Dear Friend,
“Life is an adventure,” I proclaimed to someone I was speaking with.
“You’re crazy,” was her reply.
I beg to differ on both counts: my sanity is intact, and life is an adventure.
Let’s take the second point first: Life as an adventure. I’ve had an interesting and challenging life. As a child, my family moved about twelve times in my first thirteen years. I adjusted to meeting new people, learned about places, and coped with the loss of people, both through death and moving away from people I cared about.
We had our share of trials and tribulations, but I had a strong sense of loving family. That was all that really mattered.
Everything new was an adventure. We may not have been exploring the Amazon River by boat, skydiving, or hiking in the wilds, but we had a more urban experience.
I walked on water, frozen water that is, during a winter in Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” I learned to row a boat and travel down the river in New Jersey.
With my grandmother, who took me on my first plane ride, I also saw my first Broadway play. That opened worlds of wonder to me! I was hooked! Live people, in front of my eyes performing at that moment, awed and delighted me! Once in a second-row seat, I could hear dancers panting after a particularly strenuous dance number. I have a shoebox full of playbills bursting from the many plays I’ve seen through the years.
With my grandfather, I saw an early NYC showing of the first version of the movie of West Side Story. The songs and excellent performances moved me to tears. Grandpa was an artist and showed me some of the extraordinary visuals from his perspective.
And that’s what it’s all about, everyone! Your perspective. Not as mundane as a half empty/half full glass, but the richness of life that provides an overflowing glass.
About the “crazy” comment. In my defense, I think the person who called me that had some issues of her own. However, I am as sane as I wish to be.
Sometimes, I indulge in silly behavior for fun. I highly recommend it! (An example: When my son was young, I developed several humorous recordings, including singing funny versions of songs, for the voicemail’s outgoing messages. His friends would call back several times so they could hear the messages. Everyone enjoyed them!)
Some of this silly behavior spills over into my romance writing. It enriches the relationships of the characters and lets them laugh at their situations. The Greatest Thing, my newest and, I swear, coming soon, the most fun, has several sets of romantic couples who meet in fun ways.
I invite you to share the books of the Louisa’s Vineyard Series, starting with Louisa’s Passion, the first one, so you don’t miss any of the banter and history. If you wish to visit earlier blogs where my characters talk back to me, their author, I invite you to travel back to several previous blogs. You can find one of them HERE and catch the other two by hitting “Previous” at the bottom of the blog. (If the link won’t work, hit “Previous” until you reach the blogs of August 9, 16, 23, 2024. If you wish to see any previous blogs, just double-click the heading, “Shelley’s Blog,” on the top of any website pages, and see 10 blogs at a time. Keep hitting “Previous” to see more. ShelleySommers.com).
Thanks for sharing with me. And, enjoy your adventure!!
Think about all the wonderful, memorable things that have happened to you. Care to share one experience?
Tell me, what inspires you?
Answer by writing me directly at Shelley@ShelleySommers.com, or use the Comments section below.
Hugs,
Shelley Sommers