Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “hope”
@bethvogt I love it when a plan comes together, don’t you? (Yes, an obvious nod to the A-Team.) And when a plan doesn’t? I scramble to scoop up all the falling apart pieces into my hands. Wanting to find a way to make my original plan work. It was a good plan – or so I thought. I’m not wrong. …
@bethvogt I was the little girl who loved to get lost in books. I loved fairy tales. The magic of them. No matter the dark forests to be traversed or dragons to be battled or evil queens to be outwitted, each story had a fantastical happy ending. The authors of those stories, with their imaginary characters and magical overcoming of …
@bethvogt When I was a child and had trouble falling asleep because I’d had a bad dream, my mom would sit beside my bed and comfort me by telling me to think nice thoughts. I’d remember swimming in the lake in Vermont during a family vacation. Or winning the class spelling bee. Or playing outside in the rain with the …
Has your life ever not gone according to your plans? Some of you are thinking, “Really, Beth? You’re asking me that?” Life rarely goes according to our plans. We all experienced the upheaval of the COVID pandemic in 2020, and we’re still affected by it just over a year later. The life we plan for ourselves gets derailed by all …
@bethvogt I’m determined to choose hope even as I struggle to comprehend another senseless act of violence, this time in Boulder, Colorado. Is there an act of violence that ever makes sense? My husband Rob and I spent a long weekend in Minnesota, visiting our youngest daughter whose spring break morphed into a volleyball pre-season. Good days. Good conversations. Lots …
@bethvogt The subject of resilience came up last weekend during a text conversation with my friend Bernadette. We were discussing how a year has passed since COVID upended our lives. One whole year. Also, like so many others, Bernadette and I are walking through grief because family members died during the pandemic. “I don’t know about you, but I feel …
@bethvogt This was my friend Jenny’s text to me yesterday morning at 6:12 a.m.: In life, and perhaps you overcame this, who did you believe you had to be accepted and/or approved by? By the way, good morning. My reply: Oh my word! Do you want an alphabetical list? Jenny and I have conversations like this. All the time. Sometimes …
@bethvogt It’s so difficult to see someone we love struggle. When a family member or friend is hurting, so often we want to rush in and fix the situation for them. Figure out some way to make everything better. If we can figure out the magic equation to make everything better … Poof! The difficult circumstances and devastating emotions overwhelming …
@bethvogt Sometimes our well-thought-out plans don’t work. Frustrating, isn’t it? Last year wasn’t a great writing year for me. Too many disruptions meant very little creative writing. I spent some time evaluating what I needed to ensure I had a more productive year in 2021. Solid blocks of time. Dedicated space. No interruptions. Then I made my plan. It wasn’t …
@bethvogt Some days are going to be harder than others. Just typing that simple sentence made me feel a whole lot better. I’ve been slogging uphill against my expectations and emotions this past week. Looking back, I see reasons why the past seven days have been challenging – everything from anxiety before, during, and after some dental work, …
