Memories Rewind: Halloween Our Way

Mama and I were on our way to pick out a Halloween costume for her character at church. I skipped through the aisles looking at the costumes. There were scary goblins and witches for those who wanted a little fright in their Halloween plans. Then, you had Dorothy from Wizard of Oz or Cleopatra. The possibilities were endless at this store!

When I turned around, Mama had put on a colorful wig. It was hilarious! But, I have to admit I was a little embarrassed at first. :)

Then, she put on a mask and burst into a song that she just made up on the spot. We had our own fun right there in the store. I loved that my mom didn't care what anyone thought about her dancing around and having fun with me in the store.

Before we knew it, we had been in there for over an hour trying on funny glasses, hats, and the like. I spotted a feather boa and just had to try it on. I guess the creative juices of Halloween had finally found their way to me. I looked pretty awesome with my pink boa and capris if I do say so myself.

We left with a neon green wig because we didn't find exactly what she was looking for at that store (She did find a costume eventually), but we had lots of fun acting silly!

What fun memories of Halloween do you have?

Don't Flinch!

Little baby chicks are so cute and small. But when I had the opportunity to reach in and touch one, I instinctively said, "I don't want it to bite me!"

Isn't that what we usually do with people? We don't want others to hurt us, so we hold back. If we are brave enough to start building a relationship, we flinch and pull away as soon as others try to help us. Admit it; you've had someone give you constructive criticism and you've flinched. You instinctively pulled away from that person the minute you thought you might get "bitten."

Sometimes we pull away from the very people we need in our lives the most. Pulling away from them isn't going to change our situation. It will only distance us further from our lifeline. If you were drowning, would you swim away from the rope? No! You would swim furiously until you latched on.

Hopefully we will all realize the importance of having someone in our lives that loves us enough to tell us the truth. God has given each of us an opportunity to latch onto His lifeline. He plucks us out of situations when we seek Him, but He uses the people around us to do it. In order to grow, we need to face the truth and not shy away from it. Instead of flinching in fear at what might happen when Gods sends people into your life, embrace your new opportunity for change!

In the Midst of It

I was scheduled to go for a nerve block in Augusta on October 15th in the hopes that the doctor would be able to pinpoint the source of my pain. When I went to sleep that night, something was different. My heart rate was slower and I actually got a good night's sleep for once.

I was trusting God to guide the doctor's hands as he would be the one injecting the medicine into my back. An unmistakable peace was with me as I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I didn't have ANY pain! The miraculous thing was I wasn't in any pain on the way to my doctor's appointment either.

They ended up not even doing the nerve block because I wasn't in any pain. That type of nerve block is only helpful if you're in pain when they are doing it because that's the only way to tell if it was working.

I was a little upset that Mama had to take off work to come with me and they didn't do it. But, those thoughts quickly vanished when I realized this was the beginning of my miracle! No knew I had been praying God would take away the pain in my legs so I wouldn't need the nerve block.

It was an amazing feeling! The pain has tried to creep back in these past few days, but I'm standing on God's promises.

Don't stop believing in the midst of the storm!

P.S. I know I didn't do a Memories Rewind post on Wednesday. I have had tests to study for and deadlines to meet for my yearbook class.

You know you've made it When...

(I had forgotten about writing this awhile back, but it's worth posting.)

Your 12 year old cousin sits quietly, laptop in hand, reading your blog. Sometimes I question whether or not I really produce interesting work. Mama cast a knowing glance at me and said, "You've done good when you can keep an 11 (now 12) year old's attention for several hours." I guess she's right.

After writing for such a long time, you learn that no paper will ever be perfect. No story will be complete, but you begin to be okay with it. Sure, I revise, revise, and revise again to make sure that I've fully developed my ideas, but my mama has taught me that you can only do so much.

An English professor of mine once said something that I still remember, "There's no such thing as great writing only great rewriting." How true that is. When he first said that, I was a freshman navigating the waters known as English 101. I woke up on the first day of school a little nervous but full of excitement because I had to the opportunity to learn at a different level. To be challenged in areas that I hadn't thought about.

Thanks, Mikayla for reminding me why I started writing in the first place...for others to enjoy.

Feature Article: Writing for an Audience

I've been waiting to announce something. I am now one of the five feature writers for Adori Graphics! I'll be writing articles on all things related to blogging, which is so me. As you all know, I love to write so this just allows me combine my love of writing with helping others. That's what communication is all about, so the things I've learned in class will definitely be put to good use.

Here's a little snippet of my first article which is about writing for an audience: Writing for readers versus in your private journal are two very different things. I'm going to give you some tips to keep in mind...

Join me today at Adori Graphics for the rest of the article!

Memories Rewind: Join In!

I'm not feeling good today, so the weekly Memories Rewind post will have to wait. I just need to rest, so I'm not going to fight it.

