Thankfulness~Gratitude~Blessed

As November closes and December begins, I just want to pause a moment to ponder how each month has its own theme or gimmick or tradition that has become attached to it.  November has emerged as the month of Thankfulness with many publicly citing 28 days or so of things-to-be-thankful-for.  Merged into this particular month is patriotism as this it the month for Veterans and all-important elections in which citizens demonstrate their right as citizens to be able to express opinions at the polls.


It is such a cliche', but I must express it just this once. What if every day were Thanksgiving Day? There. I said it. Imagine for one moment how life would be?  We'd awaken each day with the truth that God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit to let us see another day.  We'd look at family and friends around us as Jimmy Stewart does so artfully in It's a Wonderful Life and skip around letting everyone know what they mean in our lives  and promise never to take them for granted again.  We'd be grateful for the provisions of basic food, safe shelter, simple clothing and adequate health and never want for more.  We would reside in a constant state of thankfulness.  I know I'd like to live there on a daily basis!


What causes the human mind to want and need and desire so rampantly?  This is age-old, predating any electronic influence whatsoever.  I suppose the first cave men looked across at the next guy's round wheel and coveted that just as we are inspired with jealousy when those around us acquire a new bauble or shinier thingamajig.  People are funny, would you not agree?  If the adage is true that practice makes perfect and, better still, perfect practice makes perfect, then I'll begin today to practice as-perfectly-as-I-can to be truly thankful for all I have each and every day.  And I promise to let you know how I'm doing with that little project. 


Stay JOYful and Write On!

So you want to be published?

Several days ago I promised a snippet about becoming a published author. Here goes....

Quite often when folks discover I've written a book and had it published, the question is asked, "So how did you get published?" After drafting a little rhyming book about a moose and having a friend take a stab at drawing a few pictures to go with it,  I spent weeks surfing the internet (which led to dead ends) and looking through "How to get published" books which only  led to mentions of other books to buy on "How to get published". My friend and I eventually began sending some drafts to publishers mentioned on the internet and in the books.  We received those rejection letters you hear about.  Ouch.  We tried again. We never gave up

As it turns out, illustrator Brenda Nichols took a much more practical approach than my attempts with the internet and the how-to-get-published books.  She went to Hastings Book Store (which has since closed its doors in our community) and began to look at the publishers found in children's books in a section Hastings had for Local Authors.  Her theory was if a publisher would print a book for someone else in our town, surely they'd consider our book.

Brenda called Smooth Sailing Press near Houston and talked herself into a meeting with the publisher at the time.  He walked us through the process of creating and finishing and eventually publishing Beauregard Le'Moose is Loose in New Orleans.  Over the course of two years we drafted four books in the series, and our hope is all four will one day be in print. 

Eventually Smooth Sailing Press garnered a new crew of owners, and we couldn't be happier with the professionalism and ambition of this talented group of people.  From start to finish, they simply expect the best of themselves and anyone they are associated with in the process of publishing .  They even have my literary partner and me writing a new 'tween' chapter book series featuring an ambitious ten-year-old Miss Priss.

To be quite honest, becoming published takes a smidge of courage, a smattering of thick skin to cushion the critiques that will come, a hefty dose of patience, and a huge dollop of luck in finding the best publishing house to partner with.   We consider ourselves  blessed to be a part of the amazing team found at Smooth Sailing Press.

Stay JOYful and Write On!

Miss Priss Trailer...

Brenda Nichols, Brelee Nichols and I journeyed to Houston, Texas, today to brave the elements in order to meet our  Publisher from Smooth Sailing Press.  Neither rain, snow, sleet or hail could stop this determined crew of four!  Our mission, you might ask?  Well,  just one of the most important things to each of us.  Miss Priss. Our dream.  Our work.  Our goal for the past few years.  And now, the time has come.  Early 2015 Miss Priss will enter the literary stage.  We are holding our collective breath, so to speak, in anticipation of the response.  From you, the readers.  Our critics.  We hope you learn to love our beloved Miss Priss as we have grown to love her.

