Journal January 2011 - Days 15 and 19

I never did find the photos I was looking for so I went ahead and did Day 15 with generic faces.  The prompt was about stories of women.  I wanted to do the story of my heritage.  My heritage is a long line of very strong women. Not perfect mind you.....but strong and mostly independent! I figure part of the strength I get to jump in and try new things I've never done before is from these women.  Chosen out of many are my great-aunt-Orvie (a solo missionary to Burma when she was only 17), my great-grandmother Mary Davis (who traveled to Texas in a covered wagon from Missouri), my maternal grandmother Inez Skinner (who when deserted by an alcoholic husband raised three kids on $12/week - and went on to marry a wonderful man!!), my fraternal grandmother Ocie Lambright (although I disagreed with what she believed, sacrificed so much to stand up for and live by her beliefs), and my mother Dean Guest (left a fine life to head off with my dad to Africa as a missionary with only a one-way ticket).  Those are only single examples of the strength that they have lived by. There is so  much more.  There are other un-named faces going back before these women.  Strong women don't spring from the dirt, so I figure there must have been other strong women that were examples for these women in my life.  And I was privileged to know all of the ones listed.  Now...I can only hope to carry on that heritage to my grand-daughters and make those in my past proud.

Journal January 2011 - Day 15 - Strong Women - My Heritage



Day 19's prompt is Toy Talisman - a favorite toy from our childhood. Well, try as I might I couldn't think of one! No really!  But what DID come to mind is all my books. It all started when I memorized (and recited ad nauseum so I hear tell) all the nursery rhymes I could get my little 2-year-old hands on.  Even slept with all of them.  Then it was Dr. Seuss, then Nancy Drew throughout my early school years. That is when my love of the mystery was born! After that I found Agatha Christie!! Amazing. Then as an adult a friend recommended Anne Perry. Another wonderful mystery writer.  Then another friend introduced me to Diana Gabaldon. Not much of a reader of fantasy books but this series is so steeped in history that I fell in love with it! Today, as a voracious reader...I can look back to the beginning and see that my first love of books began at a very early age and I have enjoyed many adventures through these and so many others.

Journal January 2011 - Day 19 - Books



MY CREATIVE JOURNEY - week 35 continued

This is the week of what I call cross-training. To do something creative outside my usual "box". So, the farthest thing I could think of was writing. Very scary for me but I was determined to do it. I don't have time to write much so I just started a very very short story of The Amazing Diva Pig. Of course, this is the nickname of our granddaughter Jayden (who will be one year old in only about a week!). She got the pig part because when she was born she always made these cute little snorting noises. And because she had a very healthy appetite also! The Diva part was added later when she developed her little diva personality. But she is a good diva, not a bratty diva. There is such a thing you know!

So, with fear and trepidation, here is the beginning of The Amazing Diva Pig. It is a story for her that I might read to her when she is a little older so I wrote it as a children's story.

THE AMAZING DIVA PIG
(a very very short story about a very very special pig)

A pig is a pig, right? Well……….. maybe not! There is one pig that is FAR from the usual. She is Diva Pig. Who you might ask is Diva Pig? She is an amazingly wonderful little thing with very special powers. That is what makes her a Diva Pig.

Her most useful power is her smile! She can melt hearts in an instant. She can make sad people happy, mad people calm, and bored people laugh! Now THAT is a powerful smile!

Diva Pig comes by her smile quite naturally. I know because I’ve been around her ever since she was born. Many will say baby pigs don’t smile. That just shows how little they know. Perhaps her mouth didn’t smile the usual smile….but those eyes smiled. I saw them. I know it is true.

One of her other powers is her limitless energy. Diva Pig is hardly ever still (except maybe when she is sleeping). She is up and around and about. There is so much to explore, so much to find. And she is fearless as she climbs over or crawls under anything in her path. It is a sign I think of her natural curiosity and determination.

She also has a HUGE heart and loves everyone. That must be why everyone lovers her back! Her parents and her brothers and sisters love her. Her grandparents and all the rest of her family love her. That is to be expected, of course. But so far, I’ve not met anyone who can resist the power of her loving heart.

She didn’t have an easy beginning in this life but she doesn’t seem to notice. It certainly doesn’t stop her love from spreading out to any and everyone.

I think her future is bright because good things happen to someone with these special powers. They can change the world. So, when the world is a better place in the future, you never know……..but I wouldn’t be surprised if Diva Pig had a part of making it happen!