May Coffee

Showering by me in a swirl, I realize that we did not have an April coffee. This will be a late spring cup, or two, we have a lot to catch up on. Living in central Maryland we experience snow in April and the air-conditioning running during a heat wave six weeks later. With hopeful confidence, I put away my winter boots today. On that joyful note, this is what I have been:

Fostering:  A four-month old emaciated German Shepherd pup needed a place to rest her weary head. We said yes. She is only nineteen pounds but full of spirit and life. And puppy teeth. The cats hate us and our resident canines won’t even look at her, they like their all boys club. We are tripping over baby gates and toys and savoring the moments. The moments when she sleeps. The rest of the time she sings the song of her people. The big dogs retreat upstairs, if they could they would stuff their ears with cotton.

Performing: Listen To Your Mother was on April 23rd! I am still unpacking all the goodness from that experience. The intimacy of sharing stories connects people for life. I was humbled and grateful for the support of my brothers and by my sisters-by-marriage, and friends so dear they spent their Saturday driving to the theater and staying to visit and share the after-glow of the show. If you are reading this and you are saying to yourself, “I got a story,” write it and audition, the world needs to hear your story.

Writing: I took an intensive 14-day writing class entitled “Mother, May I” with The Inky Path. I was unprepared for the places that I went with Jena’s and Cigdem’s daily prompts. Memories got stirred and for fourteen days I felt like my mother was alive again.  I have a better understanding of what a daily writing practice looks and feels like. I experienced waiting to see what would be the first thought to surface from the prompt and then not forcing it, but allowing it to breathe and stretch its legs before I sat down to write. I met women from all over the world, women I would love to have coffee with and share more stories.

Finishing: “Writing the Tough Stuff,” a course offered by Creative Nonfiction. Our instructor was Jessica Handler. What a privilege to study under her direction. It was intense, learning how to write the tough stuff means immersing yourself in the tough stuff. I feel a little battle-worn, but exhilarated at the same time.

Rising Strong: I finished studying with Brene Brown and her Rising Strong Semester study. Top notch on-line class. Excellent videos accompany each lesson, detailed print-outs, additional live sessions, the class was life changing. I have posters from the class taped all over my kitchen cabinets, I need the visuals.

Starting: North Wind Photos. I have dreamed of starting a greeting card line for over thirty years. That dream took on flesh in the form of my first four cards. I am working backwards. I believe it customary to have the front-end all in place before product, but my skin was cracking, some dreams have to be born ready or not. We are working on the e-commerce details and the North Wind Photos webpage. Also exploring many different printers. I loved the quality of the second company we used, but the inside of the card is a little glossy. I am hoping to find a printer with photo quality outside and a more matte finish on the inside. I love stationary and I am very picky about paper quality. The dream is two-fold, all the cards will feature my photography. Many moving parts, much to coordinate, there is a sweetness to this project – I get to work with my favorite IT guy and all around graphics guru.

Submitting and Waiting: Still waiting on a couple of submissions, both writing and photography. Submitting photos is a new learning curve. So many details, from photo selection, to making sure you have followed every point of the contest or submission outline, it takes hours. And there is satisfaction in the learning, it is not all about winning or being selected, it is all about walking into the arena and daring greatly.

Reading: I read “Invisible Sisters” by Jessica Handler. Hard to put down, exquisite memoir. “A Mother’s Secret” by Renita D’Silva. I love her books and will force my eyes to stay open to read them, even if I know I am going to have to re-read those parts. She weaves a wondrous tale. And I am reading “Braving the Fire” by Jessica Handler, a guide to writing about grief and loss.

Celebrating: Our two year anniversary of pulling the plug on cable TV. No local channels either. No satellite. No Netflix. Its lovely.

Finishing my first coffee of this morning, I received notification that I won Special Recognition in the Light, Space, and Time Animals Art Contest – Photography and Digital Category. Below is a link to the winners in that category. There were nine-hundred entries from 24 countries, and 42 states in the overall contest. The work is gorgeous, all of it. Once you are at the site you can view all the winning artwork for the different categories. I included a quote from the site about the Special Merit Awards and the Special Recognition Awards, it adds fuel to the flame that keeps me wanting to learn and explore outside of my comfort zone. If you have been wanting to try something, do it.

https://www.lightspacetime.com/animals-2016-art-exhibition-photography-category/

“We also included Special Merit awards and Special Recognition awards for outstanding art this month. The artists in either of these groups could have easily been included in the upper tier of our winners, as their art was also exceptional.”

My coffee cup is empty. The pup needs to go out, she is still a sick little girl. Send a good thought her way for strength and healing. She has the heart of a warrior.

Much love and peace to you,
Terri