Dear Reader:

If I ever walked past a portal like this….there is no way I wouldn’t be trying to peek inside to see what this whimsical gate opened upon… beyond that enticing entrance. Just seeing it as a writer has my imagination on fire. Oh…the possibilities!

As adults too many of us might think we have “outgrown” our imagination but I would have to argue that my imagination has only increased with the years…not diminished. Imagination is the forerunner of reality. Think about it….every thing we use in our daily lives was once just a figment of someone’s imagination…someone’s dream. From the invention of the wheel to NASA space technology…some person and/or groups of people had to share the same imagination and then bring it into the realm of reality. Mind-blowing!

As we are writing our own story each and every day it is our imagination that tells the story….as we describe all the roles in life we are playing…and the roles never cease changing and coming. Shakespeare is right…”All the world is a stage.”

The first time I was ever asked to list as many roles that I play out in my life I was shocked. We take all these roles for granted don’t we and don’t give them much thought as we go about the busyness of our lives…but when we do take time to list them we see patterns emerging.

For me…my roles include daughter, grand-daughter, sister, sibling, cousin, aunt, mother, grandmother, great-aunt…*student, teacher, student, administrator,  writer, reader, friend, acquaintance and stranger…just to name a few off the top of my head.

*The thing about labels or roles in our lives is that roles can intertwine several times…I started out a student, then became a teacher, then became a student again to earn my Masters degree, then became a coordinator, and then became a student again…a lifetime learner.

I went from being a grand-daughter to a grandmother…in the blink of an eye….re-living my own childhood through the eyes and wonder of my own grandchildren. BUT the most important thing is to never be remembered for any role we play but for the essence of who we are in the eyes of everyone.

I think my book cover for my life story should be in the shape of a gate or entrance into an imaginary garden…because it is here where I have found such happiness. (title photo)

In my imagination…like a secret garden…each page would have pop-ups with orange being the central color among all the three-dimensional  flowers of the garden. Butterflies, bumblebees, dragonflies, and hummingbirds would pop up also with scented pages of confederate jasmine, moon flowers, honeysuckle, gardenia, and sassafras. *And I can’t forget that the fairies would be hidden among the paintings and with lights as clues to find them in the darkness.

So until tomorrow…”We’re all born into a role, but the person we become is up to us.!”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Pam Stewart sent me a photo of a t-shirt and said it reminded her of me…then the t-shirt design reminded me of a poster I keep on my door closet in my “office.”

I love creeping jenny…have three pots with nothing but just that in it…though I love it with mixed hanging baskets too.

A Grandmother’s Pride: Today at Rutledge’s school the kindergarten students had a half-mile “derby” race (mascot is the “Iron Horses”) and Rutledge came in first competing with 40 other boys. What I was so proud about is that he was neck to neck with another little fella but Rutledge fell down coming around the last bend…yet he didn’t give up…but just bounced back up and passed the competitor at the last second to win!