Dear Reader:

Obviously it is just not ” gals” who are ” born with books in their souls” … but guys too! And the very things that draw us to books… immersion in other places, adventures, feelings, thoughts, opinions, imaginations are the very same ” elements” that others would like to know about us… especially ” as the world turns” and ages along with us.

Kent Nerburn says it best… ” We are living documents of the times. Don’t let your voice go unheard.”

Haven’t we all read a letter or a note from a loved one who passed or discovered a great or great-great relative who kept a diary or journal… even just a scrawled message that meant so much to us? We read and re-read passages about a certain historical backdrop we thought boring in class… but suddenly we are seeing it through out ancestors’ eyes?

After I retired and was then diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008… suddenly I realized I had been given the gift of time ( for the first time in my life) and was letting it slip through my fingers… grandmother taught all of us… ” When your blessings arrive… don’t hesitate… say thank you and then get to work sharing your life.”

My passion was writing… didn’t my children and those who would follow deserve to know the times in which I lived… wouldn’t they want to read memories from the past so they could understand how times are always hard … and the good memories center from the strength and core of friends and family?

I discovered , like Kent Nerburn, that all of us need to find our ” quiet daily balm” when we turn to writing. Confusion dissipates and and provides shape to our thoughts and memories. And it does not matter how we express ourselves… just remember it is a gift to others who will come … now and then…

Nobody is reading memoirs for grammatical mistakes or critiquing written expressions… as long as we express our inner thoughts and feelings from heart and soul. How I would give anything to have more memoirs off my family tree.

I have kicked myself several times for not asking mother,my aunts and uncles…grandparents questions when I could have… and now it is too late.

But… if just one Christmas I had asked each relative for his/ her favorite story instead of presents and started that tradition… how many wonderful stories I could have to continue sharing. Think about it… is there a better gift?

So until tomorrow… Tell your story… because you are the only one who can! A gift for the ages.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

And then Jeff had come by while I was gone and cleared the yard debris again in time for Thanksgiving! Another wonderful amazing delight!