Celebrating the Women in My Life

In honor of Mother’s Day, I'm celebrating the women in my life: family, friends, and authors. 

FAMILY 
     I love my mom, but I have been known to insist that I don’t want to turn into her! Haven’t we all at some point? My mom has been a rock throughout my life. We haven’t always agreed with each other, but for the most part, she has encouraged me to live my life and be my own person. It’s comforting to know she’s on my side, and as we age, I plan to be on her side.
     My grandma has been gone for 11 years but I think of her every day when I put on her wedding ring, which was given to me after she passed. I treasure that ring, and it serves as a reminder to me to follow her leads: 

• Choose your words carefully! I never heard her say a bad word about anybody. She might hint at issues with people, but she always said it in such a way that I was never really sure how she felt about the person.
• Be spunky! My grandma was a petite, less-than-five-foot-tall lady. In her early 80s, she traveled with a senior citizens group to New York City, even though the doctor had warned against it because of a heart ailment (she replied that she would die doing what she loved). The highlight of her trip was going for a walk in Central Park – alone, at 6 AM – because she wanted to see a bag lady! I guess age didn’t intimidate or stop her from adventures!

     Technology has enabled my sister and I to build a relationship, stronger than when we were kids. We share our lives on a regular basis now – venting and encouraging in turn. She’s a terrific sounding board, respecting my thoughts but not afraid to share a conflicting opinion. I can talk to her about anything.
     My daughter is also a role model for me, believe it or not.  At 23, she is living her dream: owning and driving a racecar. Her passion drives her commitment to racing. Her focus is amazing. I need to take some lessons from her! 

FRIENDS
     I’ve heard it said that if you have five good friends in your lifetime, you should count yourself lucky. I am blessed with several good friends – friends who will laugh and cry with me. Friends I might not see or talk to for awhile, but when we get together it’s like we’ve never been apart. Friends who will bring me books and chocolate if I ever go to jail! 

AUTHORS
     Some of the smartest, strongest women I know are authors. Not all of the ladies in my writers group are mothers, but it doesn’t matter. They are writers. They offer encouragement and hope when I need it most. They are knowledgeable and helpful. They are hardworking and determined. They know what they want and how to get it. 
    
I’m fortunate to be surrounded by strong women – women who serve as role models; women who shape my life by their very existence. I am thankful for their presence in my life. 

Celebrate the women in your life!  

Celebrate!

I was watching a news magazine show recently when I learned I'd missed celebrating Moldy Cheese Day on October 9. What?? How does one celebrate such a holiday, eat blue cheese? I don't think the holiday is celebrating the moldy cheese I used to find in my mother's refrigerator. It's pretty clear how one would celebrate National Vodka Day. That one I missed, too. It was October 4.

What is it about holidays that we humans enjoy so much? Give us a day to celebrate something and we're going to be happy, or at least distracted from the ordinary routine of life, which is something to celebrate.

Holidays for many provide a day off from school and/or work, so of course that makes us happy. Even those of us who love our work need balance, so time off from being productive is welcome. And depending on what we're celebrating, it gives us an opportunity to express ourselves and display our love. We humans enjoy that, too.

Some holidays garner more attention than others, obviously. Stores start stocking for Halloween on the heels of back-to-school products and promotions. And I'm sure Christmas shopping is already in our minds before Halloween passes. But though many feel that Thanksgiving is given short shrift in holiday respect, there is plenty of attention given the holiday and what it means to us. We set aside time to gather with friends and family, eat a lot and celebrate our blessings.

Though each holiday offers a theme – gift-giving, love, beginnings, for example – it's my current theory that they share a common theme – celebrating being alive.

The Pilgrims celebrated that they'd survived, so far, in the New World and that celebration of being alive continues, not just at Thanksgiving but in celebration in general. It's often said that life is a gift, one to be appreciated. But life is also hard, in different ways for all of us, but still hard. We acknowledge that paradox with celebration, and we often incorporate the elements of our living that have meaning to us. These are the things we live for, even in hard times, the things that make life worth living. We want to express ourselves, our aliveness, in ways that matter to us. We want to be with people we love, people we believe we can count on, and in doing so fuel the bonds that ensure not only our survival but our quality of life.

Halloween is approaching. There will be witches and goblins and Darth Vadars and princesses and more, all seeking candy. But underneath is the common theme celebrating being alive. Halloween has its roots in celebration of harvests, but also historically was a time to acknowledge the spirits of the dead, according to Wikipedia, the portal to all knowledge. In our past, humans established a tradition of recognizing that it's possible we endure, beyond the grave, beyond this life as we know it. In a sense, celebrating being.

So yes we all may tire of the commercialization of holidays. But we get on board because, no we're not mindless lemmings, we need hope and celebrating special occasions acknowledges there is reason to have hope. Life is a celebration – of something at any given moment. For instance, just in October there are pages of lists of holidays, including everything from Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, National Reading Group Month and National Rollerskating Month to World Rainforest Week (12-18), Peace, Friendship and Goodwill Week (24-30), and Dictionary Day (16), Wear Something Gaudy Day (17) and Information Overload Day (20). Visit  OCTOBER2012 for the full list and get celebrating!

But if you don't want to overtly celebrate IPod Day (23) or National Magic Day (31), celebrate vicariously by reading about others celebrating a holiday. Do a search on Amazon  for Halloween fiction, for example, and you'll find romance novels to enjoy. You don't have to get costumed up to join in that celebration of being alive. You may not be able to find a novel that incorporated National Moldy Cheese Day or IPod Day, but you'll certainly find plenty of holiday fiction.

Have you written or read a romance novel that incorporates celebrating a holiday? Share?

Image from Dreamstime