Busy Busy weekend

I wanted to stop in and say hi! How was your weekend? Mine was busy, but wonderful. Lots of family and lots of work. Not quite enough rest, but maybe tonight?
I found a wonder place to visit on the web. The Weekend Writer's Cafe from GROW YOUR WRITING BUSINESS blog. The Cafe board is open from Friday to Sunday at can be found here: http://www.growyourwritingbusiness.com/?p=325 The blog is always available at the same place. Check it out-- it really is a nice place to be.
Time for me to get back to work.
Teresa

Reflections on a legacy

What do you think of when you consider the word "legacy?" I hadn't thought much about that until yesterday. As we laid my sister-in-law to rest, her oldest son read a eulogy he wrote with the help of his siblings. She had been an incredible mother and as her children shared their memories of her, it was obvious that the things she taught them were the things we all teach our children. What made her so special was the fact that, well, it worked!
Her children speak of her with smiles and love and respect. Her children didn't wonder aloud what they might do without her, for they knew she had given them all they needed to face whatever life might throw at them with the same dignity and honor and grace that she did. Her life was an open book to her kids and this allowed them to be open with her. Her strength and her spirit taught all who knew her to be strong and brave. She didn't just leave memories with her husband and children. She left a legacy.
I have known and loved a lot of people. I have respected many. I have admired only a few. I admired my sister-in-law. That is a legacy.

Sometimes You're UP and Sometimes, well . . .

Hi Everyone!
I've been so busy this past couple of weeks, it has been difficult to get here. But, I made up my mind today was the day.
Great news! I got the book AND the job. The book is fabulous and as soon as it is released to the general public, you really need to get it. If you have ever thought you might be ready to start your own freelance writing business, I am here to tell you, Sue LaPointe is the real deal. What I love about the book is that the author allows the reader to feel incredibly optomistic about the reality of starting up a business, without pumping sunshine you know where! It is easy to read and SO easy to relate to. If I knew what Sue knows, this is the book I would have wanted to write. I will keep you updated. Here's the link to her site. Start with her newsletter and then snoop around a bit. She's got some good stuff! http://www.workingwriterhappywriter.com/
I also got a gig. I already wrote one article and I am waiting for more. I also answered several job board SEO postings, so hopefully I can pick up some regular ongoing work here. I am ready!

We've been faced with the idea and the reality of losing family members in my family this week. We had a big benefit dinner and silent auction for my brother-in-law who has cancer. To our deep sadness, the day before the benefit, we lost our sister-in-law. We leave today for the services. My heart breaks for my older brother who has lost his love and my little sister who has been losing hers for a year now.

So, we say our good-byes as we say our "don't go yet"s and through it all we get each other through it just like always. Thank God for families. They could never break our hearts so much if they didn't give us so much love and joy. We miss you Jan! We aren't letting go, David!
We will pray and we will eat scalloped potatoes and ham in the basement of a small town church that will be saying goodbye too soon to one of the most amazing women I have ever known.
Then we will return back here and tell ourselves that NOW things will be settled down and a little less chaotic.

Then I remember I am starting my own business and my three grandchildren are under 10 and underfoot. They live downstairs from my apartment. It is the most wonderful living arrangement I have ever had. I want it to last forever. Of course it won't. Perhaps it shouldn't. It will not be less chaotic. ever. really.

I will see you on the end of the week.
Teresa

An Observation

Tonight is September 16,2007 , (very early morning, actually) and I choose it as a turning point. On September 11, I responded to the opportunity to possibly be chosen for an early release of a very exciting book regarding my own home freelance writing business: Write About Everything Tonight I received an email from Sue LaPointe, the author, telling me I was invited to preview her book. I am thrilled. As I thought about it, I knew her name sounded so very familiar to me, but I could not place where. As I scoured through my PC, I saw that I had applied for work writing for her website on August 31. With a stroke of boldness that will either employ me or really make me look like an ass, I attached a copy of my questionnaire that she had sent me and re-sent it to Sue with a note of "aha". I certainly hope she doesn't feel it was some sort of a ploy, but rather an honest attempt to get the job. Karma, destiny, providence, God - I hope that I get the job AND the know how to get my business up and going. What better start??
Mark the day.
Teresa

Back in the day!

What do you do if you think "it" might have gotten away 25 years ago? You know, when you make a decision that you think is the right one, for all the right reasons, but then you have to wonder if you didn't blow it after all?
Every experience we live through teaches us a lesson and if we don't learn that lesson we will repeat that experience until we get it right. Why does that not seem to hold true if the experience was wonderful and we would love to go back? Funny, when I was young I was so certain that I would turn out to be someone so different from who I am now. I knew that I would change, and evolve and be completely different than who I was, but now I think that I really was just me all along. Often, we just need to get out of our own way, don't we? I couldn't accept who I was for years. I always thought I needed to be different. Thinner, smarter, more important. I could never be comfortable in my own skin.
Now, I am learning to appreciate myself. In my mid-forties, this is me. This is "it!" IT was never really out there at all, but rather, here within me. I may get thinner (or heavier!) I don't know if I am smarter, and important is really a matter of perspective isn't it?

So, back in the day I wanted to "be somebody." Then I spent years wanting to be "back in the day!" Today, I am who I am. I find out a little more about who that is every time I take time to look. Usually, I like most of what I see. When I don't like what I find, I am learning to either accept that part of myself or simply let it go. Wow, maybe I am getting smarter.

Until next time,
Teresa

Balancing Work, Family Play—Is It Just a Juggling Act?

I got to thinking about what a high price we put on the idea of somehow balancing all the different roles in our lives. Maybe we cannot find the answers because we need to ask a different question.

Is it possible to balance your life and keep work, family and play all in a position of priority without one being lost to the other two? Or is it merely a juggling act where you never really feel anything is stable? What if it’s both?

As women we still expect ourselves to fulfill every need, want and demand of our family, career AND our social life. We’ve spent years looking for ways to balance it all and yet we cannot seem to find the answer. What if we are just trying too hard?Often, if you listen to women talk, you will hear them stressfully wonder "How long is this juggling act is going to last and when will I feel like my life is in balance? Maybe it’s time for a new tactic. When we stand back for a few moments and watch another woman we admire skillfully fulfill the varying roles of her life, we think “Oh, look at how she can handle so many things at once and look so good doing it! Why can’t I do that?” What we don’t stop to realize is that juggling is really the most amazing form of balance there is. When you think of balancing a tray of appetizers on one hand at a party, you know you can handle that with ease, but if someone handed you three tennis balls and asked you to juggle, if you’re like me you are ready to turn and run! You know juggling requires an inordinate amount of skill and training and to attempt it without any direction would be asking for trouble. In fact, you would never suggest that someone who didn’t know how to juggle was somehow lacking would you? Of course not!

Now, apply that same logic to the way you feel like you are constantly juggling your work, your family and your playtime. Remember, we’ve already determined that learning to juggle is a process of training and skill. In fact, the only way we get better at juggling is to practice every day. We call that commitment. You are living the most intricate form of balancing there is- the juggling of all the areas of your life. Stop being so hard on yourself for being who you are and give yourself the round of applause you would give to any juggler! What you don’t realize is that somewhere behind you, another woman is watching, admiring and thinking, “Wow, she is good at handling everything in her life! Why can’t I do that?” Appreciate your ability to juggle- and never forget how much balancing it really takes!

Until next time,

Teresa