Live Life On Purpose...

Life has a way of happening. We make lists, make plans, set goals. All great things, but then life happens.

Curve balls of every kind come at us from all directions.

Loss of loved ones, illness, accidents. We meet new friends, reconnect with old ones. We meet people whose sole purpose for entering our lives is to teach us valuable lessons, some hurtful, some hard, some beautiful, all necessary, and eventually, appreciated.

There are surprise babies, and surprise career changes that lead you to discover new things about yourself and what you are capable of.

Some things knock the wind out of us to the point that we aren't sure if we will ever really breathe again. Some things lift us up to the point that we aren't sure if we will ever again touch the ground.

One thing, all of these things, good and bad, nudge us in the direction in which we are meant to go.

We can control very little when it comes to the really big things in our lives, the life and death things.

All we can do in between the curve balls is learn from them, use every ounce of them,  and live life on purpose.

Don't live life out of habit, doing things just because you've always done them. Do things you've never done. Help someone you've never met. Eat something you've never tried. Go somewhere you've never been.

Do it all because you meant to...on purpose.



**************************************************

So folks, Once Broken should be available by the end of June! There will more news on this front very soon!

The past few days have been spent proofreading, yet again, making contact with some book clubs, and creating a marketing strategy.

We also had the privilege of attending our oldest grandson's first basketball tournament! We are so lucky to live close enough to them to be able to take in their events!

***********************************************

In the upcoming week......

Month end...work at the shop... more marketing.....



Well folks, that about does it for now......until next time...


May all you do be on purpose, not done just because it's what you always do.
May you catch yourself when you dip into habit, change it up, try something new.

May the curveballs that make you smile well outnumber those that make you cry.
May you embrace all of them, they are yours, their lessons will teach you to fly.

May light, love, and laughter become the biggest parts of your days.
May any dark clouds be obliterated by the sun's most brilliant rays.


Until next time.............


www.margyreidbooks.com

Filters, Perspectives, and Plot Twists...............................

Same view through different filters.  Same situations from different perspectives.

Filters and perspectives can, and sometimes do, change in a heartbeat, the shoes we walk in, and the path on which they take us, detour with every challenge met, every heartache suffered.

If we allow each detour to soak in, our filters become clearer, our perspectives, sharper.

****************************************

Well, folks, my novel is complete! It's been poured over, changes have been made and remade. It's been polished, proofread, reread, and read, yet again. Now I am officially on to the next step.

Along with having paperback copies, I will be working to have it available as ebooks on Amazon, as well as on Apple books.

I've been hanging out with these characters for a while now, it's a little tough to say goodbye.

It's been quite a ride. The plot, subplot, plot twists, characters you love and some you love to hate. Deciding fates, fights and family relationships. Yup, a bit of a roller coaster.

*******************************************

I'm afraid I've been on a bit of a writing overload over the last few days, I apologize if these ramblings are a bit more rambly than usual.


*********************************************

Sorry to write and run, but some of the grandpeeps are having a sleepover. Gotta run.....


Until next time, I'll leave you with this wish....................


May the story of your life bring enough twists to make it interesting, but not so many, as to make you weary.
May you write your story as a happy one, full of light, love, and laughter, never dreary.

May each detour bring you closer to where you want to be.
May every path taken, strip a filter, making your future easier to see.


*********************************************


www.margyreidbooks.com














.

It's Chocolate Time Once Again!!!!

Ahhhhh Easter, Passover, or just a long weekend with an excuse to eat stupid amounts of chocolate, whatever it means for you, I'm hoping it's a happy one.

Hopefully, it's a few days that gets you together with the ones who mean the most to you, or at least most of them.

For me, having most of the kids under one roof, sharing a meal, some giggles, games, and a few chocolate bunnies is always fun.

Makes me forever grateful for the fact that we can.


*******************************


So, is it just me, or does it seem like there is some pretty crazy crap going on in the world right now? There are 'missiles on parade' in North Korea, huge bombs being dropped in Afghanistan, air strikes in Syria and God knows what else.

From where I sit, the outside looking in, it smells a lot like a pissing contest. Mine's bigger than yours, mine's more powerful than yours, mine can beat up yours. We've all seen some form of this before, if not in our personal lives, in history books. It never ends well.  I don't know of one single time where it concludes without anyone getting hurt, and everyone as friends.

There are grudges, broken relationships, and both unfortunately and inevitably, a ton of collateral damage. Those caught in the crossfire, both figuratively and literally. We see endless images of those affected by all of...this. Whatever this is or becomes.

From one concerned citizen of this planet to the leaders we rely on, please get your crap together, we are counting on you.

Oh, and United Airlines, I know I'm not alone when I ask, What the HELL?!  How does that even happen? Beating the crap out of, and dragging a 69-year-old paying customer off an airplane to make room for crew?!

I, personally, can't think of another customer service related industry where something like this is possible.

I worked in restaurants for years, and never once, did a paying patron get beat up and thrown out because some of the staff needed a table.

I've never been in line at the grocery store or Walmart or any other store and been roughed up, removed, or witnessed anyone else being assaulted and dragged out because a staff member needed to buy some eggs.

I've never been yanked out of bed in a hotel because the front desk clerk needed a nap.

I've never been beaten up and pulled off of a bus or out of a cab because another driver needed a ride.

Flippin' ridiculous. Well, on the upside, through the lawsuit that is bound to happen, this particular gentleman and his wife will be able to pay all of the medical bills incurred by this insanity, oh, and buy a private island in the Bahamas.


