reading – Little Gift Shop OH

I’ve been reading lots of good books recently such as Being a Rockefeller Becoming Myself a Memoir, by Eileen Rockefeller. This book helps to illustrate a family rhyme lasts for all time.

What I liked best about Being a Rockefeller Becoming Myself a Memoir is how the author honestly reveals herself by sharing stories of her family. It is apparent that just because a person is born into an affluent family they aren’t exempt from having to learn to grow themselves and their relationships.

I loved her stories of adventures on Buckle Island including building rafts and adding a magical door to a forest path. It seems every family has to deal with competition for attention and keeping egos in check.

My favorite lesson from the book is that it is never too late to become closer to someone.

Coming from a big family myself, I understand how family life can be like a rhyme. Sometimes families repeat themselves singing back familiar sounds. Other times family members whisper quietly between each other. In the end everyone connects like they were meant to be for all time.

A perfect example is the Addam’s family. I’m sure you’ve heard, “They are creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky…”

Years ago my mom and I collaborated on a poem about the dining room table that kind of represents life growing up in our house.

The Dining Room Table

The dining room table – a gathering place,

Where memories begin from face to face,

Prayers of thanks offered, the family sits down to feast,

Thanksgiving dinners, Easter breakfasts, birthday treats.

At graduation, anniversary, Valentine’s Day,

China and crystal are set in finest array,

Or set with mug and spoon for a weekday guest,

This simplicity is sometimes the best.

On it fabric is laid out to be cut for new clothes.

Siblings hover over it with homework woes.

It holds puzzles or games sometimes for hours.

Displayed in the center are fresh garden flowers.

There are times the table takes on a romantic air,

Lovers share in candlelight a quiet affair,

In a space in time only the table can hear,

Sensual whispers of one into the other one’s ear.

Late at night tucked in bed – if you are able,

Listen to adult voices rise from the table.

Laughing, reminiscing, talking of places they’ve been,

The dining room table is where memories begin.

I’m grateful to have been born into this big bunch. Naturally, I’ve repeated the rhyme and have a family of my own which I am also grateful for.

Growing up in my family led me to a love of reading that has stayed with me. You might like some of the other books I’ve read recently. They could make a great gift for someone on your list to buy for.

I’ve reread Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson – you can’t go wrong with pirates – Argh!

Also, I’ve enjoyed reading The Right Words at The Right Time by Marlo Thomas and friends, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, and The Coincidence of the Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert.

What book are you reading?

via Daily Prompt: Rhyme

For 2017 I have joined a book reading group and am currently reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. So far this is my favorite quote from the book:

“I am a man because I err! You never reach any truth without making fourteen mistakes and very likely a hundred and fourteen.”

This is the ring I bought at a craft show toward the end of last year. The woman making the jewelry was crafting bracelets, necklaces and rings from old silverware or flatware. When I was looking at the rings she explained to me that this one was the first ring she had made. That was why it was not perfectly round like the rest. I bought the ring because I immediately wanted it as a reminder not to get frustrated with myself when I make mistakes.

I need to always keep in mind that my mistakes are just part of learning.

Prior to that I had started making sleep masks and was frustrated because in effort to produce more at a time I miscalculated and ended up making slightly smaller masks. Not the end of the world, but I wanted them all to be the same. (Another previous mistake has taught me that too much choice in size and color sometimes paralyzes customers and they end up not making a purchase.)

Not only do I make mistakes when crafting, I also make mistakes at work. I make mistakes when I’m baking. I make mistakes when helping my kids with their homework. Most frustrating of all, sometimes I make mistakes when I hear someone’s idea and think it is true and believe it for a while letting it influence my actions.

For instance, I once believed the idea I heard or read when I was younger not to write about your own life because people don’t want to read about your boring life. Now I can see that obviously that is not true. We have reality shows all over the place and blogs of ordinary lives sometimes go viral. I can see some truth in the idea, but at the same time I can now allow myself to use ideas and scenes from my own life in my writing.

I purposely used a couple of harmless examples, but there are many more I could remember that had worse consequences. However, I have also learned not to dwell on mistakes.

The best thing I can do when I realize I’ve made a mistake is to own it, fix it if possible, and keep moving forward. Hopefully I won’t have to make a different version of the same mistake 114 times, but if I do I’ll have to accept that the cookie crumbles that way sometimes.

Sometimes mistakes aren’t even noticeable to others. People can’t tell my ring isn’t round when I wear it.