"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. [...] I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day tomorrow, I'm sharing this quote from the man himself. Let's do what we can to make peace, brotherhood, and unconditional love our reality....
This is another of my favorite quotes. It is oh, so true. You can't see or touch things like kindness, compassion, and unconditional love. You can only feel them in your heart. I hope that you will feel these beautiful things today!
I love this quote. It makes me think of another quote, this one from comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres who says it every day at the end of her show: "Be kind to one another." Kindness matters. It really does. Let's look at the people around us today and figure out ways that we can be kind to them. It can be as simple as giving them a smile or a hug. Let's do what we can to brighten someone's day today, okay? :)
What if angry words vanished like soap bubbles and punches landed light as butterfly kisses? What if guns fired marshmallow bullets, and bombs burst into feather clouds sending us into fits of giggles? What if we all died laughing?
~ Anna Grossnickle Hines,
from Peaceful Pieces:
Poems and Quilts About Peace
Today is the International Day of Peace. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this a day "devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples." I thought this was an appropriate poem for the occasion. Wishing you all a peaceful day!
This has been one of my favorite quotes ever since I first heard it about 8 years ago. It is a much-needed reminder for me that love and kindness are goals to strive for every day. Nothing else is more important.
If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.
~ Emily Dickinson
My mom owned a book of Emily Dickinson's poems when I was growing up. I loved reading through it! This particular poem was one of my favorites, and one of many that I memorized. I remember it inspiring me back then to be kind and help others. It still has that affect on me!
"[...] I think when we make choices -- for each choice is individual of the choices we have made before -- we must examine not only our reasons for making them but what result they will have, and whether good people will be hurt by our decisions." There was a pause. Then, "You are very wise, Cecily Herondale," he said. "Do not regret too much the choices you have made in the past, Gabriel," she said, aware that she was using his Christian name, but not able to help it. "Only make the right ones in the future. We are ever capable of change and ever capable of being our better selves."
~ from Clockwork Princess,
written by Cassandra Clare
I, too, feel that Cecily Herondale is very wise in this passage. Not only do I agree with her that we need to think about our choices when we make them (especially when it comes to big decisions), but I also believe that we humans are always capable of change and being better people than we were the day before. Do you agree with Cecily? Why or why not?
This week's word is magnanimous [mag-nan-uh-muhs], an adjective meaning "generous; noble". Its synonyms include: benevolent, bountiful, and charitable. I thought it was a fitting word for the holiday season. Here are a few example sentences:
On this earth we are connected one to another to another to another to another to another to another to another to another to another to another to another to another to another to another to another such that whatever happens to one of us happens to all of
us.
~ Anna Grossnickle Hines,
Peaceful Pieces:
Poems and Quilts About Peace
I love this poem, both the sentiment behind it and the way Hines makes her words look like a row of dominoes standing next to each other. We are all connected to each other. Kindness matters.
Open minds -- at least two. Willing hearts -- the same. Rinse well with compassion. Stir in a fair amount of trust. Season with forgiveness. Simmer in a sauce of respect. A dash of humor brightens the flavor.
Best served with hope.
~ Anna Grossnickle Hines,
from Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts About Peace
Yesterday was the International Day of Peace. (I originally wrote the date down wrong and thought it was today until I happened to see it on my calendar late last night.) Today is the first day of fall, however. I love this poem by Hines that I found in her book, Peaceful Pieces, at the library over the summer, and thought it was appropriate for the Day of Peace. This world needs all the peace it can get, today and every day. Wishing you all a peaceful day and a beautiful, peaceful autumn!
Something happened to me last Wednesday. It wasn't anything earth-shattering, really, but for me -- for my life -- it was big. What was this life-changing event? My youngest started first grade.
I have been a stay-at-home mom for almost 16 and a half years now. Pretty much every single day since my daughter was born back in 1996, I have spent my days with at least one child here at home. (And often three or more.) Yes, there have been a few exceptions along the way. I've been lucky enough to be able to get away with girlfriends occasionally, for scrapbooking weekends and other fun events. There were also four weeks back in 2005 when Emmalie and Nick were both in school and I was home alone. I'm not sure those weeks really count, though. See, I was in my ninth month of pregnancy and we'd just moved into our new house two days before school started. The entire time my kids were in school those four weeks, I was busy, busy, busy -- unpacking boxes and painting rooms, just me and my big belly.
I also had half the day to myself last year when Ben was in Kindergarten. It was virtually impossible to get much of anything done during that time, however. Two and a half hours goes by awfully quick, especially when 30 precious minutes of that time is taken up by travel, to and from school.
This year, though... this year is different. For the past week, I've had seven glorious days to myself. A whole five and a half hours every day (once you subtract that travel time). It's been heavenly. Don't get me wrong. I love spending time with my kids. Really, I do. I'd rather spend time with them than with almost anyone else in this world. But I also truly love spending time alone.
What have I been doing with all this time to myself? I could spend the day on the couch, watching chick flicks or reading good books, munching on bonbons. I could go to the theater and watch a movie there. I could hang out at the mall, people-watching or shopping, money permitting. I could scrub the house from top to bottom and organize every closet and cupboard. (I think I do need to schedule one of those days!) I could do lots of things with my time, and it would be very easy (and tempting) to waste it on something frivolous, but so far I have actually been fairly productive.
Besides finishing some household chores that really needed to be done -- and taking some time out for exercise (something else that really needs to be done) -- I've been writing. Last week I wrote several poems and spent quite a bit of time working to revise some old stories of mine. I also wrote a few cover letters, then submitted poems and stories to a number of magazines.
