Come Celebrate with Me

With a bit of curiosity I opened the envelope. Inside held a colorful invitation with balloons and confetti sprinkled on the front. Hummm, I thought…a birthday party? Honestly, I thought my days of attending birthday parties had long expired.

“Please join us to celebrate Nicolle’s 50th birthday! Shhh…it’s a surprise!

There have been a lot of celebrations lately, milestone celebrations: high school graduations, college graduations, 50th birthday parties, weddings, and anniversaries. In fact, when I think of the word celebration, these are the types of events that come to mind ever so quickly.

But in actuality, celebrations are all around us, every.single.day! We just need to slow down and take the time to notice. Yes, notice!

Daylilies that have finally bloomed. Sporting their vibrant colors of yellow and orange, celebrating the arrival of a warm summer day.

Birds gathering together, serenading the morning sun, celebrating the arrival of a new day.

A warm, soft breeze that wisps the branches of the willow tree back and forth, back and forth, celebrating the gentle calmness of the lazy afternoon.

Or perhaps the fragrant honeysuckle perfuming the nose, celebrating the delicate smells of a humid summer evening.

Celebrations, a form of noticing. Noticing and leading me to my journal, my writing journal. A place for me to capture, cherish and relive what it is I want to celebrate, what I want to remember. Big celebrations like the surprise 50th surprise birthday party or small celebrations that I encompass just sitting in the quiet presence of nature.

So it is, writing is an invitation. An invitation to celebrate those noticings. Whether it’s big or small, the reward is in the writing just waiting for the writer in you to celebrate all that life has to offer!

Won’t you join me?

~~~~~

This post was originally posted on the #TeachWrite Chat Blog on 7/16/18. Thank you to Jennifer Laffin at Teach Write for asking me to reflect, write, and share.

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It’s time to celebrate the joy!

#whyiwrite

writing |ˈrīdiNG|

noun

the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text

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October 20th is the National Day on Writing, which is hosted by the National Council for the Teachers of English. Thanks to my friends at #TeachWrite who have also inspired me to share the reasons #whyiwrite.

Without further delay, here is why I write. Drum roll please…

• to challenge —> I write to challenge myself. Writing is rarely a simple task for me. Truthfully, I’m not sure I really need another challenge, but I show up anyway.  I challenge myself to commit to the task. Sometimes I’m satisfied, and other times not so much. One thing I know for sure is that writing never seems to get easier for me, but I do believe I get better. That’s the beauty of a challenge.
• to capture —> I love all the moments I can capture with my writing. My moments and memories are captured in my various journals, right here on my blog, and on my social media sites (Twitter & Instagram).
• to reflect —> I’ve read a lot lately about the power of “morning pages”. While I love the idea of morning pages, I just can’t seem to find the time in my morning schedule to write. I do, however, write in my Fit Happens gratitude journal most evenings.  I’ve said it before, but I adore this little journal. It allows me to reflect on multiple aspects of my day in about 10 minutes. I guess I’ll call this reflection time “evening pages”.
• to relax —> I enjoy sipping a cup of hot tea, relishing myself with a chai latte, or taking delight in a glass of wine. But if I want to be truthful, I am never going to sit down and enjoy my tea, latte, or wine unless I’m doing something else. That something else would be writing or reading. Writing allows me to relax and enjoy some other guilty pleasures of life.
• to inspire —> My primary purpose for writing is for me, but when others share that my writing or my topic has inspired them in one way or another, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I’m happy when I can inspire others and I’m inspired when others share positive comments with me.
• to reminisce —> If I’m being honest here, I love reminiscing through my journals and my blog. It’s fun to relive the moments I’ve captured and this too inspires me to keep up with my writing!
• to connect —> Writing has enabled me to connect with others via my blog, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’m grateful to “meet” others who enjoy doing what I do. Writing also allows me to connect with myself as I reflect on my life, my emotions, and my daily happenings.

~~~~~

So, there you have it!

It’s…

I’m curious if you’re a writer too, and if you are, why do you write?

If you’re not a writer, I encourage you to find a little time and a little writing space so you can reap the rewards of writing!

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Thank you to Jennifer and her colleagues at TeachWrite for providing this opportunity to share #whyiwrite.

Her Name Is Joy

They’re furry, they’re fluffy, and they’re playful. I’m sure you’re already speculating, guessing, or maybe even confident that you know what I am referencing. And if you are thinking that perhaps I’m referring to a family pet, you are correct.

In our home, we call them our fur babies. Yes, they are our pet rabbits, but they are so much more than just pets.

They bring us joy!

We have special little voices we use when we talk to them. Oh yes, I have a certain inflection in my voice that I use when I announce it’s snack time. When I go to the store I’m sure to purchase their favorite treats. And I know if you have a cat or a dog, you most likely do the same thing. Why, why would we do this? Because…

They bring us joy!

