Happy Thanksgiving

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / Leave a comment

This time every year, people are busy preparing a feast and welcoming family. Thanksgiving is the one time of year families and friends gather and give thanks for the blessings God has bestowed upon us. It is a tradition, a time of excitement as the beginning of one year is ending and a new one is beginning. Decorations come out in anticipation of the upcoming sacred holiday and shopping lists made. It is a joyous time for most families.

This year is different. I am struggling find things for which I am thankful. This has been a dark year for my family and me. In fact, it has been a year from Hell. I won’t list the all my family has been through this year; it is too personal and painful. It strains credibility. But as the saying goes, “Truth is stranger than fiction.” 

Given the stress we were under, I had the opportunity to cancel our family thanksgiving, but it is our tradition not subject to the whims of our sorrows.

I believe traditions are important. Thanksgiving is the time of year when families pull together, laugh, reminisce, and embrace each other. A time to reinforce the values we hold dear and pass them to the next generation.

As dark clouds hover over our family, I am trying to focus on the things and people I cherish and hold dear. 

I am thankful for life. Not long ago, turning sixty would have been traumatic, evoking fear and depression. I am a vain person and the aging process is something I fight tooth and nail. However, cheating death, twice, in the span of six months gives you a new perspective. Now I want to celebrate. I’m here. 

I am thankful for the miracle of modern medicine and the high percentage of women beating cancer. Thankful my stepdaughter is returning to her glowing and vibrant self. Thankful my niece is winning her own battle in this dreadful war.

I am thankful for the airlines who bring my daughter and sister home safely. 

I am thankful for my precious grandchildren who light up my world and make me feel young again.

I am grateful for talented friends who support me in my writing endeavors, even during down times.

I am thankful for my precious dogs, Cooper and Piper. For turning naps into an hour of unconditional love and solace.

I am thankful for my husband, his love, tenderness, and patience. He is my safe place to fall and my foundation. 

I am thankful for my children’s love, compassion and devotion to family. It is inspiring.

I am thankful for opportunities to mend old hurts, before it is too late, and minister to those I love. I am thankful each day brings another chance to extend forgiveness and find peace.I am thankful that today and all of the tomorrows given to each and everyone one of us is a new moment, a second chance to get it right, and an opportunity to change, grow and move the world.

To each of you, God bless and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Father Time

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 3 Comments

Funny thing about time; mistakenly we believe there will always be enough. Enough to accomplish our dreams, see the world, or tell those we cherish how much they are loved. The truth is,  Father Time isn’t your friend. No respecter of persons, the clock of life ticks away whether we want it to or not.

When we’re young, we never give a moments notice. We mark our calendars in red, set our smart phones to chime,  setting  people and things we most treasure aside, all in the pursuit of days of  endless busyness.  We’ll have time tomorrow or the next; it isn’t going anywhere.

Only it is, we’re just too busy to notice.

One moment you’re a twenty something graduate excited about making your mark on the world, or a young bride starting her family.

Then you blink.

Your kids are grown leaving retirement and an empty nest to greet you each day.You notice the crow’s feet, greying hair and wonder aloud. Where did all the time go? You protest, But, I feel the same today as I did when ….

Then it happens.

A young cashier or waitress tells you about the senior discount. You catch a glimpse of yourself, the way you favor that left hip or the slowness in your step. Denying the obvious, you work an extra half-hour on the treadmill; schedule a makeover with your hairdresser and shop for a trendy new outfit, trying to hold time at bay. But the god-forsaken neon lights only highlight the age spots, saggy arms, and tits that look wilted rather than perky. The woman in the mirror isn’t who you thought she was.

Father Time has left his mark.

The wake-up call begins. Gripped with urgency whether from vanity or fear, you refuse to accept the subtle signs believing a few laser treatments and Botox will turn  the clock back.

But, you can’t out run Father Time.

Looking in the mirror, I see a woman who doesn’t sashay like she used to. Cheating death twice in less than six months tends to change one’s perspective. I assumed, when the time came, I would handle these heavy issues with grace and dignity. Now, I’m not so sure. It’s hard to feel safe struggling with the changes in my life, with all the things I haven’t done or said. I wish I could go back and start over.

All the brave, “I would never’s…”uttered I take back.

I hear the whispers of Father-time. “Youth and beauty can’t hold a candle to time NOT wasted.

Ways We Sabotage Our Own Writing Success

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 7 Comments

SABOTAGE CAN OUTWEIGH PRODUCTION - NARA - 515321Writing is not for the faint of heart. It takes hard work, dedication, a thick skin, and perseverance. Submitting that first piece of work is like standing naked on the stage of American Idol for all the world to judge.

