This is a little late as far as posting when it was Memorial Day. Right now I am sitting in our temporary home while we start to the process of looking for a place to live. My husband and I got into Anchorage, Alaska just over 24 hours ago. We've been so excited to move here. The journey was long as we traveled both across the country by car and then a very long ferry boat ride. When my precious daughter passed away almost five years ago Memorial Day took on a whole new meaning for me. … [Read more...]
Day 107: A Love Story
Great loves of our life. Depending on the person, there can be many great loves or only a few to maybe only just one. For me, my first great love is for my Heavenly Father in heaven. It is through Him all things are possible. My next great love is for my husband Keith. In my childhood there were many kinds of abuse that happened to me and as a result shaped who I am today, or at least partly shaped. I don't have the greatest self-esteem. I have issues with letting go of control. I don't … [Read more...]
Day 106: Odd Notes
In life we all have our times where we will either jot down a quick note or store something away in the corners of our minds for later use. As writers I think it is even more important to write down those sudden thoughts that come to us. It's in those thoughts that the true magic of our writing comes out. Our hidden story ideas that get written in the page. I still remember the day about three months after Mari died where I had all these thoughts floating around in my head beginning to be … [Read more...]
Day 99: Writing Your Own Corner
I love this. Most of us only know the areas where we have lived or been surrounded by. For an Army brat they are constantly being moved around the country and sometimes even living in different countries. For another they may have lived in the same small town their entire life. Another might have been raised in the foster care system constantly being moved from one home to another. Think about it. We are all so different. No two people have lived the exact same life. Yes, many people have … [Read more...]
Day 96: The Things We Keep
In life as each day goes by we create memories. For the most part most of those memories aren't that important so we forget about them. But the important ones sometimes feel like they embed themselves into our brains. When my daughter died I knew I couldn't go back and live in the house where all I had surrounding me were memories of her. Pictures on the wall. Her silly cups. Her food. Her bedroom. I was a stay at home mom of a child with severe autism whose life completely revolved around my … [Read more...]
Day 95: Five Things Writers Can Learn from Dogs
I love the list from the book as these can be applied to not only writers, but so many things people do in life. 1. Be tenacious and curious about everything. Don't be afraid to try and do new things. See where they take you. Who knows, maybe you'll like it. 2. Abandon yourself to joy on occasion. Don't be afraid to allow yourself to be happy. It's okay to give into the joyous side of life. 3. At all times, follow what you love. Have you ever known someone who said, "Man, I hate to … [Read more...]
Day 91: Naming Names
In life we have all been given a name at birth, typically by our parents. My name, Kristena, is a rather common name in the way it is pronounced. The most common spelling is Christina, with Kristina in a close second. But then you have my spelling. When you first saw my name did you catch that it had an 'e' in it? If you're like most you didn't. That's normal. Whereas the spelling of my name some might say is abnormal. To me that doesn't sound right. I like to think of the spelling as … [Read more...]
Day 89: Worries of Writing Memoir
I want, no, I need to share this excerpt from the book I'm using. Even as I sit here writing this, I feel my eyes moistening. I hope you will see why this has touched my heart and maybe why God lead me to the very book to use in my 365 day journey. "Robin Romm worried whether to publish the memoir she had written about the last three weeks of her mother’s life. She wrote thirty pages of notes during those weeks, then ninety pages in the ten days after her mother died. Romm felt there were … [Read more...]
Z is for zest
Mari's zest for life made you want to follow her lead. Have you ever wanted to feel complete freedom? No worries. No deadlines. No bills. Just complete and utter freedom. I think of freedom and Mari's picture comes to mind. She had an unmatched zest for life that I don't think I've seen in other people. She really didn't care what people thought of her as she always did as she pleased. Whether it was creating Lake Mari in the bathroom sink as the waterfall hit the floor or take a permanent … [Read more...]
Day 83: Retyping the Best
This is an interesting concept. Have you ever thought about taking one of your very favorite books and retyping it out? That's right, the entire thing. Nope? Well, I hadn't either until I read about today's phrase. Here is a small excerpt from the book: "When Donald Ray Pollock turned forty-five, he decided he wanted to do something different with his life; he was going to learn how to write. He began by retyping stories by writers he liked —John Cheever, Richard Yates, and Ernest … [Read more...]
