Valentine Week: To a Daughter Leaving Home

This week, we're going to celebrate lots of love in lots of ways! 

Breakfast in Bed by Mary Cassatt

I remember holding my sweet Kate when she was a baby, and my heart was beyond full, beyond happy. The immensity of the love I felt gave the word wholehearted new meaning. And, as I sat there rocking her, I suddenly realized that the way I felt about Kate was exactly how Mom felt about me.

With that in mind, here's our first love poem of the week, with special hugs to Kate and Mary:

To a Daughter Leaving Home
by Linda Pastan

When I taught you
at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
as you wobbled away
on two wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
path of the park,
I kept waiting
for the thud
of your crash as I
sprinted to catch up,
while you grew
smaller, more breakable
with distance, 
pumping, pumping
for your life, screaming
with laughter, 
the hair flapping
behind you like a
handkerchief waving
goodbye. 

And here's a link to one of my favorite parenting songs: Child of Mine by Carole King. Enjoy!

Friday Fun: Make a Valentine!

Yep! It's part of my visual journal. So MUCH fun. 

Remember when you were a kid, and you'd fold a piece of paper in half and cut a heart? I bet you can still do it. And this weekend is the perfect time! In just a few minutes, you can make a Valentine for someone you love.*

It's easy peasy** -- I promise. Just go to your craft closet, choose your paper and play!

Sigh. I heard you. You don't have a craft closet. Fine. Here's the beautiful part about making Valentines. It doesn't matter. Grab a magazine, wrapping paper, the newspaper, a grocery sack. You can be creative with anything. And, once you have your heart all ready, write from the heart.

Happy weekend, peeps! I hope it's filled with love.

*I made this one for myself. Because I'm cute like that.
** Is peasy a word? And, if so, how do you spell it?

The Rule of Three: Nevertheless, She Persisted

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been in politics a long time, so it's no surprise that he delivered a powerful statement when shutting Sen. Elizabeth Warren down Tuesday night. 

He followed the magical rule of three:

McConnell made other comments leading up to this literary triumvirate. However, the power was here, and -- most specifically -- in the final sentence. "Nevertheless, she persisted."

He didn't intend to give the opposition a rallying cry. He didn't intend to shine a spotlight on Coretta Scott King's letter. And he certainly didn't intend to give me a post. 

Nevertheless, he delivered. 

Creativity Tips: Creative Rewards Create Results

When I was a chubby little girl, mom would now and then suggest that we go on a diet together -- the idea being, it's easier to diet with a partner. So, we'd buddy up, eat right, and lose a few pounds.

Then, as a reward, we'd go out and get an ice cream sundae.

Mom was absolutely right about the partner part. Her reward approach? Maybe not the best.

Let me share my new take on using rewards to support healthy habits -- what's working for me and Tom might work for you! Or, it might give you an idea ... 

Tom and I started the year determined to exercise every day. There's really no reason why we can't. He's retired. I work at home. Our schedules are flexible enough to accommodate daily exercise. And yet ...

To get over our inertia, we agreed on a creative reward system: We'd use a daily journal to track every mile on the treadmill, bike or walks. We'd give ourselves mileage points for exercise classes -- 2 miles for every circuit class I take, 1.5 miles for every yoga class. Then, at the end of the month, we'd add up our collective miles; look at a map; choose a site within the circumference of our mileage that we had never seen before; and go see it!

This past weekend, we put the reward plan into action. After adding up our January miles, we decided to visit the Walter Cronkite Memorial in St. Joseph, Mo., at Missouri Western State University.

It was fabulous -- and I'll post more about the visit, probably later this week, because getting out of town is a real creative boost for me. For now, full disclosure: I have not exercised every day this year. Almost, but not quite. On the other hand, Tom has exercised every single day this year. Every single day.

At home or at work, with spouses, colleagues or kids -- the right reward works wonders. And that's the way it is ... 

#MondayMotivation -- Be The Boss

My Facebook friend Garland posted this link on Sunday, and I love it -- it's a clip of Bruce Springsteen demonstrating why he is The Boss.

