Starting Over – Fingers on the Keyboard

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Linda Barrett

IT’S ALL ABOUT PASSION —

Sorry, I’m not speaking about that kind of passion, but about other passions that fuel our souls and make us happy. I’m talking about passion in our work or hobby or avocation. Even passion about the hunt!

The ‘hunt’ was explained to me by my friend, Phyllis, a tireless fashionista. “Forget shop til you drop,” she said. “That’s too general. The hunt is about finding exactly the item you had in mind, in the exact color, by the date you need it, and at the right price.” Let’s just say that Phyllis is not only tenacious but has an eye for color, quality and value. She’s taught me a few things along the way–for which I’m grateful because…I have no taste. I have no patience in stores. I get hives after five minutes. I like wearing all kinds of colors, but recently discovered that gray looks horrible on me. What took me so long? For some women, passion lies in working with color, style and texture. Satisfaction can be gained by a trip to a mall or two.

I think passion is revealed in the way we choose to spend our time. I’ve read many true stories about men and women just like you and me who change careers mid-stream because they’d reached their now or never moment. Years pass quickly and they are finite. So, we hit now or never. Do we nurture the yearning that’s lurked inside us but never had a chance to bloom? Or do we continue on our “well trodden ways” putting responsibilities to and for others first and never reaching for our star? Those with irresistible dreams will figure out how to satisfy their yearning.

I read about a woman who finally learned to play the bagpipes. Another woman started a landscape gardening business, and a third walked the Appalachian trail–finally. My friend, Margo, who has an artistic bent. learned to paint in oils and has sold several pieces. My neighbor does all her own landscaping, not as a business, but because she loves it. She’s always outside, fiddling with her plants, winning awards in the community.

As for me? When my now or never moment came, my writing career was born. I’d always produced bits and pieces along the way – a poem, a short story, a family story. But I could never envision a professional writing career without feeling guilty–and worried. How could I count on writing to pay the bills? Publishing is definitely not an exact science. My solution was to become a weekend writer for the first few years. I wrote and submitted proposals to my editor again and again. Until I could prove myself.

I’m still proving myself. I’m starting over as a writer one more time. Changes in the publishing industry have provided new opportunities for writers, wonderful opportunities. But as usual, there are no guarantees. The road is still a rocky one. Between learning new technology and “getting your name out” as you must, authors worry about having less time to write. I used to worry about that, too. But not anymore. I’ve learned that although my daily schedule and “to-do list” may have changed since I’ve become my own independent publisher, my fingers are still on the keyboard. The words still come. Passion isn’t fleeting when it fuels the soul.

What are you passionate about? What is the one “want” you’d love to fulfill if you could? Dancing? Piano? What’s stopping you from trying? Leave a comment below, and let’s start the conversation!

CONTEST NEWS! This month’s drawing is for a fabulous package of books. Five authors from OnFireFiction are offering a five story romance package called Love Me Some Cowboy. Each story is a full novel from Jean Brashear, Ginger Chambers, Day Leclaire, Barbara McMahon, and Lisa Mondello. I’m a proud member of OnFireFiction and am happy to provide this terrific prize in addition to a copy of Family Interrupted, my recently released novel of women’s fiction. LEAVE A COMMENT and your name will be added to the drawing.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope to see you for the next edition of Starting Over.

Linda

Starting Over ~ Life in the Day Camp

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Linda Barrett

DIRTY DANCING? Hmm…not exactly…

Work before play. Work before play. That’s the philosophy my DH and I have followed since we married a million years ago. We’ve tried to live our lives responsibly. I’m sure you’ve done the same. We’ve worked hard while raising a family, contributing to the community and making friends. In what seems like the blink of an eye, however, my golfer guy is now chasing a little white ball over a sea of green grass every day and loving it. I wonder what happened to our old routine.. What happened to “going to work?”

“I am working,” says Mike. “I’m working on my golf game.”

Ah, yes. the golf game. Absolutely. And the fishing club. And the softball league, pickle ball game and the Dine-Around group. Let’s not forget the poker game at the clubhouse. And while we’re at the clubhouse, don’t forget about the swimming pool…and the pool table. Others who live here are still working real jobs. Ahem…that would be me. But with our move to the Sunshine state, the truth is that we live in a day camp for adults.

This is not my first experience with day camps. No indeed. Remember the movie Dirty Dancing? A sleeper that became a huge hit with Jennifer Gray and the late Patrick Swayze who played a dance instructor at a resort hotel for wealthy vacationers.. The movie was set in 1963, in the Catskill Mountains of New York about a hundred miles north of the city.

I spent many childhood summers in the Catskills. However, I was not wealthy and did not stay at a resort hotel. My family rented a little cottage at one of the many “bungalow colonies” for which the area was famous. A few hundred dollars bought us an escape from the concrete heat of the city during July and August. More important, the Catskills provided a possible escape from the polio virus, infamous for summer attacks in urban areas. And so my family schlepped “to the country” each summer, the car loaded with pots, pans, bedding, dishes – everything we’d need to sustain us through the season.

