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This time of year makes me look back to when I found Miranda. Miranda was an ugly looking broad hanging out on a bale of hay next to a cash register. Her posture was tilted, hair was frizzy and she had dried glue stuck to her back. I fell in love with her anyway. It was because of her that I found myself.
I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. There were lots of occupations I thought I would be good at but none that I felt I was meant to be. As a young girl I thought I would like to teach the deaf after reading about Helen Keller in grade school. I took a sign language class after high-school. For a presentation speech I taught the class how to sing I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS IN SIGN LANGUAGE. I enjoyed it but still I felt there was something else and this wasn’t it.
I went to college and majored in Computer Information Systems but I knew it was only because I thought it would be a high paying field. I worked for an insurance company and daydreamed about moving up the corporate ladder, but still, I knew it wasn’t for me. So, for a long time I walked around in a fog, searching for what it was I was meant to be. There was a nagging feeling inside my soul-I knew there was something. But what it was I didn’t know. I wondered how anyone ever really knew and what happened in their life to make them understand. I questioned whether I would ever find my calling. I married and had children and thought motherhood might be it. Maybe, I was simply just meant to be a mother. Still, the feeling wouldn’t subside. My eyes were opened the day I found Miranda. I saw the light in the strangest of places because I looked at it right. (I always loved that similar lyric by the Grateful Dead)
It was Autumn, my favorite season and I was going to buy some Mums, Pumpkins and a few decorations for the house. I gathered my purchases and headed to the cash register. As I was waiting for the woman to ring me up, I looked down and saw this very ugly witch with an eerie smile leaning against a pumpkin. Immediately I was drawn to her, she looked like I felt. On my bad days, I certainly can be a witch and if I could fly off on a broomstick I probably would. “How much for her?” I asked holding the witch up to the sales lady. “You mean our Miranda?” Initially I had no idea who she was calling Miranda and thought maybe she was a bit loony. Sure enough she was talking about the witch. Apparently the workers fell in love with her too, despite the fact she wasn’t easy on the eyes and the stick she was glued to was broken off. “She’s broke, she replied. I didn’t care, if she was ugly, broke or missing an eye I just knew I wanted her.
After promising to take care of Miranda, I left and went across the street to the grocery store. While walking past the produce section it hit me. The first story I knew I had to write. It was about a little girl named …Miranda. By the time I left the grocery store, I had a beginning, middle and an end. Excitement flooded through me and I knew this was it. I was meant to… write. I went home, wrote my first draft, and found I wanted more. I finally understood what passion was. I always had it but never recognized it. I searched for many years hoping to find my essence, waiting for it to magically appear. And magically appear it did, thanks to Miranda. She inspired me. Because of the ugly witch I found beauty –From the moment I saw her I had a hunch she was meant to be in my life. For so many years I searched for the job that would pay well and thought that would bring me happiness. In the end I found something that I will continue to do even if I never receive a dime for doing it. If I judged Miranda on her appearance I might still be lost.