In our house it’s not uncommon to have a conversation that revolves around what the rabbits were doing when we got home, how much food they ate while we were away, and well, if they pooped! I send Snapchat pics of my rabbits to my family and friends, just to keep them updated. I know; it’s weird! We care for them just like we care for a child. And we do this because…

They bring us joy!

Our little fur family began in 2014 when we became empty nesters. In fact, we adopted a new member each year since 2014. That’s right, our first rabbit in 2014, our second rabbit in 2015, and our third rabbit in 2016. Rest assured though, there will not be a new member in 2017! I know that some people don’t understand and perhaps find it odd, but our fur family gives us a purpose.

They bring us joy!

When we adopted our third rabbit at Christmastime in 2016, we couldn’t help but to name her Joy. She was our first female rabbit and she bonded with our sometimes grumpy male rabbit.

She brought him joy; she brought us joy!

Animals are amazing in the way they unconditionally love humans – the way they make us smile and the way they help relieve our stress. They are there for us day in and day out. They are therapeutic.

They bring us joy!

Her name is Joy and we love her dearly!

 

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What does JOY mean to you? What brings you JOY? How do you sprinkle JOY in your day? Write about it and share your post with the #TeachWrite community by linking up to our blog here.

The #TeachWrite chat is dedicated to supporting teachers of writers and teachers who write. Join us for our next chat on Monday, September 4th at 7:30PM EST. You can sign up for the Remind here.

Thank you Jennifer at #TeachWrite for hosting this platform!

 

My Wish

A quiet, calm, tranquil Tuesday.

Windows are open,

the air is cool,

the humidity has been erased.

Fresh air,

it brings a sense of serenity

over me as the breeze gently glides

through the room.

Birds are chirping,

cicadas begin their chorus.

The wind chime sings a gentle song,

it begs me to sit here all day!

The rustling of the willow tree,

going back and forth,

back and forth,

reminding me I don’t have to go far,

to find peace,

to find relaxation.

Rays of sunlight stretch out to reach my journal,

my writing space.

Only to smile up at me,

and put me mind at ease.

Oh how I wish,

I wish,

everyday would commence

like this.

~~~~~

Slice of Life

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one of those posts

It’s been a while since I’ve been here.

I guess you could say I’ve had an extended recess. Whatever the case, it’s been a challenge to get back into the swing of blogging.

It’s not like I haven’t been writing, because I have been – in this journal and in that journal. But, well, I’m finding it difficult to add the excitement, the lure, to anything I want to write about.

There definitely is not a shortage of topics that’s for sure!

I could write about the book I just finished, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal…

but not today!

I could write about the book I’m reading now, Only Love Today by Rachel Macy Stafford…

but not today!

I could write about the ten day vacation to Europe that we just completed…

but not today!

I could write about my new fitness class obsession called Barre….

but not today!

I could write about the fact that I don’t have a lot of friends but the friends that I do have mean an awful lot to me…

but not today!

I could write about how frustrated I am with spending money on “pop-up” problems that seem to be happening again and again…

but not today!

I could write about how comparison is the thief of joy…

but not today!

I could write about the cardinal that lives in my backyard…

but not today!

While I may not have the words to tell my stories, today I decided to show up, to say that I am here.

So today is one of “those” posts.

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Slice of Life

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This & That

March was the month of

writing

    publishing,

writing,

    reading,

writing,

    commenting

all on the BLOG!

Then it came to a sudden halt, STOP! And April arrived.

No longer am I wondering what do I write. No longer I am wondering which rough draft do I dust off. No longer am I wondering what post to publish. No longer am I frequenting my favorite blogs or discovering new ones. What to do with my time, what to do! Then I realized I missed a little of this and a little of that!

I missed this One Line a Day journal.

In theory, I am to add one little line a day in the journal over a period of five years. In March, did this happen? Not so much. My line a day turned into 15 lines on one day to make up for the deficit. ~sigh!

I missed these training journals.

This cute little Fit Happens journal is where I jot down what I eat and how my regiment of cross training is going. So, how’s that working for me? It’s not. I’ve been eating way more junk than I should and my cross training has drifted away. On a good note, I have been tracking my training runs in this Believe Training Journal, but I haven’t been filling in any of the other areas of the journal. ~sigh!

I missed this catch-all journal, my personal journal.

During March I only used this journal for planning blog posts for the Slice of Life Story Challenge. It was a dumping zone of randomness that captured my ideas for the blog. I’m ready to resurrect this journal and get back into my daily writing and doodling.

I missed that reading I would do at the end of the day.

Two books have been somewhat patiently waiting for me. One Amazing Elephant has been quietly slumbering on my night stand while The Sun Is Also a Star was summoned back to the public library. I’m happy to report that the latter is back in my hands.

April is here and I’m finding a new balance. I’m learning, however, this is how we roll in life. A little of this, a little of that, and everything in between.

~~~~~

Slice of Life

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