Today, we put onto film and audio tape Miss Priss's likeness and voice found in Brelee Michelle Nichols, daughter of Barry and Brenda Nichols, who happens to be the illustrator and creative collaborator to the Miss Priss narrative.  Brelee was a real trooper!  She shot baskets and dribbled a tired old basketball found on site in cold, drizzly rain while Mom (Brenda) took photos for posterity as Judy (author) held an umbrella over the photographer who bravely filmed all the while protecting her valuable equipment. Success!  Brenda sent photos to her coaching buddies across the nation to brag on her daughter's fine form. 

Brelee was filmed dancing as only Miss Priss would dance. and speaking as only Miss Priss would speak in an actual sound studio.  We still have a teeny bit more work to accomplish in the next coming weeks, but a trailer video will be produced for all the world to see and enjoy.

This author has goose bumps realizing a dream.  A dream birthed four years ago of a girl wanting so desperately to play basketball that she would fight for her right to do just that. Live her dream.  I can't wait for Miss Priss ~ On and Off the Court to be in print as the years of effort have been worth it.  The journey of writing and publishing is just that. A journey to be traveled which may not ever truly have an end to it.  Miss Priss plans to continue finding her way in this world.  May you also pursue your dreams and not let obstacles keep you from them.




Stay JOYful and Write On!

BRRRRR! It's Cold Out There

Bone chilling cold, and this is Texas!  What must this cold our good old US is experiencing in mid November feel like in places that get a "real" winter?  I wouldn't have a clue.   I've lived in Texas my whole life and have never truly experienced a REAL winter, I don't guess.  I really have always loved the cold, though, and find it easier to get warm in winter than cool in summer.

 I recall the excitement as a child, ushering in winter with  my father climbing into the attic before the first cold snap to "check" the heater.  I always wondered what he did as he crawled up into that dark space.  We'd hear some banging, often a few colorful words which meant my mother had to call some repairman to come out, or more often than not, he'd holler at my mother to turn the thing on to see if it really would work again that particular year.  We'd smell the definite odor of burnt lint and dust and other unidentifiable stuff as the heater revved up for the first time of the year.

The heater I'm talking about would not meet ANY standard of safety.  Ever.  It was what was known as a FLOOR HEATER and usually was placed in the center of a hallway.  Looking back I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT AT ALL!! It had a grate with the heater below which would heat up the grate to probably 350 degrees, or so it seemed.  You get my drift?

I want to know where all the lawyers were then?  That could have been one lucrative class action suit with all the burned little kiddies toes and fingers.  My own sister, Cathy, at the age of two, was supposed to learn to navigate somehow around the perimeter of the contraption.  If she were here, I'd take a photo of the bottoms of her feet to show you the damage a tromp across that scalding gate did to her tender feet.  I'm sure my mother rubbed butter on those feet, the only remedy for a burn at the time.  My twin sister, Jerrie, and I used to play tic tac toe on the bottom Cathy's feet; a perfect tic tac toe grid! 

I know persons in the "middle years" often begin to reminisce about those "good old days", yet not once have I ever had the thought that I would like to fire up a floor heater to tip toe around just for the sake of nostalgia.  I think it's a good thing those hazardous home appliances became extinct!  How about you?

Happy birthday, Marine Corp!

On this, the birthdate of the US Marine Corp., I'm proud to know a Marine up close and personal.  My son-in-law, Cpt. William Jordan Nalle, served our country proudly.  Saw Iraq and Afghanistan.  Tasted the sand and saw and heard who-knows-what all.  Thank the good Lord he came out unscathed.  He has a heart for those who did not, and would encourage anyone to reach out to any and all Veterans today, tomorrow or just any old day. 


Make a habit of searching for those in uniform or those with caps or clothing that would hint THEY SERVED US and buy their dinner or cup of coffee or lift something heavy for them or better yet simply make a point of saying thank you.  Did you get those words in all caps?  THEY SERVED US.  It's very humbling as I sit at my computer in one of my several rooms in my cozy home tucked away as safe from harm as possible to imagine what our soldiers and Marines have gone through and will continue to go through. Maybe it's time we served them when opportunities present themselves.