This week I started something new. One of my goals for 2012 was to start writing another novel for kids. I made that goal for myself back in January. Here it is, almost September, and I hadn't even written one sentence yet. I've had two or three ideas for new books rattling around in my head, and over the weekend, I finally decided which one I would tackle first.
Many years ago I came up with a character, a young teenage girl named Tasha. I wrote down a page-long description of her, a paper I still have. Ever since then, Tasha has been in my head, waiting. She's been pretty patient, but every once in awhile, I can hear her asking, "When are you going to tell my story?" I've always thought she deserved to have her story written down. The problem has been that, while I had a compelling character, I hadn't thought of an actual story plot yet. Last weekend I decided I would just start writing about her, and that maybe if I listened carefully, Tasha would tell me what happens.
On Monday morning, while I was power-walking, she started talking. The story ideas kept coming and coming. I couldn't wait to get home and start writing! I've been writing and writing all week, wishing that I had even more time to get all the words down. So far, I've written almost 9000 words, which translates roughly to 32 pages of a novel. And I still have a lot more of Tasha's story to tell.
Ideas, characters, plots -- they all come from somewhere. They don't magically appear out of thin air. (At least, not for me. Maybe other writers have a different experience.) The origins of Tasha and her story go back a long way -- all the way back to when I was ten. One day that summer before 5th grade, I picked out some books at a garage sale and my mom bought them for me. One of them was Ready-made Family by Frances Salomon Murphy, 1953:
I had to get this image from Amazon because I couldn't find my copy. It's around here somewhere... and looks just like this one.
This middle-grade novel is about 12-year-old Hedwig Kowalski and her two younger siblings. After being moved around from relative to relative, and then living in the state home, the three are taken to live with foster parents, the Kennedys. The transition is not an easy one, and Hedy worries that her brother's unruly behavior is going to ruin this chance for the Kowalskis to finally have a home of their own. Though it was written in the 1950's, and some of the details of the story are dated, the themes and the emotions Murphy writes about ring just as true today.
The book had a profound effect on me. It was the first time I'd ever heard about foster children and social workers. It opened my eyes to the fact that there was a whole world of people out there with life experiences vastly different from my own. I realized then just how lucky I was to have a loving family with a home, where all my basic needs (and more!) were met. I knew after reading that book that I wanted to help kids like Hedy, that I wanted to be a social worker when I grew up.
After that, I read just about every book about foster kids, social workers, child abuse, and other related topics that I could get my hands on. All through the rest of elementary school and then junior high and high school, my dream of becoming a social worker continued. I majored in social work in college, and then, finally, became an actual social worker. Though I wasn't a foster care case manager as I'd once thought I might be, I did help severely emotionally disturbed kids (some of whom were in foster care) for six years. And all because of a book I read when I was ten.
My character Tasha comes from those experiences of mine. She is a foster child and has had a rough life. My heart aches for her. I want to help that scared little girl in my head by writing her story, and maybe, if it ever gets published, it could help a real-life foster child, too.
Yesterday I was in the car, listening to a CD of my favorite band, The Airborne Toxic Event. The beautiful, haunting song "A Letter to Georgia" came on, and as I sang along, I realized that it reminded me of Tasha. Even though the song was written about an adult, the lyrics can also apply to a child, frightened and alone in the world. If I ever get Tasha's story published, I plan to ask the band's permission to print the lyrics in the front of the book. (Hey, when you're dreaming big, you might as well dream really big!) Here's the song, if you'd like to hear it:
So, that's what I've been up to the past week. It's exciting -- and a little scary -- but I'm very happy to be "on the write track". :)
It is probably not a surprise that I strongly agree with this quote from author Katherine Paterson. Yes, it is very important to teach children how to read. It is equally important to give them things that are worth reading -- to help cultivate a love of reading, to help children learn more about themselves and others, and to open wide that door of imagination.
On a side note, you will notice that I am using an image from the New York Public Library's digital gallery today. I read about the gallery in a magazine I was flipping through the other day, when my boys were getting their hair cut, and I wrote down the address so I could check it out when I got home. I'm so glad I did! The NYPL digital gallery provides free access to thousands and thousands of images from their vast collections. It's an amazing site to look through! (There's a link to the site in the image caption above, if you're interested.) Anyway, you'll be seeing more images from their digital gallery here in the future....
(Psst... if you haven't read about the Big Blue Birthday Contest yet, please check out this post.)
Hurt no living thing; Ladybird, no butterfly, Nor moth with dusty wing, No cricket chirping cheerily, Nor grasshopper so light of leap, Nor dancing gnat, no beetle fat, Nor harmless worms that creep.
~ Christina Rossetti
This poem reminds me of my son, Nick, who has such a gentle spirit and loves all living things -- animals, insects, plants. He doesn't even like to watch me pull weeds from our garden, and gets upset if he accidentally steps on a bug.
(Psst... if you haven't read about the Big Blue Birthday Contest yet, please check out this post.)
"Remember then that there is only one important time, and that time is now. The most important one is always the one you are with. And the most important thing is to do good for the one who is standing at your side. For these, my dear boy, are the answers to what is most important in this world. This is why we are here."
"Thousands of candles
can be lighted from a single candle,
and the life of the candle
will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases
by being shared."
When someone is kind, friendly, or good-natured, that person is also being amiable [ey-mee-uh-buhl]. (Other good synonyms include affable, genial, and cordial.) It is a trait that I admire in others and one that I aspire towards, though I don't always succeed.
She greeted the new student with an amiable smile.
While his mother pushed him along in the shopping cart,
the amiable young boy waved at everyone he passed.
I closed my eyes and lifted my face towards the sun,
