Love Your Brain?

"You're alive...That means you have infinite potential."

- Neil Gaiman

Two weeks ago,  I had a stroke. 

I was alone on a walk, phone-less, in the middle of nowhere.

I got wobbly. My vision went out. I thought I would faint.

I crouched on the ground, trying to recover,

couldn't lift my arm, and my head hurt all on one side.

They say a stroke can happen to anyone, at any age.
Anyone.


I diet and exercise like a heart-healthy zealot, rarely drink, don't smoke, and yet...

After more doctors and hospitals than I ever thought I'd need, I'm home.
Fuzzy and shaken. Tripping over my own feet.
Headache-y.

And so beyond thankful
that I still have words and sight, and everything!

I tried to explain this to my hubs, tried to tell him
how important my words, my wit, my thoughts, all of it,
how essential it is to me,
and he patted my hand,
"We all love our brains, honey."

We do. We love our brains!
But do we realize?

It's my revelation of the year.
Would you rather have brains or beauty?

39 years,
many of them obsessed with cals and carbs,
grapefruit juice and healthy exercise...
and guess what?

When it all flashes in front of you,
who cares if you are a size 2 or a size 20?
Alive!

Love that mirror.
Enjoy it. Every inch of yourself, no matter your size,
no matter your foibles.
Enjoy your bumps and lumps, your warts, your wrinkles.
You are a living masterpiece.

Enjoy your messes, your arguments, your in-laws, your guffaws.
Family? Snuggle with them!
Friends? Keep warm by them!

Not published yet? Not a beauty queen?
Our measure of success can be so misleading.
Alive!

It took a stroke to remind me again of my SACRED DIRT -
this life, every blessed day of it,
dishes, mismatched socks, paper piles,
my beautiful, beautiful life.

I have coherent sentences,
the ability to wipe tears
and kiss each sticky face,

even if sometimes things change,
even if it takes a while to paddle back out and find my rhythm,

what a beautiful, sacred dirt I stand in
every day.

Alive!

 

If you get anything from this post, please get this:

Anyone can have a stroke. 

If you or someone you know has an episode 

with ANY of these symptoms, 

call a doctor, or 911 immediately. 

They have ways to reverse a stroke
if they catch it right away.
Learn the signs.
You might save a life...
even your own!

Thank you to my dear ones who have reached out 

during this time.

Bless you, bless you.

Your love brings strength.

 

The Snail Mail Author Project

Do you remember when you thought you might be able to fly,
if you just jumped high enough?

Do you remember when anything was possible?

 
On Monday, I helped at a young writer's conference.
I was surrounded with small writers
belly-full pleased with their writing,

oblivious to that dreaded taskmaster Revision,
unconcerned about snagging a publishing deal,
purely finding joy in their words.

All that youthful buoyancy
made me want to climb out of my writing slump
and grow some wings!

How do we as writers return
to that weightless pleasure in our words

without losing
the wisdom earned
from critiques and rejection slips,
writing groups and how-to books...

How do we find both our feet AND our wings?

As soon as we returned from our very long day,
the girls embarked on a writing project:
to send letters
to 100 authors and illustrators
of some of their favorite books.

Think we can do it?

If you're an author or illustrator friend and a crooked little envelope comes to you,

would you be kind and write back?

Please!

 
We have two hopeful writers, who think anything is possible. 

In Need of Some Snail Mail?

Leave us a comment, and we'll put you on our snail letter list - whether you're published or not.

 

Happy writing!


Books:

A Letter to Amy - Ezra Jack Keats
The Gardener, by Sarah Stewart, ill. by David Small
Toot and Puddle - Holly Hobbie
Click, Clack, Moo! Cows That Type - by Doreen Cronin, ill. by Betsy Lewin
Mailing May, by Michael O. Tunnell, ill. by Ted Rand

Incorrigible Creatives

 

Some children are raised by wolves.

 

Others, by creatives. 

And really, is there a difference?


 
Sometimes, the lines between "creative" and "fur-brained" blur.
And that's the beauty of it.

To be a creative,
you get to strap on your courage boots every day
and write,
paint,
parent,
sew, stitch, cook - whatever your bent - 
and be prepared
for surprises.

Surprises like tears and paper wadding.
Snapping pencils.
Earnest screwdrivering until the cabinet doors fall off.

(Thank you for that, my wildebeests.)
Havoc. 
Howling at the moon.
Eating paint.

raised-by-wolves days,
and sometimes, gleams of brilliance.

Have I mentioned this book?

"The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, the Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood and illustrated by Jon Klassen
(the Caldecott 2013 doublescoop!)
I love this book! I am in a happy swoon.
Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie meets Alexander McCall Smith, only with heaps of originality and humor. Well done, Maryrose Wood. Wow. wow. wow.

More wolf-ishness we love:

[For the record, and in case any great-grandmothers are concerned:
dry ice is considered dangerous in some contexts.
As such, it should probably not be given to toddlers...however, the children in these pictures were skillfully trained stunt-models, posing as children, and obediently avoided actually touching the ice.]

Wings and Winners

I am Icarus. 

Except instead of wax and feathers,
I'm patched together with glitter glue,
writing morsels and
cups of hot tea.
Struck by a blaze of new story lightning,
I'm going down.

That's a good thing, right?
...Right?

Muttering at walls, scribbling
"Words are my wings!" on sticky notes,
covered in ink smudges,
I'm delightedly doomed.

But not too doomed
to help with peg dolls.
Indeed!
And Ancient Greek peggies at that.
Thank you, Margaret Bloom!
 
Here is Athena, patron of wisdom, and arts and crafts!
She's an owl lady.
 
Aphrodite, patron of love.

Posiedon. Sea guy. And that's his trident.

Hera, wife of Zeus, patron of marriage.
Peacock lady.
Also compared to a cow in some circles.
Now you know.

Parthenon?

Ruler. Cardboard. Scissors. Tape. White glue. 



And now for the drum-roll, please...
we'd like to announce a winner!
 
A hearty thanks to all of you who entered
Margaret Bloom's Making Peg Dolls giveaway,
and thank you to Margaret for the fantastic blog tour.

Our winner is... Barb Davis-Pyles. Congratulations, Barb!

I hope you will all go out and find this beautiful book.
You are going to LOVE it.

And did you know SACRED DIRT has a facebook page?
"Like it" to get posts on the beautiful mess of artsy writing,
daily dirt, and parenting sent directly to your facebook feed.

Ancient Greece on the page:

Greek Myths For Young Children, by Heather Amery, ill. Linda Edwards
Explore Ancient Greece!
Greek Myths - Ann Turnbull, ill. by Sarah Young
A Gift From Zeus - Jeanne Steig, ill. by William Steig
The Adventures of Odysseus, by Hugh Lupton, Daniel Morden, ill. by Christina Balit
Aesop's Fables - Lisbeth Zwerger