Autumn Potpourri

I have  been so busy working on writing and publishing my first two novels these past months that I have neglected my blog.  Since this blog is titled, “Chris’s Inspirations”, I thought I would write about a few different topics that are dear to my heart; thus the post title, “Autumn Potpourri.”  The leaves have changed color and fallen to the ground.  In fact, we even had some snow the other day.  This week we are experiencing warmer weather so the early snow has already melted.  There are many things that inspire me, but this quote is one of my favorites:  “Cherish Yesterday…Love Today…Dream Tomorrow”  by Richard Bach.

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I love this quote.  It has become my mantra of life.  Due to the fact that we have spent so much time together since March, my hubby and I have done a lot of reflecting and contemplating.  We have over fifty-one years of shared experiences and memories that it is hard not to.  Many of the events we have reminisced about have revolved around when our four adult children were young.  The times we spent camping and visiting various sites around our state of Michigan are worth more than money could ever buy.  We truly cherish those years.

One of our twin sons has been working from home since March.  During his morning walks or during the time he takes for lunch each day, he has been listening to quite a few audio books and podcasts.  He called me the other day to ask me something that had been precipitated by the current podcast he had just finished.  He had recalled something I had told his twin brother and him once about their having their own language.  He wondered if that was really true.

Talking to him about this brought back many cherished memories for me.  They indeed had their own language until they were about three or four years old.  The problem was, they could understand each other but we could not understand them.  Not being familiar with the workings of the twin mind, I asked a speech therapist about it and he told me not to worry that by four their own special language would probably be gone; he was right.

I specifically remembered a time when my son had asked me something. I didn’t know what he said so had him repeat it.  I still had no clue what he had said, so I asked his twin, who was standing there, to translate for me.  That was useless as his twin said exactly the same thing,  All I could do is say no a lot as I was afraid of what they might be asking to do. 

He was also telling me about a portion of the podcast that talked about how normal it is for children to have imaginary friends.  I reminded him that his older brother had an imaginary friend who was named Jackie.  The twins had been little when this had happened so he did not remember.  Our oldest son had Jackie go everywhere with us.  About the time this son turned six or seven years old, Jackie wasn’t around anymore.  My husband and I asked him where Jackie was.  Our son had an entire back story.  Jackie and his mother, Audrey, (we had never heard about Audrey before) were moving to Pennsylvania so Jackie wouldn’t be around anymore.  It only seemed logical as our son was now in first grade and had made many real friends…he didn’t need Jackie anymore.

When our oldest child, our only daughter, was learning to talk, I was teaching full time so she went to daycare.  The wonderful couple that watched her were from the eastern part of the U.S. and Canada.  Because of this, our daughter learned to speak with a bit of an eastern accent.  We didn’t mind as we soon learned to understand what she was saying.  However, when she started school it bothered her teachers to no end.  She ended up in speech therapy to “rid” her of, as they put it, “that awful accent.”  As they say, hind sight is 20/20.  If it were to happen today, I would have told them “too bad, you will have to adjust.”

There are so many other stories I could tell about the four of them.  Their childhood brought such joy to our life and it is the little memories like this that my husband and I cherish.  However, we also love the awesome adults they are today. 

I cannot help but love today.  Even though 2020 has been a challenge, we still have many things to love.  I love the fact that we live in the middle of the woods, with no close neighbors.  It is so peaceful and the colors this autumn were amazing.  It is nice to walk out on our back deck, take in a deep breath of fresh air and listen to nature.  Many mornings, all the birds serenade me with quite the concert.

I love the awesome adults our four children have become.  Now, we are all making lasting memories that they will be able to cherish in the future.  I love the life that my husband and I have.  It is nothing fancy, as we are pretty down-to-earth people, but it works for us.  Covid has limited our travel this year, but it will not be with us always. 

I love today because of the six wonderful grandchildren we have.  They range in age from 26 to 14.  They are all unique individuals and bring much joy and happiness to us.  It has been fun to watch them grow and develop their own personalities and interests.

Another thing I love today is this time of year…autumn.  I enjoy it more than the others as it seems for me a more laid-back time of year.  This year, I am using autumn as a time to reflect.  You do that when you get to be my age.  I have used the time this past week to reflect on the goals I set at the beginning of 2020.  Needless to say, with Covid-19 amongst us, I have abandoned some of those goals.

However, I have used this time we have been home to fulfill some of my dream goals.  As Langston Hughes says, “Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”  I have always dreamed of writing a novel and publishing it.  The writing that I do on my blog gave me the confidence to complete my first novel and self-publish it in June.

I have been humbled by the overwhelming compliments I received from family and friends who read the novel.  I am proud to report that of the twelve reviews I have received on Amazon, ten of them have been five-star reviews.  I always thought, Justice For Lindsey was good but this confirms it.  If you want to know what the book is about, it is a mystery.  The teaser is “Carron Maitland and Jake Brennan would have never met in another time and another place.  Carron had it all.  The heiress to a fortune had built her own successful business from the ground up.  Soon her world comes crashing down and secrets from the past threaten her very existence.  Jake, a former cop turned successful mystery writer, sets out to write a true-crime novel and in the process solve a twenty-five-year-old murder.  Now Carron and Jake are brought together and combine their talents and resources to bring closure to the past.” 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Justice+For+Lindsey&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Because of the positive acceptance my first novel received, I wrote two rather long novellas that I published together two weeks ago.  He Never Said Good-Bye & Deception in the Moonlight are also available on Amazon.  This book introduces two new characters that will be featured in a series of novellas I will publish over the coming year.  Here is a little insight as to what the stories are about.

“Sophie London sets out to prove her husband, William,  was murdered and not just killed in a tragic auto accident.  The more Sophie and private investigator, Evin Foster, delve into the events surrounding William’s death, the more unanswered questions surface.  Was it an accident or murder?”

“Sophie London and Evin Foster team up again.  This time it is to prove the innocence of a young man accused of murdering his young wife.  They go undercover at the popular resort, Sunset Hills, to find the evidence they need.  It sounds like the young woman is not the only one who has met a suspicious death at the resort.  Can Sophie and Evin find the real killer before it is too late?”

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=he+never+said+good-bye+%26+deception+in+the+moonlight&crid=29316JW10UX&sprefix=He+Never+Said+Good-%2Caps%2C1055&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-ap-p_1_19

Working on these two novels and then continuing to write, has taught me that you are never to old to “dream tomorrow.”  As Maya Angelou says, “It’s not where your dreams take you, it’s where you take your dreams.”  Do you have dreams that you would like to fulfill?  Never give up and never stop dreaming.  Believe in yourself and that someday the dream can be accomplished.