In the meantime, why don't you all link up your Memories Rewind posts? It could be a childhood memory or something your children have done. The sky is the limit as far as topics go. I've always wanted to branch out with Memories Rewind, so hopefully many of you will join in! I asked about interest in this before, but I choose to believe some of you were too shy to comment. :) Please link back to this post somewhere in your Memories Rewind post, so others can be a part of the fun, too!
If I have a good response, I may may this a weekly link party in addition to my own Memories Rewind post.

No story or memory is dumb. Just link the URL of your Memories Rewind post here, not the URL of your blog. Example: http://dropletsonajournal.blogspot.com/2010/09/memories-rewind-laughing-in-night.html It will be open until Friday, October 22. I can't wait to read your stories!

In my Shoes

As a young girl, I loved shoes. But, there was one problem. None of the cute shoes would fit with my AFO's. My mom and I would spend hours in Wal-Mart hoping that one pair might work.

I spotted a cute pair that I just had to try on. Mama would bend down with the shoe horn in hand. It was a war. Heragainst the shoe. She pulled and tugged, but it just wouldn't go over my braces. I let out a sigh of disappointment as we moved on.

Sometimes I would suggest a pair to Mama even though I knew they wouldn't work. I thought if I wished hard enough they would magically fit. I knew Wal-Mart shoes didn't have any support in them, but they had all of the cute styles. Usually, we would order dressy shoes from a speciality shoe store, but it was different for everyday shoes. Mama would have to buy them a size up from my normal size so the shoes would go over my AFO's. Tears would sting my eyes as I was reminded once again that I wasn't like everyone else. (These didn't come from Wal-Mart, either.)

Going to school was also constant reminder of what I couldn't have. All of my friends wore these cute strappy sandals. The pain almost felt like it would leap out of my chest each time I heard a flip flop coming down the hall.

Mama didn't mind paying more for my shoes because she knew it was what I needed. But, I was mad, frustrated, and overwhelmed. I just couldn't understand why all of the shoes that worked with AFO's had to be boring. I wanted color and style! Was that too much to ask? Twenty years ago it was. Now, there are companies like NAOT who make sure people in braces have cute shoes (the footbed comes out, and I think some of the shoes come in wide sizes).

Even though I don't have to wear braces anymore, finding shoes is still a struggle because I have to wear a heel lift in my left shoe. The shoe has to be wide enough to accommodate that. Privo has removable insoles, too, so that works for me. (There are many other websites that sell Privo, I just linked to a familiar one. You can find really good sales on them if you look.)

That saying "Don't judge someone before you walk a mile in their shoes" is so true.

Memories Rewind: The Flower Garden

This is a journal entry that was published in my middle school literary magazine. Please ignore any errors. I was a sixth grader when I wrote this. :)

Dear Journal, 1/29/02

I enjoy looking at my grandmother's flower garden when I go to visit her. When people look at her flower garden they just see beautiful flowers surrounding them. I see that, too, just much more than that. When I gaze out into her flower garden, I see all all the different colors and textures of each flower. She may have a whole bunch of the same kind of flowers in a group; each one is unique in its own way, just like people. Some of them have red on them with tints of white on the edges to draw the attention of the person or thing looking at it.

In my mind, I see each flower trying to outdo the other. They are very beautiful, my favorite one is the one I just described called, Double Delight. Others are bright pink with long sturdy stems for support.

Everywhere you look you see flowers! My grandmother has flower baskets in shady places. My grandmother loves vibrant colored flowers! They bring life into her yard. I couldn't imagine her yard without flowers somewhere in it because I have been around them so long!

Another thing I see in her yard is all the time and work that my grandmother and grandfather have put into their yard. Don't think that my grandfather gets left out of the work, Grandmother has to have his help, too!

I also see green shrubs around my grandmother's yard, and when they bloom in the Spring, you would have thought that they started out as little green plants! People are the same way. We start out as little babies and as time passes, we begin to grow and mature (I hope!)

Everything is a process. Flowers don't grow into big and beautiful flowers over night. It takes time, water, and sun to make them grow. It's the same way for people. When we are little, we need to be taken care of, loved, and nurtured in order to grow. At the end of this process, both come out strong and healthy.

Who Runs this Thing?

I've had several anonymous comments over the past week about a certain subject, so I thought I would answer it here. They will say something like, "I want to thank the staff here at dropletsonajournal.blogspot.com/ for their work." My personal favorite was, "Can I get a staff member to answer my question?"

So, for all who are curious, this site isn't run by a staff. It is run by me and me only. I got a good laugh out of those comments, though. I guess people think that several people contribute to this site, but it's just me. I plan to have some guests posts occasionally, but what you read here is my life...my stories.

Someone thought I completely made up the Memories Rewind posts, and when I responded that these were things that happened to me or someone in my family as I was growing up, they were surprised. Needless to say, I had a great childhood for the most part. :) I do all of those from memory, except for My Favorite Place, which was taken out of my middle school literary magazine. I have made up some stories, and I may share them here one day.

I'm always curious as to what people are thinking when they read my blog, and know I know (a little bit). For all of you who read, but never comment, why don't you leave me a question in the comments? I'd love to hear from you!