Graduate — and Keep Dreaming @bethvogt My youngest daughter graduates from high school on Friday. Christa is my caboose kiddo. She was born 12 ½ years after my husband Rob and I were finished having children, when her older siblings were 17, 14 and 12. Her arrival was one of those unexpected blessings of life that initially make you think, …
In Others’ Words: New Day, New Choices
Sometimes, simple is best. New day. New choices. It’s today. There’s nothing I can do to undo what happened yesterday — except, maybe, offer an apology if an apology is needed. But that doesn’t change the choices I made yesterday. It’s merely the choice I am making today. I can base today’s choices on the ones I made yesterday — and …
In Others’ Words: How Far are You Going?
Fear has motivated me to do things. Fear of losing someone I care about or of losing their approval — has caused me to do and say certain things. Sometimes I’ve even chosen to violate my personal values in the hopes of satisfying someone else’s expectations. That’s an ugly truth, but I strive to be honest with you all on this blog. …
In Others’ Words: Beneficial Opposition
I’m not the best when it comes to flying kites. The whole process of running and releasing a kite up into the air behind me? It’s just a bit beyond me. I want to look ahead of me and make certain I don’t run into something, or that I don’t trip and fall. At the same time, I want to look …
In Others’ Words: Just Do It
Maybe The thing you think you cannot do. If I were to ask you what is the thing you think you cannot do, your “thing” might be summed up in the words, “I can’t get through the next hour.” Or maybe you’d say, “I can’t survive this job.” Or “I can’t deal with this person anymore.” Maybe you’re tired of …
In Others’ Words: Three Kinds of Trouble
There are good quotes and there are meaningful quotes … and then there are quotes that hit you right in the solar plexus, forcing you to pay attention. Today’s quote by H.G. Wells hit me hard: “Some people bear three kinds of trouble — the ones they’ve had, the ones they have, and the ones they expect to have.” Wells …
In Others’ Words: Counting the Cost
I’ve had this quote on file for quite a long time. I read it. Ponder it. Pass it by. Come back to it again. Leave it in my files. It’s not that I don’t like the quote. I do. It’s probably one of my most favorite quotes now, which makes me think I need to update my list of favorite …
In Others’ Words: The Art of Living
Most of us, if given the choice between dancing or wrestling, would choose dancing. Am I right? I mean, even if you were going to be a spectator, you’d probably opt for a night of watching dancers versus an evening watching a team of wrestlers going at it. But if you were asked to participate … well, surely you’d choose the …
In Others’ Words: Magic Life Keys
So, I asked my husband Rob to suggest a topic for today’s quote and he said, “Integrity.” To be honest, at first he said, “Weather,” but I asked for a second suggestion and then he said, “Integrity,” and I went with that. And then I read this quote by W. Clement Stone and I wondered: Are there more than 3 …
In Others’ Words: Listen for the Laughter
I got together with several writing friends last night. We talked writing, of course. And we also talked about what was going on in our lives. The common theme for all of us? Life was crazy. I wish I could say that our lives were crazy-fun, but we’re all dealing with different versions of crazy-challenging kinds of things. Crazy-exhausting kinds of …