Thank you, Veterans, of every age, size, shape and background for keeping us safe when we aren't even aware of the work you do. 


Semper Fi and Oorah!


Stay JOYful and Write On!

Celebration

It was with pride I watched my illustrator, Brenda Welch-Nichols, be inducted into the Sam Houston State University Athletic Hall of Honor this past Friday night for her work as a basketball player on the court in the late 1980's.  Her determination to succeed despite numerous obstacles is indeed inspiring and worthy of celebration.  Basketball was her refuge from so many troubles she faced, which I won't detail today, and her natural athletic talent she inherited from her father has always been a source of pride and joy for her.


Brenda suffered from learning disabilities while in school. She was told she would never go to college or be successful as an adult.  Boy, did she prove those people wrong! A strength of hers is facing any obstacle or challenge and meeting it head on.  She often has said she would break through brick walls for her coaches, and she has broken through may "brick walls" in her life to become the success she is today. She holds three degrees, including a Masters degree and is a highly successful Division One Women's Basketball Coach, respected across the U.S. 


I am thankful for those days she was considered to be struggling with her academic subjects.  She honed her artistic interests and had the ambition in her younger years to be a sidewalk artist in New Orleans where she was born.  Ha!  Irony at its best. Her first published book as an artist was drawing pictures of New Orleans in Beauregard Le'Moose is Loose in New Orleans.


She came to good old SHSU as a student pursuing an art degree.  Coach told her that would not work with her basketball schedule so she switched to a degree in Health and Physical Education.  She returned to good old SHSU twenty years later as the Head Women's Basketball Coach and ended up becoming an artist!  A perfect "Cinderella story" to this author, if you ask me!  Thank you, Brenda, for being a role model to so many in pursuit of their own dreams.


Stay JOYful and Write On!

Scribbling? I think not!

My four-year-old granddaughter, Addison, has taken up writing now.  She loves to scribble little notes and messages for her Mama and Dada.  What looks at first glance like random letters, a trained eye can see exactly what she was trying to tell her Dada. (Of course, her Mama did ask what the message said and translated the message into standard written English in her text message to Nana and Papa)--  "I would like to snuggle."  Do you see it? Addison even told her Mama she had run out of room on the page where she'd placed a Velcro sticker or else she would have "added more letters".  The emergent writer, whether she is four or forty-four goes through the same stages.  Knowing how to spell Dada is one thing, but using initial sounds to indicate full words is exactly appropriate at the beginning stages of writing development.  Try reading it now and see how she used initial sounds.  Proud Nana sees the use of "snog..." for snuggle and is quite thrilled!  Can't wait to watch this process as Addison becomes a "writer", something so near and dear to my heart!  I suppose this is what athletes feel when their children or grandchildren take their sports!  Manipulating words on a page is mine! 

Stay JOYful and Write On!

At the End of the Day... It was a Day

Tired.
Exhausted.
Bone Tired.
Weary.
Fatigued.




Ever been so tired you could hardly describe the feeling?  As a counselor, I deal in feelings on a regular basis. I know all the synonyms for happy, sad, angry, anxious, etc.  Yep, I absolutely do.  Kids love playing with my feeling masks. The ones you hold up to your face and peek through the eye ball holes cut into the cardboard.  I'd love to slip on a few feeling masks and try out some that have "extra energy" written all over them in the expressions painted on the front. Maybe that would perk me up!


 At one point today, I just sat and felt like I couldn't move a muscle or I'd collapse.  No real reason.  Nothing earth shattering had happened.  No real added stressors.  I'd even gone to bed a tad earlier than usual.  It's simply a mystery as to how a person can be running full steam ahead on some days, and when given the exact set of circumstances, almost fall apart the next. 


Tomorrow is another day.
This day is done. 
We each get only one day at a time.
 Make the most of each one.


Stay JOYful and Write On!

Great Dads and Marvelous Moms

This morning, just less than 300 fathers (mostly dads attended which was the intent of the event) and mothers showed up early at Samuel W. Houston Elementary School where I work as the counselor to eat a donut, slurp down orange juice and/or coffee, and get to visit their child's classroom.  To top it off, they had a dad/mom meeting wit standing room only in our cafeteria where they tossed around balls and got motivated and slung a few rubber chickens as well.  Yes.  Chickens.  You had to be there to appreciate the scene taking place, for sure. 


