Monthly Archives: July 2013

Exposing a nerve – Trifecta Challenge

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A slow crack appeared in my composure and I let the emotion overwhelm me.  Tears flowed and the raw  feelings were exposed like nerves in a broken tooth.  To some she is just a dog, but to me she is family.  As she heals from her injury I will tend to her every need.  I will care for her and protect her just as she protects me.  Dogs are truly man’s best friend.

~

Written for the Trifecta Challenge – This week we have a new set of guest judges.  Please help us welcome Mary Beth, Shreya and Yve.  They’ve got a big responsibility this week, and we are confident that they’re going to do an awesome job.

CRACK 1a : a loud roll or peal   b : a sudden sharp noise 2: a sharp witty remark : quip 3a : a narrow break : fissure      b : a narrow opening —used figuratively in phrases like fall through the cracks to describe one that has been improperly or inadvertently ignored or left out 4a : a weakness or flaw caused by decay, age, or deficiency :unsoundness   b : a broken tone of the voice   c : crackpot 5: moment, instant – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.By3O27Ol.dpuf

Trauma in the wee hours

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As I do every morning, I awoke to the smiling face of my dog and we began our morning routine.  Coffee in my hand, we went outside and our first sight was a ravaged bag of garbage that a raccoon had left strewn about my entrance way.  This piqued Callaway’s interest and she was eager to get off the deck and chase the over-sized vermin to defend her territory.

window2

Within moments of being in the bushes her cry pierced the morning air and my heart began an incessant rapid beat that sent me into high alert.  I had assumed that the raccoon had performed some ninja moves and lacerated my dog’s face and I immediately threw on my running shoes and bounded off the deck, shovel in hand, ready to pummel the furry ninja with my weapon of choice.

I was ill-prepared for the gaping wound in her chest that was bleeding fairly profusely.  Callaway gingerly limped back to the deck and I noticed a 3/4 inch hole just above her left front leg.  She had run into a branch at top speed and the result had left her fairly immobile.  My First Aid training came flooding back and I applied pressure to stop the bleeding. After several calls to the answering service for the vet I created a makeshift bandage and lifted her 85 pound frame into the car for the hour-long journey to see the doctor.

The vet was remarkable.  He ushered her in immediately and assessed the wound.  Without being able to tell if the stick caused further damage, Dr. Jones made the time to examine her further and offered to keep her for the morning so they could stitch and dress the wound properly.  His colleague has also offered to have her as a passenger for the hour ride back to their local office where I can pick her up later.  It’s comforting to know that medical professionals have as much compassion and concern for my dog as I do.

I am back home now getting ready to go to work and am anxiously awaiting a call to find out the extent of the damage.  I miss her already but I know she is in good, caring hands and she will be home soon.

Don’t be afraid to speak up

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We all have opinions, beliefs and desires. Some are more apt to share these with others and some feel the need to stifle their thoughts and not share them with anyone. But what makes one desire more worthy than another? What makes one opinion more valid than another? The mere definition of opinion is meant to allow for a broad spectrum of beliefs to hold validity and not be based solely on fact.

Having the confidence to verbally express your ideas is a rare gift. So many of us second guess our thoughts but we need to find the freedom to speak up for something for which we hold true value. Our opinion is our own, it is that simple. No singular person has the right to tell us any differently. And if we are not prepared to speak our minds we lose a big piece of ourselves in that process. We lose our own permission to feel the way we feel and the comfort to portray thoughts and feelings in a way we deem appropriate.  I gave myself the permission to say what I feel through the words in my blog.  While I appreciate comments and criticism along the journey, I have enabled myself to share my voice on a page and speak my mind without worrying what outside influences may try to do to change my opinions.

We ultimately do ourselves a great disservice if we cannot find our voice.  Perhaps the words we utter could give someone else a perspective they would have never considered and, in turn, our reality could shift if we listen to others that have the boldness to speak up and share their thoughts.   We need to become comfortable with the power of words and how to use them to create positive change in our lives.   We should never live in fear of expressing ourselves.  Those words and ideas are what constitute the people we have become and an open dialogue is the best path to forging a truly honest relationship.

