a lively, thought-provoking discussion it was. We were happy as well to welcome a new member to our fold. Delighted to have you aboard, Kathy!
To become a member of our little group, the only real requirements are a pure love of reading and a willingness to share your opinions. But that is where most of our similarities end. What a diverse group of individuals we are! From a teacher, to a couple of retired nurses; from a minister’s wife, to a self-proclaimed atheist; a homemaker/blogger (yours truly), a designer, and even some artists, we are a varied lot. Some are originally from the area, but most of us aren’t.
Naturally, people being what they are, we often begin with the book in question, but soon veer off on tangents, taking the discussion to unexpected areas where voicing your two cents worth is welcome on any number of topics. When we have come together, we have shared thoughts and positions on racism, the medical profession, capital punishment, mental illness, greed, and crime, just to name a few.
Our provincial library has been a god-send in facilitating our passion: it has made available a long list of “book club kits” that we borrow from each month. All titles are either award-winning, well-reviewed, or both, and provide much variety of topics and tastes. Seldom does everyone love the book currently being discussed, but that often generates the most dynamic debates!
Of course, a happy by-product of Book Club is making new and interesting friends, and in my opinion, friends so interesting that they are usually reading other books, sometimes more than one at a time, in between our club picks.
Meet the little fellow who happens to own a giant chunk of my heart. At just four years of age, “J” is the youngest person in my family, and in my life.
In many ways, my grandson J is your typical little boy. He likes to do the things his dad does, which includes everything from working on the car..
…to collecting Star Wars figurines! And like most little boys, J loves to get up close and personal with wiggly, wriggly things.
Usually our little man doesn’t mind getting his picture taken…
..but not always. 🙂
When I go to visit my little grandson, at first he is usually very shy, and his first instinct is to hide behind his mother’s legs. Then out of the blue, he suddenly runs toward me, barreling into my waist with the sweetest, strongest hug! What makes a four-year-old boy do that?
He makes me think that I must be a pretty good grandma, and that he knows I adore him. But I bet he hasn’t any idea just how much. ♥
Jennifer's Journal 