At his concerts, Springsteen likes to take a request from the audience, even if the request is for a song the band hasn't rehearsed recently, or even played for years. That's a fun change of pace, in these days of lip syncing. At this 2013 concert in Germany, the selected song was a Chuck Berry classic: You Never Can Tell.

As you watch the video, keep an eye open for creativity lessons that can help you be The Boss this week! For example:

• Springsteen isn't afraid to veer off into new territory, knowing he has a team that will keep him on track. (No, Bruce, not that key. Not that guitar.)
• He lets others shine, and their solos are amazing.
• The entire E Street Band works hard. They're having fun, but they're working. Sweat the details, my friends. Details make the difference. 

You'll find other lessons too. For now, as we start a new week, let's put that first idea to work -- and try something new! What could happen? You Never Can Tell ... 

No, Bruce. Seriously. You're gonna hurt yourself. 

Creativity Tips: Practice the Art's of Salesmanship

Life is good. I walked into a local grocery store yesterday to pick up some salsa and a few other things for a new recipe. Now, you've never gone grocery shopping with me. It's not pretty. I am one of those shoppers who slows down the minute I walk into the store, and then wanders the aisles, looking at every single option. (Yes. I know how annoying this is to those of you in a hurry. I consider the grocery store a sanctuary. And I do try to move out of your way.)

But I digress. As I was standing there, staring at the 2,000 options, a man came up with a box of salsa and chips and other goodies and quickly restocked his area.

"You know what you want?" he said. (And it was a statement, not a question.) "You want Art's Mild Salsa. It is the best! The very best in town."

It was, of course, what he was restocking. But he was happy and friendly and sincerely enthusiastic about his company and their products.

"It's the best, huh?"

"Absolutely! The very best! And our chips and tortillas are the best too -- you won't find any better."

"What's the difference between the hot salsa and the mild salsa?" I asked, immediately willing to buy Art's and give it a try. I mean, how do you say no to super salsa enthusiasm? "Is the hot extra hot?"

"No, no! Not too hot. It's great!" He finished stocking the tortilla chips, stood up and grinned. "Tell you what, I'll pull the truck around in the parking lot and give you some samples. If you like 'em, you tell your friends!"

I like 'em. I'm telling my friends. Buy Art's.

Yes. He gave me all this stuff. 

I haven't tried it all, but what I have tried is delicious. 

Want the creativity/business tip portion of the post? The man is stocking grocery shelves. You may not consider that the most glamorous job on the planet. But he saw an opportunity to talk with a potential client and he seized it. And, in less than a minute, he turned that opportunity into future sales. Engaging, enthusiastic communication -- in print or in person -- works creative wonders. 

Creativity Tips: What Would Du Do?

I know what Du would do if she read that headline. She'd laugh.

Duana Linville-Dralus had the best laugh. She was a completely irresistible, throw-your-head-back-and-roar kind of woman -- one of the best people who ever walked this planet. And she was my mentor, which makes me one of the luckiest people who ever walked this planet.

Feb. 1 was Du's birthday, so today is the perfect time for me to cherish the memory of that laugh, and share three of my favorite answers to the question I still ask myself: "What would Du do?"

• If you can help someone, help them. Whether or not they can help you in return is completely immaterial. (Du helped me before she knew who I was or what I did. I was just a young woman in serious need of assistance.)
• Be true to yourself. (Du was the first woman leader I knew who was wholeheartedly who she was all the time. She wasn't a different person in the boardroom than she was in her kitchen.)
• Do something nice every day. (One of the nice things Du did was simple, but powerful: She kept money in her pocket. That way, she was always ready to give to people in need.) 

When Duana's cancer came back full force, people would periodically ask her, "Are you going to die?" (That is not an alternative fact. I was there when it happened. Several times.) Her response was always the same, "Yep! But not today. Not today. So, let's do something!"

Today, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to open the bottle of champagne I keep in the fridge, because she believed in always being ready for a celebration. I'm going to toast Deb and Doug, for sharing their mom with me. I'm going to toast Maureen and the rest of our group, for being part of an amazing sisterhood. And I'm going to toast Duana, a remarkable woman whose memory is now, and shall always be, a blessing.