Happy Mother’s Day 2013

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers! God bless all mothers and their children of all ages.

A Valentine for Jack

After my husband died last September, I heard so many wonderful stories from friends and family. I can’t tell you how many people said he would be their first choice for their “most unforgettable character.” I compiled the stories into a book, and introduced it at a party to celebrate his life when he would have been 80 years old. Here’s some pictures of the party.

Valentine’s Day 2013

Today is Valentine’s Day–a day for lovers. A day for flowers and candy and special dinners for two. A day to tell someone you love them. A day for husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends to spend time together—which is the most important thing you can do. It may be soon or it may be decades away, but the day will come when you are no longer together.

This is my first Valentine’s Day without the love of life, my husband Jack, who passed away in September. When one of you is alone, you may not remember the flowers or candy, but you will remember—and cherish the memory—of your time together, focused on each other, apart from the hubbub of the world and distractions, forgetting about rush hour and bills and laundry, remembering when you fell in love, talking about how that love has grown through the years or how you’re looking forward to being together for many years.

I know because my favorite memories are times we were together, doing little or nothing. We often sat on the front porch, watching our century plant bloom and a squirrel running around in the tree. We might be sitting in silence, but totally engaged with one another. Often, Jack would turn to me and say, “We have a really good life, don’t we?” Of course, I agreed.

We were very blessed because I was able to be a full-time caregiver for him. He had  Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart problems, limited mobility, and a long list of other medical conditions. Yet, instead of thinking about his problems, he was positive, upbeat, and so much fun to be with. We enjoyed a lot of laughs together. Now that he’s gone, I look back and thank God for all the time we spent together. I have no regrets—my mission in life for the last couple of years was to take care of Jack and enjoy the time we had together, and that’s exactly what I did.

In spite of all his difficulties, Jack was happy and knew how much he was loved. He had seen my father have such memory loss with Alzheimer’s that he no longer knew my mother. I know Jack feared that happening to him. When he could still get around on his own, he would walk into the room I was in and say, “No matter what happens, I want you to remember how much I love you.” He wanted to make sure he told me as often as possible while he was able.

The other thing he dreaded was going into a nursing home. I promised to keep at home and hired extra help, but I knew if his condition deteriorated enough, he might need care that couldn’t provided at home.

But God is good all the time; all the time God is good. Jack was home with my sister and me at his side when he breathed his last, and he knew me to the end. I miss him terribly, but I know he is now pain-free, healthy, and happy in the presence of the Lord. In fact, I think he made sure I understood that. A couple of weeks after he died, I had a dream or a vision. I was standing at the kitchen sink, and a noise or something caught my attention. I looked over my shoulder and there stood Jack—young, healthy, happy. More than happy. He was radiant with joy and wore the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. And he smiled a lot in life. So many friends and family shared wonderful memories of Jack, I compiled them all in a book, Jack Stories: Favorites Memories of Jack Jordan Ammann Jr

So today on this Valentine’s. give the one you love a gift more valuable than three dozen roses, the best chocolate in the world, or the most luscious meal at a fabulous restaurant. Give the gift of your presence, your time, your attention.

I’m thinking about romantic love between a husband and wife as I write this because for the first time in 46 years, I’ll be alone on Valentine’s Day. But love isn’t limited to romantic love. Perhaps your parents or siblings need to know how much you love them. Maybe a friend who is estranged from her family needs to know someone cares. You might have a lonely elderly neighbor down the street who would be thrilled if you paid him a visit.

Valentine’s Day is a good time to express love, but it’s not the only time. The best time to express your love may be when your loved one is most unlovable. Be patient with the one who is angry. Encourage the one who is depressed. Hug the one who is frustrated. And tell everyone you care about how much you love them as often as you can. If you lose someone you love, you want to say, “She knew how much I loved her.” You don’t want to think, “I’ve been meaning to give her a call but just never got around to it.  I sure wished I’d seen her more.”

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV)

Happy Valentine’s Day to all my readers!

May your day be filled with love—love you give and love you receive.

 

Labor Day 2012

Jim Blasingame, The Small Business Advocate, wrote in his newsletter:

Labor Day was created primarily to recognize union members. Today, this group represents barely 11% of total workers and has declined to less than 7% of the private sector.

Small businesses represent over 98% of all U.S. businesses, produce over half of the U.S. GDP, and sign the FRONT of the paychecks of over half (70 million) of all U.S. workers. Let’s see: big deal on Labor Day; but no Small Business Day. What’s wrong with this picture?

I certainly don’t begrudge union members having a holiday, but I agree there should be an observance for small business owners.

Fortunately, we can all observe Labor Day and enjoy a holiday free of labor and filled with fun. Happy Labor Day!

photo credit: Ianz

Father’s Day 2012

Happy Father’s Day!

May each reader enjoy a special day:

• If you’re a father, may you be honored and pampered by your children.
• If you have a father, may you enjoy special time honoring and pampering him.
• If your father is no longer with you, may you recall special memories of your times together.
• If you know a father without a family, may you stand in the stead of children for him and make his day meaningful.
• If you are estranged from your family, may this be the day you forgive each other and start a new loving relationship.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ~ Exodus 20:12 (ESV)

ALMIGHTY God, we give you thanks for fathers who love and care for us and entrust our fathers who are so dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come; knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

photo credit: dadblunders

Mother’s Day 2012

Happy Mother’s Day!

May each reader enjoy a special day:

• If you’re a mother, may you be honored and pampered by your children.
• If you have a mother, may you enjoy special time honoring and pampering her.
• If your mother is no longer with you, may you recall special memories of your times together.
• If you know a mother without a family, may you stand in the stead of children for her and make her day meaningful.
• If you are estranged from your family, may this be the day you forgive each other and start a new loving relationship.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ~ Exodus 20:12 (ESV)

ALMIGHTY God, we give you thanks for mothers who love and care for us and entrust our mothers who are so dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come; knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

photo credit: aesop

National Library Week 2012

April 8-14, 2012 is National Library Week, with the theme “You belong @ your library.” If you haven’t been to your local library lately, you might be surprised to see everything available there.