**************************************


Sooooooooooooo, this week was spent, mostly, working on another pass through of "Once Broken." Adding things, removing things, rearranging things, working to make sure the continuity is seamless.  I doubt it will be perfect, by any stretch, but I'd like to end up with something that I can be proud of and will, at the very least, be something that brings a few people a bit of enjoyment.

I will be working to get have it ready for proofreading by the end of the upcoming week.

Then, it will be time to get the wheels in motion toward production.

Another step closer.......


*******************************


Well, that about does it for now.

Until next time.....

May you travel without harassment, without harm, without humiliation, without disrespect.
May you receive courtesy, humanity, and everything else you should reasonably expect.

May the people with their fingers on the triggers take some time off, God knows we could all use the break.
May we all get some peace, a hiatus from the turmoil, a respite from the drama, our very sanity could be at stake.

May we embrace the power of humour, for without it every decision seems to become life or death.
May we slow the moment, take a beat, find the funny, catch our breath.



**********************************


www.margyreidbooks.com

Argue...Love...Laugh...Live....

Soooo, this was our sky for about 20 minutes yesterday evening. No, there was no fire, there was barely a thunderstorm. I don't know if it was just the timing of when the storm hit and when it cleared relative to the sunset, but it was pretty incredible.

Once again earning our title of "Land of the Living Skies."


If you've been watching the news at all this week, you bore witness, yet again, to the atrocities we are capable of inflicting upon one another. The sickening sights of lifeless, tiny bodies, people, again being plowed into like the pins of some twisted, demented bowling game.

It seems that the ones making the decisions about pulling the triggers, both metaphoric and literal, are never, themselves, in harm's way. I can't help but believe that if it was the decision makers, or their actual families on the wrong side of their violence, things would be very different.

What is the end game? What, exactly, is the brass ring they are so easily willing to kill for? Whatever it is, how can it possibly be worth all of the lives that striving toward it continues to obliterate? The ones who lose their lives, the ones left behind to grieve, all of those swept up in the hatred, where is their brass ring?

They just wanted to go to school, go to work, drop off their children at daycare, kiss their wives and husbands, tuck their babies in at night, complain about bills, worry about money, argue, love, laugh, Live.

Wiped out for some proverbial prize deemed precious by a precious few. Maybe, someday, we will find a way to value what is truly valuable.


**********************************************************


This week..................


First draft of my first novel,  "Once Broken" is complete! I'm not gonna lie, the process is pretty challenging, but completing this first step helps a lot.

Ran errands, did Mom stuff, Grandma stuff, wife stuff, housekeeper stuff, chef stuff, and lots of other stuff.

As for the upcoming week...... Begin the polish and tweak portion of the book writing process...

Run more errands, spend some time at the shop,  do more things and stuff.



**************************************

Until next time...........


May the hopelessness radiated by the hatred be brought home to roost with those who chase the ring.
May they suffer each agony they inflict, for then maybe they will understand the torment they bring.

May those already suffering find peace, find comfort, find some way to walk on.
May those able to help them do so, be warm, be welcoming, prove every darkness has a dawn.

May we get to the other side of this dark, tumultuous time in history, taking stalk, and learning from our mistakes.
May we learn, to not repeat the creation of false fear, for that falsehood becomes distrust, then hate, then we are simply burning new witches at the stake.



******************************************

Thanks for reading!

www.margyreidbooks.com

Your Last First? You Never Know!

Today we celebrated our youngest grandbaby's first birthday!


Will it be the last time we celebrate a grandbaby's first birthday? We hope not, but who knows! That, my friends, is not even close to being our call, anor would we ever want it to be.

But, it did get me thinking about last firsts.

As we go through life, we experience a lot of firsts. First breath, first hug, first fall, first kiss, and the list goes on. We then get to witness those same firsts in younger siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, babies, grandbabies and the list goes on.

I find, as I get older the firsts are a little more sporadic. Sure, there are things that happen in and around the world that we've never seen before, the list is continuous. Personal firsts, on the other hand, become a bit more rare.

I think it's important to keep seeking personal firsts. No, I will never again experience that first breath, that first fall, that first kiss. There are also those firsts that, although I don't regret, I am glad not to repeat. If we quit looking for firsts, all we end up accomplishing is hiking the same path over and over. If we do that long enough, all we will end up doing is pounding out a nice deep rut in which to live. And who wants to live in a rut?

So, some firsts are behind us, let's look back at them fondly, then use what those experiences gave us on the journey to discover new ones. First time eating sushi, first roller coaster, first cruise, first skydive, balloon ride, tattoo, and the list goes on

We never know when it will be our last first. Never willingly give them up.


***************************************

Well, my friends, the light is getting brighter at the end of the tunnel, as far as the novel writing goes.

I'm in the home stretch, tying up the loose ends of plots and sub-plots, bringing it all to a natural end.

Once the first draft is done, then I can move on to the next step. The editing process. Another first.

******************************************

So, this past week was another busy one.

Spent some time celebrating my sister's birthday....

Spring has sprung at the shop. Let the games begin!

I was able to get quite a bit of writing in. Like I said, the light is getting brighter!

There was some grandbaby squeezin', some birthday cake eatin', and even some time on my deck!

The next few days will consist of....

Month end shenanigans are once again upon us.............

Finish the first draft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



********************************************

Until next time.....


May your next first be your best.
May you hunt more, never rest.

May it create a flurry of butterflies, a quickened heart, make you catch your breath.
May it require courage, push your limits, breathe life back into the parts of your soul you thought were near death.

May you live rutless, continually creating new paths, forever breaking ground.
May you unceasingly find new ways to make your heart sing, for it's the most beautifully joyous sound.


*****************************************************



Thank you for taking the time to read these ramblings, it means more than you know.

www.margyreidbooks.com