Journal topic: Love

What do you do to let others know you love them?

This is an interesting one. The way I like to show love is different depending on the person and the situation. I love to hug people, but will only do it if I know the person is okay with that kind of physical contact. I have one friend that I hug everytime we see each other, and one friend that I've only hugged maybe twice in 20 years of friendship. I hug my parents all the time. Other than physical contact, I like to show love in lots of ways. I use words and actions as much as possible to show that I care about people. I tell them I miss them when they are not around, I care about what they have to say, I ask about their lives. I support them in times of need and give advice when they ask for it.

I think showing love is one of the best gifts we can give each other, and I always try to show the people I love just how much they mean to me. Of course, I don't always do it enough, but I do try. I hope that counts for something!

Journal Topic: Growth

Who supports your growth?

This will be a fairly easy one. My family and friends support my growth. They always support me no matter what, and are always there to encourage me when I'm feeling down. In particular, my mother is very supportive of my growth and often tells me that she is supportive and proud. My dad is supportive and proud too, but he doesn't often say it. He does show it in other ways, though. He tends to show his feelings by teasing or joking with people, so when he jokes about how I should know something since I'm going to be paying for my college education until I'm 50 years old, I know it means he's proud of me for graduating from college.

My friend Chris, who is really more like a soul mate, although not in the traditional sense of the word, is totally supportive of my growth. He's so supportive of it, in fact, that he often nudges me toward things that would accelerate growth when I'm not sure I can do it. He has more faith in me than any other person on the planet, and for that I will always be grateful.

There are so many others in my life who support my growth as a person, as a professional, as a writer, and as a Christian. These are all important areas in my life that I want to see grow and thrive, so it's nice to know that I have support from all these people to help make it happen.

Journal Topic: Childhood Memories

Explore a memory from childhood, finding all the details you can.

We never really liked sitting still, especially in my grandmother's house. The grownups all talked about their illnesses and their problems. We didn't care about such things and were unable to sit still through all of it, especially without squirming, snickering, and making faces at each other. We were required to sit there for a few minutes at least. Mom called it "visiting" and we were glad when our few minutes of visiting ended. We could go outside and play after answering a few questions about school and homework, soccer and softball. My sister and I felt free when we opened that screen door and ran out into the front yard. It was the perfect yard for children, complete with a huge oak tree right in the center with branches low enough for us to climb if we gave each other a boost and a lift. My sister would go up first. I would help her up from the ground and then she would take my hands and lift me onto the branch. From the highest branch that we could reach, we could see the whole neighborhood, which was more a little collection of homes than a real neighborhood, one of which belonged to our aunt and uncle. Our two cousins lived there, and we would usually meet up with them and play in the yard until our parents were finished visiting.

It seems half of my childhood was spent in trees. The tree from my grandmother's yard was one, the tree in my cousin's backyard was another. We built a tree house in that one, and would collect what we called "dirt bombs" which were really just clumps of dirt from a nearby field, and we would wait for my older cousin to walk by and pelt him with the dirt bombs. It was especially fun for me because I really, really didn't like him. Another significant tree from my childhood resided in my own front yard. I named him Bob (I have no idea why) and he was magnificent. His trunk was so large that I could never manage to put my arms all the way around it, although I did try many times. I even asked my dad to try and he couldn't either. It was the only way I could get him to hug a tree, and then we called him a "tree hugger" for days afterward. I think my love for the environment and my desire to protect it came from loving that tree. Bob had weathered Hurricane Camille, and as a result, was slanted at a fairly severe angle for a tree, roots showing above the surface of the ground. A wisteria bush was planted there, tangled in the roots, and when spring came every year, the vines that wrapped around Bob, all the way up to the topmost branch, would explode into beautiful purple blooms. Sometimes, when the wind would blow hard enough, you could stand under the tree and be showered with the blossoms. The scent on the air during that time of year was amazing. I'm pretty sure that's why Spring is my favorite season to this day.

I wouldn't trade my memories of playing in my grandmother's tree, or my cousin's tree, or Bob in my own front yard for anything. However, I do wish I had spent more time visiting with my grandparents. When they are gone, you can't visit with them anymore.

I'm fairly certain this isn't exactly what the topic meant by exploring a childhood memory. I know it probably meant one specific memory, but I chose to treat it like a writing exercise just to let my mind wander and see what came out. And how appropriate that my mind would wander to trees and flowers on this day, the first day of Spring!

Journal topic: Strengths

This is the first of the journal topics, which I found here and copied over to my blog to make it easier for me to go through one at a time. I'm going to try to do at least one a week, maybe more, in an attempt to write more here on the blog, even if my daily life isn't interesting! I find sometimes that my days are similar and I hate to write about the same thing every day, so these journal topics are my attempt to mix it up a bit and gain some insight into myself at the same time. My version of the list can be found here, but go here for the entire list and more topics.

Today's topic: What strengths have you developed over your life?

I thought about this a great deal while interviewing for jobs. You know the drill, "what are your strengths and weaknesses." For work, I always say things like: multitasking and the ability to handle stress and deadline pressure. These are great strengths in the workplace and are characteristics that serve someone well in my field, where there is always deadline pressure and stress is a part of the daily routine. I also usually try to fit in there somewhere that I can improvise when things do not go as planned. This is something I've picked up just recently with my previous job experience and I think it's a pretty good skill to have, especially as it translates into daily life. But what do I consider my real strengths? The non-job interview answer is that I'm a survivor. Who could have imagined when I was 18 that I would have to handle a divorce at 23? I know, it happens all the time, but it wasn't something I was prepared to deal with, and it wasn't something I could talk to anyone about because nobody I knew had endured a similar situation.

Another strength I have is that I don't give up easily. When I got the phone call from the stage manager for the current play at my theatre, she said "I hope this won't discourage you and keep you from trying out for other plays." That thought never crossed my mind, really. A few failures do not discourage me from doing what I love, whether it is acting or writing. I was talking to my mother a few weeks ago and I made the comment that everything I love to do, everything that means a lot to me, comes with a certain amount of inevitable rejection. She said that she wasn't sure she would keep doing it if she had to deal with that kind of rejection, but I have learned that it's just a part of the process and if you love something enough, you will handle the rejection the best way you can and keep going. In fact, you find a way to use that rejection as motivation to try harder, to keep trying, and to never, ever quit.

So that this won't turn into a lovefest from me to me, I'm going to stop now, but it was a great topic and a wonderful chance to look inside myself and see the strengths that I have developed, just in the last 10 years or so. It's nice to look back sometimes and see how far we've come. If you decide to use this journal topic, leave me a comment - I'd love to read what you wrote!