What's on My Mind

First I am grateful for many things, but today I want to say thank you to Ian and Daniel, two teenage boys who moved a computer desk upstairs for me yesterday. It was not easy because they had to take the desk outside and up a couple of sections of steps with a sharp turn near the end. They did not complain one bit even though I know Ian's hands hurt him. They did a couple of other things for me, too. I paid them, not a huge amount, but Daniel said, "We like to help people."

I am also grateful for close and loving family and friends that I can share my fears, my concerns with and know they are there for me. 

One of those friends is Estelle Rice who told me she will be 99 years old in October. She was my co-author for Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins, a collection of creative nonfiction, short stories, poems, and photos about the beloved animals that have graced our lives. 

Estelle and I have a deep friendship that goes way, way back to the early 1990s. She taught at my Writers Circle studio more than once and we always enjoyed her classes. A true artist in many ways, she is also a visual artist and a musician. I spent a couple of hours with her last week and we had such a good visit. I encourage her friends to send her notes, cards, or letters and tell her what she means to you. Give flowers while you may, not when your friend is gone. She doesn't do email now. I understand that. I get so frustrated when my fingers don't want to go where I want them to. 

I am also grateful for my dear niece who spent a long time on the phone with me this weekend as she tried to help me with selling my house when it is ready. She sells real estate in Georgia and can't work here in North Carolina. I feel very appreciative because she doesn't like to talk on the phone.

While I am frustrated again with the medical system, I am not going to dwell on that.

 Every day is a good day when I think about all I have to be grateful for. Today my rural mail carrier drove up my steep drive and around my house to bring a box that would not fit in my mailbox. I often hear or read that people complain about our mail service here in Clay County. But I have always had very good mail carriers who went the extra mile for me.

I hope you have much to be grateful for and that the bad times don't get you down. My blogger friends, I hope to get to your latest posts today and read about your exciting and interesting lives.

A Delightful Day on a Mountaintop

Nadine, Ash, and Vicki



Nadine, Ash and Glenda

On this beautiful autumn day I was invited to join four former writing students at the home of Nadine J. on top of a mountain in north Georgia. We sat on her nicely appointed deck and feasted on a lovely lunch, enjoyed a bottle of wine with various desserts and laughed at the clever remarks of our dear friend, Ginny.

One of the nicest perks of teaching adults is finding friendships in the class. When the course ended, Ash Rothlein, a WWII veteran, enjoyed the others so much he invited them to the home he shares with his lovely wife, Liz, where they continued sharing their stories. I was included. Since that time, several years ago, we have all come to love each other.

Nadine's gritty and memorable stories about her childhood growing up in a coal mining camp will soon be compiled in a memoir. Meanwhile she designs interiors for fine homes all over the country.

Ash is involved in trying to reach descendants of those brave men buried above the beach in Normandy where he plans to be on the seventieth anniversary of that battle and on his 90th birthday. His writing consists of articles about his mission on D-Day for the Citizen-Times and other newspapers. Today he said he wants to motivate people to think about the lives lost in that war and the way our country came together as one after the fighting was over. Ash believes America can return to the way we were then. He is speaking to college students and sharing his story with all who listen, and those who listen find him captivating.

Writing has brought me joy in many ways, but finding friends such as Ginny, Vicki, Nadine, Ash and Liz is like the cherry on top of the whipped cream on the hot fudge sundae. We wrote down what we are thankful for in 2011, and these good friends were at the top of my list.