We need to stand behind the voice in our head and know that it is fuelled by our heart.  Speak up, speak honestly and speak your mind.  Having an opinion is important, being able to say it out loud is liberating!

A morning of bliss

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I am seated comfortably on my deck, coffee in wait, watching the day come to life. I have no Internet connection but I am still compelled to write. My iPhone is lending its support while I enjoy the only bearable temperature the day will afford.

Summer has arrived with a vengeance. Working at a resort on the water allows me to embrace the cool breezes that surf the top of the water but today I am home. Today I am far removed from those refreshing winds and bracing myself for the scorching temperatures that are predicted to reach 37 degrees Celsius with no reprieve from a breeze. (for my American friends – that equates to effing HOT!!)

The lawn is cut, the umbrella is up and the air conditioner is back in its rightful place in my window. Let the day off begin.

Getting by-lines with a little help from my friends

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I wrote a post a few days ago about submitting some of my writing to a local magazine in an attempt to get a chance to do some freelance writing.  Many of my blogs are written in the first person and I need to submit something that resembles more of an article including quotes.

This is where I ask for your help.  I would like to write a piece about blogging and was hoping to use some quotes from my blogging friends.  If you are so inclined, I would love to get some of your words about what blogging means to you so I can quote you in the article.  I will post the article here and link to your blogs once I have it finished.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Learning from Ancient Wisdom

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Buddha said it best – “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful”.

Truer words could not have been spoken. How can we expect success if we cannot find joy in what we are doing? Whether it be our career or our personal lives, for us to be truly successful in any relationship we must be authentically satisfied with the path we have chosen. We must relish every part of our contentment and let that euphoria help pave the path of our success.

We will never attain great success if we cannot first achieve that absolute feeling of satisfaction that comes with doing something we love to do. So many go through the motions of a daily routine just to get to the end of their day. It is the few and far between that thrive in their lives because they truly love where they are and what they are doing.

I feel that success on many levels. I am, maybe for the first time in a long time, truly happy with my life. I am independent, I am good at my job and love being there and I have many family and friends that are there to remind me of my happiness if I temporarily falter from my bliss. Sure there are many days that do not go as well as intended, but at the end of those days I am still able to see beyond the lower points and know that tomorrow holds the hope of being better.

I sincerely love what I do. My job allows me the opportunity to meet many new people and I crave those relationships. And my writing affords me the freedom to express myself in ways that I cannot during my work day. I have the best of both of my worlds.

My genuine happiness is composed of all of the aspects of my life. And my true success is the fact that I can embrace that happiness and excel at what I do. Regardless of others opinions of my achievements, my happiness remains intact and my prosperity breathes new life every day.

Find your happiness. Within that feeling of contentment lies the path to your true success.

The Write Way – Trifextra Challenge

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  • Silence
  • Inspiration
  • Release

Written for the weekend Trifecta Challenge: One of our editors was recently lucky enough to slowly roast on a bouncy, mechanical floor thisclose to nearly 900 other Portlanders for a reading (of the third chapter of his new book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane) and subsequent Q&A by Neil Gaiman.  One of the questions asked of him was, “Can you tell us your writing process in three words?”  He replied, “Glare.  Drink tea.”

This weekend, we’re asking for you to sum up your own process with just three little words.  Give us dry wit, pathos or otherwise.  And remember, we like your blood on the page.  Put it there. – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.9taUYsHh.dpuf

This blog has been interrupted to bring you the following……

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Breaking news from a small town in Northern Ontario – After writing an entry for a magazine in May, I was thrilled with the reaction and kind words I received.  The fire in my brain had been lit and I was wanting to fuel that fire with more writing.  After several unanswered emails asking if I could write anything else for the magazine – ANYTHING – I received a random thank you today and a gift certificate for my admission to the magazine.