The truly amazing part was seeing the expressions on the faces of the young students as they walked their dads/moms to class with them.  Most classrooms were as quiet as they'd ever been with all those dads in the rooms.  Makes me want every day to be dad's day at school and even more motivated as volunteer coordinator for my school to make sure all parents, especially the dads, feel comfortable and welcomed to volunteer and visit any time, not just on a special day designed for this purpose. 


Two dads in particular made me proud as punch.  Clayton Colley and Tedrick Winfrey were fifth grade students of mine, and they were there being Great Dads to their own children.  I consider their children my "grand students". Hats off to you, fellas!  You make this seasoned educator proud.


Almost 20 volunteers showed up from our local Church of Christ who were on hand to be extra "dads" or "moms" to fill that need for our busy parents.  Just having any special guest in the classrooms to give a smile or nod is fun anytime.  My own precious husband, Jerry Phillips, was stand in dad for a student and he had a ball just watching him peek around at him as the teacher taught the lesson.  This young boy had only just shared time over a school breakfast, yet there was an instant bond.  I'm certain Jerry will check on him again. 


Volunteer.  Read to a child.  Play catch.  Bait a hook and go fishing.  It doesn't matter what you do; just get involved in the next generation. 


Stay JOYful and Write On!

Rain, Rain Go Away... or Not

Ever just love the smell of rain, no matter the season?  Somehow the rain this evening took me by surprise.  I drove to my polling place to cast my vote in this midterm election cycle, and was amazed to see raindrops on my windshield.  Had to reach all around inside my car to find my not-often-used-lately umbrella.  Stepping gingerly like a cat (I HATE getting my feet wet.) and tippy toeing into the building, I happened to recall my twin sister, Jerrie, and myself singing at the top of our lungs that old familiar child's song "Rain Rain Go Away..." and you know the rest ..."Come Again Another Day."  Why did we think rain another day would ever be any better?


As preschoolers, Jerrie and I would hang out on our old back porch daring each other to run out into the rain and then we'd dash right back under the safety of the porch roof.  We just knew it was our song that eventually made the rain stop.  Aren't we still like that as adults, thinking we control everything? 


One of the best things about the stage of life I now find myself (somewhere in the "middle of things") is that I have stopped feeling the need to control things.  With age definitely comes the freedom to just let things happen as they may. 


Perhaps you can practice this freeing feeling and just "go with the flow" or let things just "roll off your back" as things seem to go someone else's way on any particular day. 


Today, I confess I rambled on about rain and songs about rain that led to encouraging you to stop trying to control everything. Pretty fun stuff, if you ask me! 


Stay JOYful and Write On!

Joyful Judy

Have you ever played that word association game?  You know the one…  the participants choose a word that describes themselves and also begins with the same letter as their first name.  My "throw down" descriptive word to match Judy has always been the word 'joyful' for two very simple reasons.  Firstly, it's easy to remember and I don't waste too much time having to come up with something right on the spot.  And, secondly, as a school counselor, I have to wear a "poker" face eight hours a day, smiling and smiling no matter what happens to come up; therefore making me appear always more "joyful" than I may actually be feeling on the inside, but that's okay!  Thought follows action, so when I act joyful, my brain usually catches up.  Try that sometime!  It really works; I promise.

I have so many reasons to be joyful.  I have a fantastic husband (Jerry) who supports all my hare-brained literary ideas and two precious grown daughters (Haley and Rachel).  I simply adore my newest roles as mother-in-law (to Jordan) and grandmother (to Addison and Teak)!  Too many extended family and friends to name right now (but none of you are immune from mentions in this blog!), and simply knowing I am a child of God is enough to make me smile all day long.

The photo of the book cover you see on this page is of my first published book, illustrated by Brenda Nichols.  It's the first of a series of travel books for children, and the writing of that series brought much JOY.

 More about that whole HOW-I-GOT-PUBLISHED thing later….









 Stay JOYful and Write On!