We know, intellectually, constructive criticism and rejection will be part of the creative writing process, yet we are often unprepared. In addition, juggling everyday responsibilities and establishing a solid writing schedule amid time constraints can lead to disorganization, resulting in sabotaging the very success as writers we seek.

Sabotaging ourselves is easy. With its many disguises, it insidiously creeps up in the form of revisions, platform building, tutorials, tally counting, and discouragement, to name a few.
If you have ever found yourself doing any of the following, you might be sabotaging your writing success and perhaps it’s time to reevaluate.

  • Obsessing over a story or chapter–Revising to the point you can’t seem to move forward.
  • Obsessing over a rejection or critique–Taking it personally rather than learning from the experience
  • Obsessing over another’s numbers – Number of stories or novels published; the number of Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest followers they have compared to you. As a result, you spend more time on social network sites than writing.
  • Obsessing over learning rather than doing – Reading or attending every how-to-write-the –best-novel book, class or seminar without ever translating the knowledge into a story or novel.
  • Obsessing over time – Constant complaining over not enough time, schedule interruptions; lack of planning, no set schedule, timetable or goal.
  • Obsessing over a blank page – Writer’s block or missing muse.
  • Obsessing over the negative rather than the positive – Allowing discouragement, resentment, and anger to sap your creative energy.

Each one of us has chosen our path in life and defined our own success. However, to achieve our dreams and goals we must recognize the obstacles in our path, including the ones we often place ourselves.

Patterns of sabotage can lead to talented writers throwing their hands up in frustration or never seeing their dreams come to fruition. However, once recognized these patterns can be changed and success is but a keystroke away.

What do you think? Do writers sabotage themselves? Have you? I’d love to hear your comments.

“…Finally… never quit. That is all the secret of success. Never quit! Quitting, I like to believe, has not been a striking characteristic of our family, and it is not tolerated in our college.
If you can’t win the scholarship, fight it out to the end of the examination.
If you can’t win your race, at least finish—somewhere.
If your boat can’t win, at least keep pulling on your oar, even if your eye glazes and the taste of blood comes into your throat with every heave.
If you cannot make your five yards in football, keep bucking the line -never let up—if you can’t see, or hear, keep plugging ahead! Never quit! If you forget all else I have said, remember these two words, through all your life…”

John D. Swain novelist and screenwriter; The Book of Man:  Readings on the Path to Manhood (Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University)

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Bloopers, Typos and Laughter

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 1 Comment

We’ve all heard the warning, check and double-check spelling, punctuation, and grammar before submitting a piece for publication, but … what can I say, mistakes happen to the best of us. 

If you’ve made a mistake recently, relax. Laughing at one’s self is a sign of maturity, or in some cases, getting ahead of the other guy.

"If you find it hard to laugh at yourself, I would be happy to do it for you." 
Groucho Marx                                                                         CLICK TO TWEET
"Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone..."
―Ella Wheeler Wilcox                                                      CLICK TO TWEET

So, kick back and have a good, old-fashioned belly laugh. It’s good for your health and good for the soul. As demonstrated by these wonderful church ladies with typewriters. 

I can’t take credit for finding these tidbits of laughter. I received them from a dear friend. I tried my to find their origination but was unsuccessful. I did manage to locate them in numerous other places on the net. Angelfire.com,  Beliefnet.com, Lotsofjokes.com, to name a few.

These Bloopers and Typos actually appeared in church bulletins or announced during church services.

    1. The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
    2. The sermon this morning: ‘Jesus Walks on the Water.’
    3. The sermon tonight: ‘Searching for Jesus.’
    4. Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
    5. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.
    6. Smile at someone who is hard to love.
    7. Say ‘Hell’ to someone who doesn’t care much about you.
    8. Don’t let worry kill you off – let the Church help.
    9. Miss Charlene Mason sang ‘I will not pass this way again,’ giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
    10. For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
    11. Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
    12. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
    13. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be ‘What Is Hell?’ Come early and listen to our choir practice.
    14. Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
    15. The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment, and gracious hostility.
    16. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM – prayer and medication to follow.
    17. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
    18. This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
    19. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
    20. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
    21. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
    22. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
    23. The Associate Minister unveiled the church’s new campaign slogan last Sunday: I Upped My Pledge – Up Yours!

Thanks to my friend Jo and all her friends for forwarding these on. I hoped you enjoyed them as much as I did and took them in the spirit they were intended, a good belly laugh and a gentle reminder – check and recheck. Typos happen to the brightest and the blessed of us. No pun intended.

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