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“Can we look in this box?”
My daughter decided, on Mother’s Day, to explore the attic. She had found one of the boxes before, a red dress from one of my childhood dolls had drawn her to it like cotton candy at the fair. Proud of herself, she had already rescued two dolls, packed away for 30 something years, and was now on the lookout for anything else she might add to her collection. Sadly for her, she lost interest pretty quickly. What remained in the box were mostly letters and cards, along with some high school memorabilia (like my old school uniform- which caught my hubby’s eye, but that is another story). As I searched through the letters I found, stuffed between them, an old story I had written in my creative writing class in college. It brought back fond memories of that spring semester, writing outside in the California sun and being inspired by my wonderful professor, the amazing poet, Ed Kleinschmidt (now married to Frances Mayes of UNDER A TUSCAN SUN fame.) I wrote, in my last blog post, that passion comes from combining talent and interest. That semester, as I rushed to class, as I stayed up late to work on poems and stories, as I listened to published authors share their secrets, even as I received harsh feedback on my own work, I discovered that combination. And yet, it took many years for me to pursue it. Because there is one more thing that I forgot about passion… it also takes courage. Ironic then, that the story I wrote all the way back then was related to this very idea. I’ve created a new web page here to share some of my old and new work, starting with this very story (as is, no edits). I hope you enjoy. Deanne
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“Why do they say Happy Christmas instead of Merry Christmas?”
We had received a card from some English friends and our daughter was intrigued by the change in term. For the rest of us this is too nuanced to be considered. But to her it seemed important. Loving words the way I do, it was all the inspiration I needed. So first, here are some definitions I found in Merriam Webster: Happy: a. enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment- or b. having or marked by an atmosphere of good fellowship Merry: marked by festivity or gaiety At this point I had an issue. After a long autumn which culminated in Friday’s tragedy I have been feeling neither terribly content nor very festive. Perhaps I could live with the ‘good fellowship' part, but I wondered if there might be a word I could use to help me feel in the spirit of the holidays without dismissing the overwhelming grief which lingers. I tried another word - Joyful: a. the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires- or b. a source or cause of delight Nothing really resonated here either until I looked up the origin of the word: Middle English, from Anglo-French joie, from Latin gaudia, plural of gaudium, from gaudēre to rejoice; probably akin to Greek gēthein to rejoice. And finally I had it… rejoice. Christmas this year could be a time for finding joy in in the prospect of possessing what I desire; that is, the conquering of evil by the birth of Jesus. It was a word for me that was filled with hope. So while it may be little tricky to get onto my holiday cards… Rejoiceful Christmas… at least I will wish it with my whole heart. A Rejoiceful Christmas to you and yours! |
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Deanne WilstedLink here to Betting Jessica on Amazon.com Archives
June 2020
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