A Little Insight... Making a Change

You may or may not have noticed my limited presence here at A Little Great. It isn't because I don't love writing and coming up with projects, but simply because I have less time. See, my family is going through some big changes, which involves a move of 1300 miles. My husband is taking a job in rural Texas and this suburban family is moving to the country.

Change scares me, it always has. Usually a change involves the unknown and while history tells me the unknown can be wonderful, I just don't know that yet. I used to think I could be happy anywhere, but it hasn't always been that way. We moved around a lot when I was young and while I never fully got used to it, I learned to accept and make the best of the situation. My dad however, was a gypsy at heart, a new town, a new house, a new adventure.

Through the years of my married life, we too have moved around. In the pursuit of my husband's career we have lived in three different states. We have met some wonderful people and had amazing experiences. But it is hard. I remember the loneliness and insecurity of being in a new place. Sometimes there was even depression while I tried to adjust to my new life. It scares me to be doing this again.

I love where I live. Our house, schools, neighborhood, and church have become these families that I love. They help me raise my children and better myself, they are my village. There are wonderful memories here that I will hold onto forever because they have forever changed me. As I get ready for this change I have been filing away moments in my heart. There are so many moments that I love, so many people I will miss.

While some things will change I know there are things that will stay with me always, my little family, my need to craft, my love of writing here at A Little Great. There are so many things that make me who I am. I hope I can find more to learn and love even in the unknown.

A Little Insight... Finding Good in Life's Trials

If you would have asked me two weeks ago to describe my life, I would have told you it is fairly normal.  We have a dog, a healthy daughter, good jobs and a home we love.  None of this has changed, except for the fact that the past couple of weeks have been nothing but normal.  Better words to describe my life would be tired, worried, and exhausted. 

Two weeks ago my husband ruptured his Achilles tendon while playing basketball with friends.  Until two days ago his injury required him to be completely flat in bed, leaving me to take care of him and my family all alone.  Although I spent the majority of those two weeks feeling bad for myself, I recently discovered that even though this has been a trying time, I wouldn’t trade it.  This has been a humbling experience and I feel like we have learned some very valuable lessons as a family.  Here are a few things I learned….

1.       Complaining doesn’t make you feel better.  It only makes you feel bad for yourself and it makes you an awful person to be around.

2.       We are so lucky to be healthy the majority of the time. 

3.       Modern medicine is amazing.

4.       Sometimes, we can’t do everything on our own.  It is okay to let people help.

5.       Single parents are super heroes.

Here’s a poem a friend shared with me about life’s up’s and down’s.  Hope you like it.

Good Timber by Douglas Malloch

The tree that never had to fight

For sun and sky and air and light,

But stood out in the open plain

And always go its share of rain,

Never became a forest king

But lived and died a scrubby thing.

 

The man who never had to toil

To gain and farm his patch of soil,

Who never had to win his share

Of sun and sky and light and air,

Never became a manly man

But lived and died as he began.

 

Good timber does not grow with ease;

The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees;

The farther the sky, the greater the length;

The more the storm, the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow.

 

Where thickest lies the forest growth,

We find the patriarchs of both.

And they hold counsel with the stars

Whose broken branches show the scars

Of many winds and much of strife.

This is the common law of life.

{Read all posts by Courtnie}

A Little Idea... An Exercise in Introspection and Editing

By Erin S.

I heard an awesome story on Talk of the Nation on NPR today and 
thought I'd share.

 

Legend has it that Earnest Hemingway was once asked to write a story 
in just six words.  His response, "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Smith Magazine has taken the six word concept a step further and is 
encouraging it's readers to submit six word memoirs.  They asked 
their readers to describe their life right now in six words, and got 
an amazingresponse. They received so many brilliant submissions 
that they have compiled several books, the most recent of which is 
"It All Changed in an Instant."

In my design work I try to get it down to most simple design possible 
to convey the message.  Six word memoirs are an exercise in the same 
self editing.  It's much harder than it seems, and is a great way to flex
your literary skills and take a moment to reflect on your life.

Look through some of the examples, take a few minutes and come
up with six words that tell the story of your life right now and post
it in the comments.  What's my memoir you ask?

My six word memoir:  Still undefined and okay with that.

Here are a few more examples to inspire you, including a few from 
some famous memoirists...

A Little Insight... My Trip to Antarctica

by Janet

 (photo www.alaska-in-pictures.com)

There’s a story I’ve heard referred to many times entitled “Welcome to Holland”. Maybe you’ve heard it, too.  In the story a traveler is at first dismayed when she realizes that instead of arriving for her dream vacation in Italy, as she had expected, she has arrived in Holland.  The “gist” of the story is that sometimes in life we don’t get to take the “trip” we originally envision or expect, but the new “trip” we find ourselves on is just as good.  The story was originally written for parents of children with disabilities, but can also be applied to others experiencing challenges and adversity.

Over the years I’ve given this story a lot of thought, and lately I have decided to modify it a bit to relate to my own life.  I’ve decided that for me, life’s trials and disappointments, whatever they may be, are more like a trip to ANTARCTICA...