I’m so excited, you guys! I’ve hit 300 followers (plus a few more!), and I’m so grateful. I mentioned in a post when I hit 200 followers earlier this year (and I think in a previous one before that…) that I’d like to do a Q&A, and I’ve not had a chance to sit down and write everything out yet. So, if you have questions for me, post them below! I promise a Q&A post next week. 😊
In the meantime, thanks to each of you who follow my blog and read my work. I appreciate it so much, and I love being part of this wonderful, supportive, creative community. Y’all are the best!
My mom and I were having a funny conversation a couple of weeks ago, talking about how stubbornness runs in the family. Like, both families. My dad’s and my mom’s. And so I come by my stubbornness honestly, and I told her that. I added that out of the three of us, I thought I was probably the least stubborn, and my dad was the most. She said she’s much less stubborn than me. I told her she’s absolutely more stubborn than I am. (Though we both seemed to agree that my dad is the most stubborn of all of us, so there’s that, I suppose.)
This (good-natured) back and forth went on for a little while, and then Graham (poor Graham), came upstairs to make a cup of coffee. So of course, I asked him to settle the matter and declare which of us – my mom or me – was the least stubborn.
“Your mom,” he said. “You’re so much more stubborn than your mom.”
She burst out laughing. I objected. The conversation eventually moved on.
And then I sat down today to write a poem for the blog. I wasn’t even thinking of the stubbornness conversation. Honestly, I was sitting in my chair looking outside at the sunshine and the cardinals in the yard, happy as a clam.
But, well, this is what I wrote:
Please, by all means, tell me I can’t. There is no better way on the face of this planet to ensure that not only can I, I will.
I probably should have shared this at the beginning of the week, but I kind of forgot I’d planned to.
My parents are coming to visit! We’ve not seen them since Thanksgiving, and this will be our first time visiting with them since we’ve been vaccinated. I am so excited. Like, really, really, REALLY excited.
So, I’ll be taking a writing break for the rest of the week. I just want to focus on spending time with everyone and making that time count. But I’ll be back on Monday, May 31st, with a short story. And I hope it’ll be a good one.
In the meantime, I wish you all happy creating, and leave you with a cute picture of our little summer dog.
I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather today. Not COVID, and nothing serious. It’s just been sort of a busy time, and I’ve not been eating or sleeping well, and it appears to have finally caught up with me. Today, since my body didn’t really give me a choice, I’ve just been lounging and resting. And then it hit me, about ten minutes ago, that it’s Wednesday, and I always write a blog post on Wednesday.
Oops…
I try to write a few posts ahead, I really do, but it doesn’t always work out. And for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been writing posts day of. And today, I haven’t written anything.
Again, oops…
But, here’s a cute picture of Annie (also lounging, but not beside me, because she’s stingy with her cuddles sometimes) instead.
And I’ll be back with an actual, real post on Friday.
*P.S. Any good book/movie/TV recommendations would be highly appreciated! I doubt I’ll sleep much tonight, and I’d love to have a good distraction. Thanks, y’all!*
I get this question a lot. It’s usually followed by:
“You can sing.”
And, well, yes, I can. I’ve been singing for longer than I’ve been talking, or so my parents tell me, and it’s one of my favorite things in the world – to feel the music and create a moment and a memory.
But as with any skill, singing requires technique, patience, and practice, and the more diligent you are, the better you’ll become.
And I suppose that’s the simple answer to why I still take voice lessons. But I thought it would be interesting today to dig a little deeper. So, let’s get started.
I take lessons because I enjoy them.
I like learning. Even when it’s hard. Even when it knocks me down a peg. And the more I learn, the more I realize I still need to learn, and that’s exciting. Plus, I just like singing, and so it’s fun to set aside at least an hour every week that I know will be devoted to something I truly enjoy.
I take lessons because I am decidedly not an expert.
I started voice lessons when I was nine years old. I took them all throughout school, and then into college. And then I took a really long break. I decided that singing wasn’t what I wanted to do as a career, and I focused on other things. In the decade and change I wasn’t taking lessons, there were a lot of things I…well…forgot. Muscle memory fades, technique gets rusty. I’m not a bad singer, but I can be so much better, and I want to be.
I take lessons because it holds me accountable.
I’m going to tell you a shameful secret. Are you ready? Oh, God, I hate to admit it, but: I AM LAZY. Like, really, I’m terrible at deadlines, I really like naps, and I’m not great at motivating myself. I do it, and I work hard, but it’s a challenge. Having a teacher (an awesome one, I might add) who can keep me accountable and help me choose the right areas to focus on is just really invaluable, and it keeps me moving forward.
I take lessons because it makes a difference.
I get a little better with every vocal warm-up. I get a little better every time I master a difficult passage in a song. With every lesson, I get better. And the better I get, the happier I am. My voice is an instrument, just like a guitar or a piano. How I take care of it, and the love I give to it, matters.
I take lessons because there is always more to learn.
I mentioned this a little earlier, but I think it deserves a few more words. I will never know everything about how to be the best singer I can be. The more I learn, the better I get, the more that world will open up to me, and the more I’ll have to learn. And I think this is applicable in life, just generally. There is always, always more to learn, and I’m pretty satisfied knowing that I’ll be a perennial student. It makes me excited, knowing that I’m just one breakthrough away from the next life-changing piece of information.