| Thirteen Things about Maribeth
I’m about to celebrate another birthday. For those of you who don’t know much about us Virgo’s I decided I would dedicate this Thursday Thirteen to Virgo Facts. I consider myself a TRUE Virgo and have yet to meet another Virgo I didn’t like. Please share your sign in the comments section. Give us a trait you consider true to your zodiac. 1…. Virgo’s are very analytical (For me this is completely true. I analyze everything. I am the type that will say something, go home and think about what I said and analyze it for hours. I wonder if it was interpreted the way I meant it to be or taken the wrong way. I dissect everything -I probably could have been a good detective. 2…Virgo’s can be fussy and considered worriers. Yes, Yes, Yes, I am a worrier. I think it plays directly with being analytical. Because I analyze everything I worry about the things I am analyzing. “Don’t worry about it Mar,” has been said to me many times 3…Virgo’s are known to be organized- I always liked to think of myself as organized in an unorganized way. But I find the older I get the more organization I need. I’m even starting to worry that I think about organizing too much. 🙂 5…Problem Solvers…Virgo’s are known to stay calm and rational when trouble arises. We tend to think about the solution rather than getting all dramatic. I am not a drama queen (maybe once a month at a certain unpleasant time-other than that no) 6…Virgo’s are earth elements. I am very earthy, I like nature especially trees and clouds and can appreciate the beauty they bring into our lives 7…Virgo’s are good at giving advice-I think I would have to ask someone who received advice from me to answer this one. But I would like to think do give good advice. I try to be objective when giving advice 8…Virgo’s are perfectionists-Me again. I have to be the best I could possibly be at whatever I try in order for me to be happy with myself. 9…Careers suited to this sign are Doctors(not me)Nurses(if nursing a sick kid counts then yep),Psychologist(not officially but have offered my ear many times),Teacher(I taught catechism),Writer(Hey that’s me) and Critic(Me too, I’m my own worst critic) 10…Famous Virgo’s- (Stephen King-fellow writer love that), Mother Theresa (I’d love to follow in her footsteps), Sophia Loren (Italian-me too, hope to look like her when I reach her age), Mickey Mouse (He never ages-I’d like his secret) 11…Opposite Sign to Virgo is Pisces (This might be why my younger sister and I butt heads occasionally, but I love her anyway) 12…Virgo’s are full of sass (I agree, the sassier the better, it makes the day much more fun) Hope your enjoyed your education on Virgo’s. Don’t forget to let the readers know your sign and a trait you possess known to that sign. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! |
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Hello everyone. Today I would like to direct anyone who loves to write over to the Writer Mama’s blog. You could get there simply by clicking her site from my blogroll. She is giving away great prizes for the month of September to some lucky Writer Mama’s/Papa’s. I am hoping to be one of the lucky few. I hope you all are too.
I would love to hear about what made you start writing. Whether it was a blog, journal,book,short story. I love to hear other people’s stories. Please share it will be fun!
Make sure you visit the Writer Mama for some great tips on writing.
We arrived early on Saturday night to set up the Bingo tent. It was our church’s bazaar and we were responsible to run Bingo. My daughter’s eyes widened when she saw the microphone. “Is that a real microphone?” she asked. “Yes, but only the Bingo caller is allowed to use it,” I explained. “Please can I sing Hey there Delilah?” (A very popular song that is now all over the air-waves) My sister nodded “Go ahead, there are not too many people here yet.” She grasped onto the microphone and quietly began to sing. Her soulful green eyes stayed fixed on me. I looked into them and found perspective. There she was, my seven-year-old rock star singing a tune to me. The words she sang were someone else’s but the story her eyes told were all her own. It was not a story about some girl named Delilah a thousand miles away. This was the tale of a young girl loving what she was doing and hoped her mother was proud. I saw myself in those eyes. I am a part of her as she is me. I want for her what became absent in me. She is right to believe that life is full of possibilities and if singing is what she loves to do then she will find her stage to perform and an audience to cheer her on. Some where at some point, I grew up, as all children do, and my dreams trailed and reality set in. I recognized the realism of the adult world. We tuck away the fantasies and illusions and accept that our chances were missed. It’s through our children we get another chance. Another chance to experience success and marvel in the thought of what life may bring. The trick is to be aware of the balance. Though we are a part of their life, it is their life. They may make the same bad choices we made. Our stomachs twist at the thought of that. It is possible they will make worse. Our stomachs rise to our throats thinking about that. But what if they make better choices? What if they live their dreams? How wonderful would that be to watch the extensions of us become their fantasy. The thought of that is exciting and makes life interesting all over again. My daughter may change her mind a thousand times before she knows what her true passion is. Or she might be rocking on some stage ten years from now. And when they interview her on some trendy talk show and ask her when it was she knew what she wanted to be, maybe she will say “The day I sang to my mother under some Bingo tent.” Maybe she saw something in my eyes like I saw in hers. Something that lead her to believe she could be exactly who she dreamt of being.
MOMENTS AND MEMORIES 