The special week is sponsored by the American Library Association and celebrated by libraries across the US. Public libraries offer a variety of events, such as the displays, stories, trivia challenge, and other activities planned by the San Antonio Public Library.

According to the Campaign for America’s Libraries:

National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use.

Do you visit the library regularly? Do you plan to participate in any special events for National Library Week?

Reading Across America in Memory of Dr. Seuss

Today is the 15th observance of the National Education Association’s Read Across America.The purpose of the event is to encourage and motivate children and teens to read.

Read Across America happens on March 2nd because that is Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Imagine how many kids have developed a passion for reading from Dr. Seuss!

Schools, libraries, and community centers around the country are offering special events today. But you don’t have to attend a formal event to participate. If you have children or grandchildren, spend some time reading with them today. Share with neighborhood kids how reading impacted your life when you were their age. Or pay a visit to Seusville and pretend you’re a kid again, falling in love with Dr. Seuss’s stories for the first time.

Happy Valentine’s Day 2012

Valentine’s Day is all about love. We tend to focus on romantic love, but we can share all kinds of love with all kinds of people today.

Show your family how much you love them by spending time together doing something fun. Brighten your coworkers’ day with a note or a treat. Make Valentine’s Day special for an elderly neighbor or residents in a nearby nursing home by simply listening to their stories of days gone by. Spend time with your children looking at the valentines they got at their school party. Maybe even show a little love by smiling and sharing a few kind words with the most unlovable person you know. And, of course, share loving moments with your spouse or romantic partner.

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NASB)

ALMIGHTY God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come; knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; help us to show them how much we love them, especially on this day of love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ~ adapted from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer

photo credit: LadyDragonflyCC – TY for 300,000 Views!!!!

My 7 Links

Thanks to Christopher at Technology Bloggers for nominating me to participate in the My 7 Links Challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to create a bank of posts from the past that deserve to be seen again.

Several years ago, challenges (or “memes”) were quite popular in the blogosphere. However, their popularity has declined, and this is the first one I’ve been invited to participate in for a long time. I like this one because it gave me a chance to look back through my archives and select a few posts from the past to bring to the attention of my newer readers. Selecting only seven posts out of 1132 posts over the past five and a half years proved to be a real challenge, and in some cases I couldn’t narrow it down to one. Here are my choices.

My Most Beautiful Post

Happy 44th Anniversary to Us is a loving tribute to a beautiful marriage and my special husband.

My Most Popular Post

Thanks to the power of StumbleUpon, Creating Fictional Characters—Part 4: Fleshing Out Characters with Tags, Traits, and Relationships has had more than 147,000 views, about ten times as many as any other post. Strangely, this is part of a series, and while some of the other posts in the series are among my top ten popular posts, none has anywhere near this many views.

My Most Controversial Post

I don’t generally write controversial posts, but one post generated such a lively discussion that I wrote a second post about it, which generated even more opinionated conversation. The first post, A Chuckle from Spam, generated 67 comments (including my responses), and the follow-on post, There’s Always a Choice, generated 70 comments.

My Most Helpful Post

I wrote Tips and Tricks: How to Write, Send, Reply, and Forward E-mail for two writing challenges: Tips and Tricks and How-To. When I wrote it, I considered the advice so basic that the post might not be appropriate for the challenges. However, as basic as the advice is, a lot of people apparently need it. The post has generated nearly 4500 views and 125 comments.

A Post Whose Success Surprised Me

There’s absolutely no explanation for the fact that the fifth most popular post on my blog is two sentences wishing my readers Happy Valentine’s Day. I’m not only surprised; I’m totally perplexed.

Until StumbleUpon moved another post into first place, How Much Will It Cost? Average Freelance Editing Rates was  my popular post. It’s now #2 in my popular posts, and the post is #2 in Google for the search terms “freelance editing rates.” What is so surprising about this is that the post refers to a chart of average rates on the website of the Editorial Freelancers Association, but my posts ranks higher in Google and has generated a lot of traffic.

A Post That Didn’t Get the Attention I Feel It Deserved

One time when I was feeling discouraged that I wasn’t doing great things, I had an epiphany and wrote Catalyst: God’s Tool. I suspect many other people can benefit from my epiphany because most of us often fail to recognize what we are accomplishing.

A related post, You May Never Know the Impact You Have, also didn’t get much attention.  Both of these posts were written in my first year of blogging, when I had very few readers.

The Post I’m Most Proud Of

Choosing one post I’m most proud of is impossible, so I’ll select one that is close to my heart. A Different … and Special … Family Vacation won the Family Vacation Writing Project at Babylune, but the reason it means so much to me is that it describes a favorite family vacation—the last with my father before Alzheimer’s disease stole his ability to enjoy vacations and remember the people he loved. 

The second part of the challenge is to nominate up to five other bloggers to share their 7 links.

• David Bowles, Westward Sagas, a client, friend, historical author, and blogger who knows all kinds of Americana trivia
• Dominique, 4Walls and a View, inspiring blogger who writes about the challenges of living with chronic disease
• Dawn, Dawn Colclasure’s Blog, prolific author of adult nonfiction, poetry, and children’s literature
• Laura Spencer, Writing Thoughts, a freelance writer and blogger who has some great posts in her archives

I’m going to stop at four nominations, so if you would like a nomination, leave a comment.

I know the people I nominated, if they choose to participate, will provide links to some outstanding posts in their archives.

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