It’s the last hurrah of summer. I rarely share my poetry online, but … here I am.
Ocean
Foam, waves, tripple around my feet
now gloriously raw from the pebbles and shell bits.
White bubbling sea patterns
rushing up cold to catch me
in their beckoning game,
spitting up dares from amidst green breakers
and blended from a cerulean horizon.
Yes, I’m red-raw, but come `round me,
I see you so little, my friend.
© Jeanne Balsam
My guess is that there is someplace beautiful within walking distance or a short drive from where you live.
This is one of the views walking along the bike/footpath in Frenchtown. So gorgeous. A friend and I had stopped in to The Bridge Cafe for coffee and some pastry, and decided to walk.
We can all get stuck in our homes and/or digital lives and forget that it’s not all that far to find some beauty. It doesn’t have to be nature; it can just as easily be in the city, in a park, or a walk in the neighborhood.
Get outside and look around. Find someplace beautiful. Take pictures. Enjoy your life.
There are often advantages for a younger sibling having an older (in this case) brother or sister. The one I’m writing about has had an unintentional and lifelong impact.
We grew up in a family of readers. It made perfect sense that we would be read to as children. Where the older-brother-advantage came in was when my Mom would read to him, I was also on her lap. I was likely only about 1 year old then, but I looked on, taking in every word on the pages.
As we grew, I continued to soak up the words and stories meant for an older child. I was three years old when he was seven, the reading level of the New York Times. The amazing and unintentional result? My Mom realized that, at the age of 5, I could read a newspaper! She was very quick to point out that it wasn’t with full comprehension, lest I get a “big head” about it, but the truth is, without my older brother, that never would have happened.
My point here? Never underestimate the ability of a child to learn at an early age. If you have kids or grandkids, keep the youngest one(s) close by while you read to their older siblings because they, like me, will soak it in and get a head start on both reading and learning.
Let’s always read to the little ones at bedtime. It’s worth making the time, even for one story. It undoubtedly helped that my brother and I were both read to each night before we drifted off to dreamland.
It also helped that our family were readers. Our parents and grandparents were always reading novels and/or newspapers. They were my role models. Do we really want our kids having the idea that the only way to read is on a phone?
Having a membership to the local library is invaluable. Bring the littles along whenever possible. Let them experience the magic of so many books at an early age, to feel the joy of `what do I want to read now?’
As I move along in life, I become increasingly aware of what our future needs. One of those things is adults who can think and reason, learn and have compassion, all of which are inspired by an early love of reading.
p.s. Did you know that reading picture books to children is proven to develop compassion? Read more here.
You mean personal growth? In a drawer? Yes. Here’s how.
In the far back of this drawer were several bundles of tableware that I had not so much as looked at in all the years I’ve lived here. Service for eight, plus an odd assortment of spoons and serving pieces. I decided to see if they were worth anything.
After appraisal, there was one lone spoon that was sterling silver, for which I got $33.00. That was nice. I let the rest go.
The next payoff came in my taking everything out of the drawer; thoroughly cleaning it all, plus the interior of the drawer itself. With the extra space, I did some happy re-arranging.
Now my life is not just cleaner, but lighter, and has more room. When we let go of what no longer serves us, even in small ways, we have more room, and that’s when we grow.
What have you been doing to allow more room for growth?
Never doubt it; there’s a lot goes into your beloved book getting into the hands of the reader who will cherish it. There’s writing, illustrating, and otherwise creating the book itself, and then promotion and sales.
And here’s one of the great results – at the Tinicum Arts Festival, I sold seventeen books in two hours! How did that happen? First, we have the gorgeous illustration of Stella Mongodi to draw one in. Then, the lovely new cover design, wrapped around a magical story (if I say so myself.) Lastly, we have someone who loves talking to people about her book … me.
All of that sells a book, but I think it’s the last one that “closes a sale.” When I’m talking about reading, writing, how the book came about, etc., it’s not sales — it’s just undeniable enthusiasm. I realize that not everyone is as outgoing as I am, but if the frame can be shifted from the “job” of selling one’s book to the sharing of excitement about it, that makes all the difference.
While Where Do Butterflies Go at Night, 2nd Edition was one of a handful of picture books available, it was a big draw for parents, grandparents, and even teachers looking for something to read to “their” kids. I was thrilled that Butterflies checked off so many boxes of what these lifelong readers sought in a book for little ones, and that was quite inspirational in me wanting to seriously get back to the book waiting on my desk.
My major purchase at the festival? a pair of earrings with the traditional Japanese Maneki Neko, literally, Beckoning Cat (or lucky cat), which is a symbol of good luck for its owner. I’m grateful for all the help I can get!
Is luck involved in selling our books? Maybe, but I think a genuine appreciation of our own talents, what we’ve accomplished, and the enjoyment of sharing that with others goes pretty far.
Life is an interesting journey. Here are journals, stories, reflections of a traveller of this journey. (songoftheheartsite@gmail.com)
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