Remembering!

I recently read a short story called The Memory Keeper by Amy Maroney. The main character Elena had an astute memory that saved her and her companion up in the Pyrenees Mountains. He has been attacked and to escape those hunting them, they entered a dark ice cave. She remembered how to navigate the cave from time spent there with her mother when she was a young child. She and her injured partner find the exit on the other side of the mountain after Elena leans on what her mother had taught her.

I too am blessed with a great memory. I believe I inherited it from my father’s side of the family. His cousin Irene could tell the most vivid stories based on her memory of past and shared experiences. She painted clear images and others within earshot could envision her stories.

As a writer, my memory has helped me because if I run out of story ideas, I can simply recall former events. Several authors write full and multiple novels or memoirs based on things that have happened in their lives. Similarly, every day is a story. Something as small as a trip to the grocery store can serve as the basis for a new storyline. There could be a chance encounter with an old coworker that can inspire a tale housed with happy memories.

It amazes me when people tell me they do not remember. I’m thinking, “But this is your life.  You only get one and you do not remember parts of it?”  Or maybe, it is selective memory. Let’s face it, some people remember what they want to remember.  As Barbra Streisand sang. “What’s too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget.”

Just think if criminals like Lizzie Borden said, “I do not remember.”  Hmm. She may have had a blackout, but her victims and their families truly and painstakingly remember. The bottom line is not remembering does not excuse the occurrence nor its induced sting. It happened!

So, for those with either selective memory or memory loss, try leaning on the artifacts from the past and perhaps they can help with the recall. Conversations, discussions and pictures can assist in remembering what truly took place in the past. Or apply the lyrics from the song, Try to Remember. It sings, “Try to remember and if you remember, then follow, follow, follow.” A good memory of instructions can save a life or two!

Lynn M.
May 27, 2023

Carving Your Own Path!

In these days of social media, selfies, bragging rights and straight-up vanity on display, it is easy to believe that others are having a better time than you. That is when you may ask yourself, “How am I really doing?” You should then pull out your measuring stick and check off your own tick marks of achievement. Truly weigh in and hopefully after the assessment, you can sigh, “Not bad.”

It is easy to think that others have it better than you. It is not an uncommon concern for Shakespeare wrote centuries ago in his 29th Sonnet: 

“And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy, contented least…”

But when you take an honest look at your personal accomplishments, you should pat yourself on the back and highlight what did go well. Perhaps you have raised a healthy, well-adjusted child, or received a special thank you from a supervisor or received a standing ovation after singing a moving solo at church or penned a novel or maybe you are simply that steady hand in the family. Whatever accolades come to mind, they should bring you a level of peace and you can whisper, “Aha!”

There is a children’s book by Aesop called The City Mouse and The Country Mouse where the city mouse leaves his humble abode to visit the city mouse that is surrounded by opulence and finery.  But at a certain hour, the cat comes out, terrorizes them and they have to run and hide. The country mouse is distraught but the city mouse just sees it as a regular occurrence. The country mouse can’t wait to get home to his quiet home with limited things but engulfed in peace and quiet. It teaches that all that glitters is truly not gold for peace flows like a river.

I thought of one of my minister’s words when she said, “Be content where you find yourself and bloom wherever you are.” Don’t look over your shoulder at what others have or appear to have nor be fooled by the hype. If you need to make some adjustments to bring further contentment, then make them. But you should continue to carve out your own path, smile and remember that you are fine just as you are!

Lynn M.
May 20, 2023

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret- The Movie

Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret is a new movie based on the popular teen novel by Judy Blume.  Margaret, a 4th grader, is dealing with the stress of moving to New Jersey and dealing with the anxiety of being the new kid on the block. She often has dialogues with God when she feels uncertain about situations.

Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) soon makes new friends in her new town and school and is initiated into a secret club headed by her new neighbor, Nancy (Elle Graham). They discuss the boys they have crushes on, vow to tell when their menses arrive and agree to wear training bras. At times, at the behest of Nancy, the leader of the pact, they even become mean girls and exclude and ridicule others in their class.

But Margaret also has another dilemma. Her teacher assigns her a report on religion and it brings up a whole new set of questions and confusion for Margaret. Her parents do not attend church. Her grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates) takes her to a Jewish temple, but Margaret does not understand the service. She starts asking her mother questions and asks why she has never met her maternal grandparents after a conversation with her teacher.

Her mother Barbara (Rachel McAdams) admits that she is estranged from her Christian parents because she married Margaret’s father, a Jewish man (Benny Safdie). Margaret is further confused and continues her dialogues with God. She visits a variety of churches attempting to understand the meaning of religion. When her maternal grandparents finally arrive to meet Margaret for the first time, they clash with her Jewish grandmother and there is a screaming match.

Margaret spirals out of control. Her parents intercede and after all of the visitors have left, Margaret begins to come into her own and sort things out. She discovers that she doesn’t like being a mean girl, and decides to embrace kindness and tolerance, truth-telling and distances herself from those who think otherwise. She continues her talks with God as she works on becoming a more wholesome person.

It is a light yet thought-provoking movie of the time-honored book where Author Judy Blume makes a cameo appearance while walking her dog. For those parents who are seeking for a way to talk with their pubescent girls, Are You There, God?  It’s Me Margaret is an excellent tool to segue into the girl talk. The movie is an entertaining way to avert the curdling screams from the bathroom and a means for preparing their young women-becoming for the inevitable.

Lynn M.
May 13, 2023

Villain-Proof!

If a friend sees danger ahead, shouldn’t that friend warn you? But, just think, if you take the “r“( for responsible)) out of friend, you get fiend. Only a fiend would allow you to walk into a trap without screaming, “No!!!!!!!”

Yet, once you have been allowed to enter the cave of living hell, you can survive if you have strong links to a Higher Power. You can make it and jot down the many lessons learned along the way. You will learn that as the saying goes, “Things don’t just happen, they happen just.”

There is a reason for the daunting experience. First, you will discover who people really are. Dr. Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”  In that way, you can more quickly get off the merry-go-round of questioning yourself and shaking your head in disbelief, thinking, “This can’t be.” Remove the blinders and admit, “It is so.” 

Perhaps, the good Lord allowed it to happen so that you would be less naïve, less gullible and more streetwise.  All of that! Then you will learn to “Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils” (Isaiah 2:22).  Remember that only desperate people commit desperate acts. You can pull out your trusty pen, journal your way out of the den and pray fervently until you can again see the light of day.

You will come out on the other side understanding who to trust and who to walk away from with the quickness.  And perhaps, you will immediately recognize the wolf in sheep’s clothing without so much loss of your precious time. Life is short and valuable and you only have so much time to do the things on your agenda.

And mostly, you will adhere to Shakespeare’s words when he described a dark spirit. He said, “A man may smile and smile and still be a villain.” {Hamlet 1.5.114|   Work on becoming villain-proof.  Yes, as you continually rub your eyes from the nightmare, just like cream, you too will rise to the top. So, dust yourself off from the shadows of despair and confusion, keep on stepping and glow as you go!

Lynn M.
May 6, 2023