Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

“You can’t be sure of most things in this world, but you can be sure of the love that lies between a mother and daughter.” ~ A Parent’s Humor   The truth is, there’s not another woman alive that can take my mama’s place. It’s just the way it is. Mama’s kind, gentle, loving and a beautiful, good and lovely soul. She’s not perfect, but then none of us are. I’ll tell you what I know. She’s spent her life encouraging my dreams of writing. Mama’s fostered a sense of humor and self-esteem inside my heart by inspiring my imagination and motivating my creativity. She's protected me. Sometimes at her own expense too. When the vultures have come, she’s fought them back. When clowns have appeared with buckets full of water looking to drown my voice, she's been my life boat. Even when beastly mobs descended out of the darkness seeking to extinguish the light within her baby girl, she never  wa vered.  Mama always knew how to shelter me from the storms, but nev...

Life Lesson # 62:  Raising strong –willed daughters to fly. There’s no doubt “I am my mother’s daughter. I am her only novel” so beautifully said by Marge Piercy.  Thinking about my mom’s birthday this coming week, it’s like a rush of beautiful memories flowing out from a volt that’s been locked away. I am my mother’s reflection, her mini me. Growing up, looking up to my mom as little girls do I wasn’t aware of how much I mirrored her. My mother’s beauty and grace always took my breath away. She was and still is my inspiration and I her baby girl. If you asked her today what I was like as a little girl, she’d tell you without a second thought, I was strong-willed. I kept her busy running around singing, jumping off the couch, building forts and dragging her off into faraway lands inside my imagination. I remember sitting in awe when the hope chest was opened. Standing there dancing in front of the mirror like a fairy princess. I’d brush my hair, place her old prom...