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WRITE 2 THE HEART
Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart"
October 12, 2004
Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator @ write2theheart.com
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http://www.write2theheart.com/html/book_store.html
You will find books written by, or that include stories by many of
our talented writers. You will also find books that aide the budding
writer. I highly recommend “Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’
Guide,” It is a must have for all serious Christian writers. It’s a
great tool to find that perfect market for your writing. It would
make a great gift for the writer in your life.
Where do you keep your memories? Kathy shares the where as
well as some of her pleasant memories.
The Memory Wall
By Kathy Whirity
Being in a photo frame of mind I scanned the long wall leading
to the upstairs bedrooms of our new home and I knew it would be
the perfect place to display our family's memories.
The huge tote that had been packed with the various collection
of our framed pictures could now be kept in one special spot--the
memory wall. With hammer in hand, the fresh, untouched wall was
christened with the tiny nails from where we would hang our
Kodak moments on.
Every time I look upon this wall I'm reminded that parents are
only as good as the memories they create for their children. The
smiles that beam back to us from days gone by never lose their
meaning. There's our youngest daughter Katie, hand held out to
feed a deer. She was so excited that day to be so up close and
personal with a big buck that ate the food right out of her hand at
the deer park we visited while on vacation. Decked out in lime
green jelly shoes, a hot pink shirt and a jean skirt, this 8 year old
was in style for the times.
There's also a picture of both girls standing in Lake Michigan,
almost up to their necks in the murky water. I ran all the way back
to where our blankets were laid on the beach, got the camera , and
waded all the way back into the rippling lake water to get a close
up shot of them. It was well worth the effort to gaze upon that
picture now and relive the memory.
There were Girl Scout events where the girls were dressed up in
everything from cowgirl outfits to dazzling party dresses. Once, a
prom dress from a very popular aunt was tailored to fit a wee miss
for the special occasion of a father/daughter dance.
Jaime's graduation picture, from college, depicts a beautiful
young woman on the verge of adulthood, not too far down from a
picture of her toothless grin taken while on a trip to the zoo.
The memory wall represents the happy times, the special times
when the family is at its photogenic best and happiest at heart. But,
I must confess, my photo frame of mind is not limited to the
memory wall. I guess you could say I have a memory refrigerator
door, filled with pictures too precious to be stuffed away in photo
albums.
One adorable picture that found its place on the frig door is one
of our Golden Retriever Hannah, the newest addition to our family.
She is now about a year and a half but the snap shot of her, taken at
only 6 weeks old, when she was an irresistible ball of fluff, filled
with charm.
Getting use to having another Golden Retriever puppy around
again took some getting use to. They are extremely hyper and
chew everything in sight for at least the first year. Jaime had no
patience for Hannah's constant demand for attention and it didn't
help that she'd have to chase her around the neighborhood every
time she darted out the open door.
Hannah has calmed down considerably and these days Jaime
can't go anywhere without her faithful companion following her.
She looks at the pup that stares back from the fridge and can't seem
to remember the trouble and chaos that hurricane Hannah once
caused. And it's times like that when I realize that my memory wall
of smiling, happy faces holds the same power over me.
Life is hardly ever perfect. It rarely ever goes the way you plan;
but, when you can look back at the memories, to see the smiles
frozen in time, then your heart can dance to the beat of your own
contentment. Nothing can ever be so bad when the good times are
there staring back at you.
As adults we make deposits in the bank to ensure financial
security. So too should we make deposits in the memory banks of
family life, for that's where the real fortune is. It is why I embrace
my memory wall and why it will always be a work in progress.
Kathy Whirity
kathywhirity @ yahoo.com
Kathy Whirity is a freelance writer and newspaper columnist. She's
been happily married to her husband Bill for 27 years. With their
daughters Jaime and Katie away at college, these empty nesters are
discovering, with sweet surprise, that the honeymoon's not over,
it's only just begun, again. Kathy has had her writing published in,
"Finding the Joy In Alzheimer's,” "The Golden Formula" as well
as the online publications, “Story Time Tapestry”, “Warm Fuzzy
Stories,” “Hearts With Soul,” and “Pet Warmers”. Kathy looks
forward to hearing from you.
You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know
what you think of their story. Have a comment on today's story?
Send it to: moderator @ write2theheart.com
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Letters From Our Readers
Hi Cheryl,
Great news about Jeremy and Heather. Many blessings to the
young couple.
"Roughing It" by Rose Wade-Schambach tickled me. Rose, you
have great humor. No wonder, with 12 humorous children. ;0)
Beautiful, faith-inspiring story: "Faith's New Car" by Melva
Cooper. "The Problem With Possums" by Pamela Jenkins lets me
know how new opossums wind up in my county. LOL! Just
kidding. Cute story.
Patricia Spork
www.patriciaspork.us
This was such a cute story. Brought back memories of the huge
male possum who used to climb into the fig tree next to my
bedroom window and sit there eating. I would forget from time to
time that he was often there, go into the room, switch on the light
and screech at sight of glittery black eyes staring me through the
screen.
Barb Deming
Hello possums! We have possums in Australia too. They are
quite cute and use our electricity lines as "highways in the sky" at
night. We often see them scurrying along carrying their babies on
their backs, Just the other night my husband called me outside to
have a look at a mother and her baby in one of our backyard trees.
The only thing I don't like about them is when they decide to take a
shortcut over our roof...they sound like they are wearing army
boots!
Great story Pamela, keep writing!
Debbie Davidson
Brisbane,
Australia
Military Prayer Reminder
As you read over this list of names, please take a moment to
pray for these young people and their families:
Chris Speir
Tim Speir
Alan
Todd Holland
Graham
William
Julie Sagel
Jessie
Marshal Thompson
Jason
Eric Hernandez
Kristin Danielson
Ryan
Larry Miele
Daniel
Amy
John
Joanne
Gary Boardwine
Josh
Hadassah
Chanz Wackerly
Robert Henderson
David Habighurst
Tonia
Melissa Bair
Matthew Nutter
Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and
our troops at this time. If you have loved ones in the military,
or who are being called to go overseas, send their names
(first and last or first only) to be included in our prayer
reminder.
Cheryl’s Corner
Mason celebrated his sixth birthday last Saturday. It had rained
all day and there was no let up for the party. I had baked and
decorated a Batman cake for the party and was scrambling to find
something to cover it so it wouldn’t be soggy. I finally found my
old beat up stainless steel salad bowl to fit snuggly over the cake.
Everyone was concerned that the rain would ruin the children’s
fun. But what was their favorite part of the party? Sneaking off of
the covered patio to splash in the puddles.
God bless,
Cheryl
Copyright © 2004, Write 2 the Heart
Nothing may be reproduced or published without
the written permission of the individual author or
copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors.
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