I think that covers it pretty well, but now I’m curious. I’d love to know – do you have a skill you’re still working to hone? How do you approach it? What motivates you to keep learning?
A random post for a Monday, I know, and different from my usual content, but I hope you enjoyed it!
I didn’t plan to write another post for Women’s History Month, but it seems the universe had other ideas, and here we are.
I’ve been working my way for the last few days through If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie.
(Cover image from Goodreads)
I’m not finished with it yet, so I can’t recommend it completely, but it is certainly making an impression. And there’s one quote from it, in particular, that I just can’t get out of my head:
We are wild creatures still, at heart, and if we listen to our hearts we will remember how to listen to the song of the fierce-beaked, wild-winged little wren who, hopping from tree to stump, shows us the way home. When we stop, when we let ourselves see, when the torn veil of this broken civilization lifts away from our eyes – we can find our way back home.
I’ve been thinking on this one for days – women as wild creatures, the unrelenting call of home, nature as a partner, and as something sacred, and the things, a million little things, that pull us as women away from ourselves.
The older I get, the more I notice. And the more I notice, the more determined I become to explore and discover my own magic, and to live in it and share it without shame or fear. And I suppose that’s my wish for all women, as we continue to make history – that we find our magic, that we let our magic shine, and that we leave a path for others to follow.
Just a quick post today. Over the weekend, I hit 200 followers. Thank you so much for reading! I’m so grateful and this is an awesome community to be part of. Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading and for your support!
I’d shared some weeks ago that I’m planning to do a Q&A post soon, so I thought I’d make one last call for questions, since I do have some new readers (welcome and thank you!). So, if there’s a question you’d like to ask me, comment below! And in the next couple of weeks, I’ll post some As to your Qs. 😊
On this day, two years ago, we’d made our way to Vík, Iceland.
A night later, we’d see the Northern Lights for the first time.
On this day, last year, we sat at home, wrapping our minds around quarantine and social distancing, with barely an inkling of just how much the world was about to change.
Today, I’ve spent the day plugging away on my laptop, and so has Graham. He’s outside now, trimming back a hazelnut bush in our front yard. In his pajamas. And I’m still on my laptop. Also in my pajamas. No itchy business casual attire for me, here in my house with only my cat to critique my lack of style.
I wonder where we would be right now if not for the pandemic. I’m sure I’m not alone. And I’m not impatient. Safety and health are never far from my mind, and I will wait this thing out in my house in my pajamas for as long as it takes. I’m grateful that we’ve not gotten sick, that our families are safe and healthy, that we have money coming in and a comfortable place to live and pretty much all of the creature comforts anyone could ask for. I am so grateful, in fact, that I sometimes feel overwhelmed and undeserving. How lucky we are. I never forget.
But I do sometimes find my mind wandering. To places we’ve been. To places we’ll go. Right now, I’ve mind-traveled to Japan, where I’m enjoying a big bowl of miso ramen with corn and butter on the island of Hokkaido.
One day, we’ll get there for real. For now, though, pajamas and home and the familiar clack of my laptop keyboard it is. And that’s okay.
I suppose the poem I posted last week for Women’s History Month would have been perfect for today, International Women’s Day. And honestly, I don’t really have much to add.
But I’ll say this:
I am grateful for the brave, strong, smart, powerful women who’ve made this world a better place for me and all of the women who will come after me.
In my life, I am thankful to be surrounded by women who build me up, who support me, who laugh and cry with me, who make my every day just a little brighter.
I am proud of them, and so, so happy to live in their light, in their radiance, in their love.
If they never change THE world (and they’re brilliant, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they did), I want them to know that they’ve changed MY world.
My friends, you incredible women, know that I love you, always, always, always.
And to the women out there reading this:
You are strong, brave, smart, creative, powerful, capable, and worthy. You have the right to take up space. You deserve love, kindness, respect, and a seat at every table. You are enough. You are fundamental. The world is more whole because you are in it. Speak, stand, create change, move mountains, shine. Make your dreams real. I am with you, for you, and forever cheering you on.
At the end of last year, I wrote a post about my goals for 2021. I’m normally pretty shy about sharing goals, but I figured putting them out there would help to hold me accountable this year.
Which brings us to today. One of my goals for 2021 is to start a YouTube channel. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I don’t love seeing myself on camera, despite years of being completely and totally comfortable acting and singing on stage. But I do love the idea of sharing stories about old house living, days in the beautiful Virginia countryside, writing poems and stories, music and singing and songwriting, and eventually, when it’s safe again, some bigger travel adventures.
I’m planning to start putting together some content in the next several weeks, once it starts to warm up a bit outside. In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to reach out to all of you, wonderful readers and fellow bloggers, and see what kind of content you’d be interested in.
Like, I know my everything about my very old house is fascinating to me, but what aspects of living in an older home would you like to explore? And though I love driving down dirt roads in the country and sampling craft wine, beer, and cider, what would you like to know about Virginia’s historic and scenic countryside?
And as part of the fun, to get started, I thought I might do a Q&A here, so you can all learn a little more about me. I’ve seen other bloggers do this, and I love it. 😊 So, ask away! What would you like to know?
I’ll plan to post some A’s to your Q’s in the next couple of weeks.
A Virginia Writer's Diary 