Every bungalow colony had a day camp for children. After all, mothers needed a break, too. Whether it was arts & crafts, nature walks, swimming, knock-hockey, punchball, softball, blueberry picking, or campfires with ghost stories, the kids were kept busy from morning til night. Every bungalow colony also had a casino–not the gambling kind–but a big social hall for adult parties and shows on Saturday night. These were the places where the comedians and entertainers of the time honed their skills and sharpened their acts. Buddy Hackett, Milton Berle, Eddie Fisher…they all found their way to these summer audiences. But the parents agreed that the best talent show of all was the one put on by their kids in the day camp.

Last month I attended a talent show by the “kids” in my day camp for adults. A home grown entertainment that was second to none this year. As though the spirit of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland hovered over the place and cast, the “Let’s put on a show” theme had imbued this day camp. On the big night, the turnout in both talent and audience was exceptional.

So now that this day camper and her golfer guy live in a 55 and better community, what has changed about day camp from our earlier years?

Not a darn thing! The fun activities and making new friends are still part of the schedule. And if the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate is a little shorter, or more time is spent fishing instead of running bases…well, some accommodation is to be expected as gray begins to dominate our natural hair color. (Not that it dominates for very long around here!) We might not be up for some “dirty dancing,” but the dance floor is definitely crowded on New Year’s Eve.

From those bungalow colonies in the Catskills to this day camp for active retirees, my life echoes the past. I’m holding onto the happy times and the loving memories of family long gone. I’ve become an older iteration of who I once was, proving once again that the “child is father of the man.” Or, as a famous sailor enjoyed repeating, “I yam who I yam.”

What have you held onto from your childhood? Can you recognize yourself in the mirror of time? Has your life come full circle?

CONTEST NEWS!! I’m thrilled to add a fabulous prize to this month’s drawing. Five authors from OnFireFiction are offering a five story romance package called: LOVE ME SOME COWBOY. Each story is a full novel from Lisa Mondello, Jean Brashear, Barbara McMahon, Day Leclaire and Ginger Chambers. I’m a member of OnFireFiction and am happy to provide this terrific prize in addition to a copy of FAMILY INTERRUPTED.

Post a comment and have your name added to this drawing!! Contest runs through May 31st.

As always, thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you for the next edition of Starting Over.

Linda

Starting Over ~ A New Home

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Linda Barrett

These match. Mine don’t 🙂

LET’S GET REAL…

Happiness in a home can be measured in closet space. Whether you live in a one bedroom apartment or a four bedroom ranch house, closets are the real in “real estate.” As an extra challenge, basements don’t exist in the southern tier of this country, So say goodbye to a terrific storage alternative. I spent my early married life in Massachusetts in a house with an unfinished basement, but it was large enough for us to throw down a rug and use as a playroom. Mike even built a “sports” closet under the staircase–much appreciated for the basketballs, baseball gloves, ice skates, even sleds and whatever else kept our three boys busy during each season.

Then we moved to Texas, and now live in Florida. Southern enough? Definitely no basements. My organizational gene was challenged, but with a little surprise help, I conquered this issue..

In Texas, my lower kitchen cabinets were filled with a hodge-podge of pots, pans, storage containers, cutting boards, trays, colanders and even a George Forman grill. I will never have a color coordinated matching set of anything because everything I have still works beautifully, So how can I throw them out? Besides, I’m a basic cook. A decent basic cook. I know which pots I use for brisket – the two Dutch ovens. I know exactly which crummy one I use for boiling eggs so no other pot will turn black inside. I’ll admit I’m a creature of habit and comfortable with my array of stainless.

But I wasn’t comfortable messing around inside the cabinets, trying to dig out the exact pan I needed. Aerobics in the kitchen. Bend. Reach. Bend. Reach. Left, right, center. Crash. Crash, crash. Oy, the noise! Every time I went through another crash routine, I’d think about installing sliding drawers which I’d seen at Lowe’s. But then I got busy and forgot about it until the next time.

Finally, next time arrived. One Saturday, I walked into the kitchen to see a mess of Reverewear, Farberware, Emeril and whatever else I’d collected all over the floor. Mike was lying on his back, his head and arms scrunched inside that bottom cabinet. I could hear the curses and grunting emanating from the depths. Then the commands:

“Lin, hold this screw.”

I held it.

“Lin, I need the screw.”

I gave it.

And twenty minutes later, I had a stainless steel two-drawer storage unit. Pots on the bottom; covers on top. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Surprised?” he asked.

“Sure am. How did you know to take this on?”

“Hard to miss with all that complaining you did.”

“Moi? Complain?”

His eyes gleamed. “Maybe just a little. Now, how about a kiss?”

I stepped closer, my feet bumping into the pans still on the floor. This time, I didn’t care about the noise. All I saw was the pleasure on Mike’s face for having made me happy.

So maybe “real” isn’t about closet space at all.

In Florida, I actually have enough drawers for the pots and pans, but those plastic and aluminum foil rolls, the plastic baggies and dish washing soaps had to go somewhere. And the space beneath the sink is totally inadequate the way it is. Another item on the “honey-do” list. And another kiss–maybe more than one–from me. Just keeping it real 🙂

Thanks so much for stopping by, Hope I see you next time for another story about Starting Over.

Linda

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you have a story you’d like to share about what love looks like to you, send me an email and it might appear in this column. Spelling and grammar don’t count!

DRAWING: Remember to leave a comment and your name will be in a drawing for a free copy of Family Interrupted. Drawing held at the end of the month.