I, of course, responded with the appropriate gratitude and another plea for any space at all to write freelance articles for the magazine.  Much to my absolute delight, I was asked to submit some of my writing for their perusal.

fingers crossed

My blog post today has been put on hold as I frantically search for some of the blog posts I think may get their attention.  Wish me luck.  All fingers and toes crossed would be appreciated!!

I almost mastered nothingness

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Everyone is entitled to have a lazy day every once in a while.  It recharges our batteries and gives us a much-needed to chance to store up the energy needed to face the days that follow it. Sometimes we just feel unproductive and unmotivated – and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, within reason. If your lazy days start turning into lazy weeks, you may want to rethink your strategy.

I used to have a real problem letting myself sit and do nothing. My brain always kicked into the guilt gear and I was forced to get off the couch and do all the things that were nagging at me from the back of my cranium.  I’m over that.  I am now able to embrace the feeling of not accomplishing a single thing.  There certainly are moments of boredom encompassed in that lazy day, but if I take that moment to remember the fast pace of any other day, that boredom is replaced by bliss.

(image credit: Bill Watterson)

The lazy day becomes about taking time for me and not stressing myself out if the laundry doesn’t get sorted or the dust accumulates for one more day.  Although today was not a completely lazy day.  After giving myself permission to actually sleep in, I did clean the house and I vacuumed the inordinate amount of dog hair from my carpet that seems to increase exponentially!!  But the rest of it was spent in a suspended state of oblivion…..and it was just what the doctor ordered.  I focused on what I needed instead of what needed to be done.

Those rest of those chores will still be beckoning  me tomorrow, but today the deck furniture and the couch won the argument.  Today is about my three favorite “R” activities – reading, red wine and regurgitating the countless words that whirl around in my brain. (there may be a movie thrown in for good measure)

I hope you all take the time to let yourself breathe – spend a lazy day doing the little things that make you feel human again.  And if you have any suggestions for things to do on that day of nothingness…..feel free to send along some suggestions…..I’m always looking for new ways to achieve lethargy!!

When worlds collide

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I have a friend, not the imaginary kind that you invent to talk about yourself, but a real friend who has recently begun dipping her toes back into the dating pool after leaving a bad relationship.  Trust me, if I were talking about myself I would be splashing the headlines of this blog with the water from that pool.

Like all swimmers, she has been testing out different areas of the dating pool, attempting alternate swimming strokes to see which swim is most comfortable for her.  Recently the seemingly Olympic sized swimming pool shrunk down into an inflatable pool you would find on any front lawn and a few worlds collided in the process.

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(image credit: xminflatable.com)

When you live in a small town, anonymity and dating do not go hand in hand.  Even if you find a secluded spot to spend some time getting to know each other, inevitably someone you know will be a witness to that moment and your secret rendezvous is no longer a secret.

She has been casually dating a few men sporadically and had accepted an offer to go out for drinks from a new potential suitor.  Being the aforementioned small town, we really have only one restaurant / bar that is a desired spot to take a date.  They decided to begin with a  cocktail on the outside deck, shades on, and enjoy the view of the water but her view suddenly shifted to one of her other swimming partners on the deck with a new date of his own.  The waters may have churned momentarily but her date was moved indoors for dinner and avoided any further discomfort.

On the way to the table she noticed a familiar face seated at the bar.  Another swimmer from her dating pool was deeply ensconced in a conversation on a date of his own as well.  Worlds collided again and the size of the dating pool had just become a Dixie cup!  Like mature adults, each of them went on with their dates never revealing that anything was strange about the three of them being in the same restaurant, each on separate dates.

Being in the dating pool is a challenge.  You can tread water for great lengths of time before encountering another swimmer or the pool can immediately be inundated with other swimmers also testing the waters.  There is no judgement, only curiosity.  There are no rules only requests for safety and respecting the others swimming space.  I admire her for being in that pool and can only hope she will find the one swimmer that will match her speed and agility throughout her life!