Are You Warm Enough?

Last Thursday night, Mom fell -- a common occurrence these days -- but this time she broke her wrist. The ambulance took her to St. Luke's South hospital, I met her at ER, and we spent a few hours with a truly wonderful healthcare team. A few X-rays and sedatives later, her wrist was set and they helped me settle her in the car for the quick drive back to Village Shalom.

By this time, it was around midnight and the temperature had dropped to about 45 degrees. It was chilly, and mom was just wearing her nightie. We tucked a blanket around her legs. And, as luck would have it, I had one of her jackets in the car, so I put that around her shoulders.

Now, keep this in mind: Mom is 95, in pain, confused and cold. And you know what she asked as I drove her home?

"Are you warm enough, Janet?"

One of the keys to living a long and happy life is caring about others. Even with her skittish memory, Mom never forgets to ask about me and my family and to wish us well. She never forgets that other people matter. And that extends to people she doesn't know: At the hospital, Mom repeatedly expressed her gratitude to the doctor and nurses and X-ray technicians -- and asked questions about them.

I told her, as we drove, that she had been an excellent patient.

"I try to be as good as I can, Janet. That's just how I was raised."

Lillian Sokoloff raises the bar daily for what it means to be a good person. Her concern for me, our family, the people around us? Well, that's enough to comfort me, no matter how cold this world might seem.

It's a new week, folks. Stay warm.

Creativity Tips: Take a Chance!

Over the years, I've written LOTS of poems. I rarely submit any of them for publication. But, I recently sent a prayer/poem to the Union for Reform Judaism, and they published it yesterday! Very exciting. I hope you like it. 

I also hope you take a chance and put your own creative work out into the world. It doesn't have to be a poem. Frame a doodle. Hang it up. See what happens!

Friday Fun: Emily McDowell Studio

You know how I feel about finding the perfect words. So, it will come as no surprise that I was delighted to find Emily McDowell Studio -- with empathy cards like this:

Given the current political environment, I'm also liking this magnet:

There are a zillion other cool, creative things on her site. Check it out. And, FYI, this is not a paid advertisement. Emily McDowell did not approve this message. (But let's get real. I think she'd like it.)

Friday Fun: Sharknado!

I count seven grammatical errors in that sign. How about you? And, yes. It's sad but true: Proofreading is my idea of fun.

Grammar and punctuation aside, it's the weekend. Watch a silly movie with friends. Party on!

Creativity Tips: Edit!

Thank you all for the lovely reactions to my post on Monday. The public and private feedback, the shares, the comments on Facebook -- all the responses made me glad I took two creative steps I all-too-often skip.

1. I thought about the post -- a lot -- before I wrote it. 
2. I edited the post -- a lot -- after I wrote it. 

First of all, thinking. Whoa. And you have to "whoa," because we're all moving so fast we don't have time to think. In this case, I mulled over: What's the strategy behind the copy? What am I trying to accomplish? Who am I talking to and what do they want/need to know?

I thought about writing a "strong women don't cry" post -- and listing all the reasons women have gotten sucked into the negative narrative men have fallen victim to for years. I might have gone that route, but I didn't want to alienate all the good-hearted men who read the blog and could also use a good-hearted cry. So, after thinking it through, I changed my mind and the copy direction.

Next, after I wrote the post, I gave myself plenty of time to edit. And I edited heavily. I cut extraneous words. I made verbs active, rather than passive. I deleted personal information that might have made the post more about me (Whoa again! You mean it's not all about me?) -- and less relevant to you.

I'm glad I did, and that the resulting post resonated with so many of you.

And now, because it is all about me, I'll share one of the deleted tidbits. I didn't just find the Muhammad Ali quote for Monday's post. I had this version of it in my dorm room, 40 years ago.

And, yes. That's the actual poster from my days at MU. 

There's a note on the back from a friend.

I'm a writer. Editing is one thing. Deleting? That's something else. 

Creativity Tips: Find the Time

One of the most common anti-creativity comments is, "I don't have time to ..."  You don't have time to write. To paint. To exercise. To read a book. Whatever.

I saw reports this week that Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu was in the hospital, recovering from an infection -- and I thought back to the glorious day 26 years ago, when he and his wife visited UMKC and I had the honor of spending time with both of them.

Archbishop Tutu glowed; his presence felt holy. His wife Leah radiated love. I have never before and never again been in the presence of anyone like them.

Why am I telling you this now? Because right after his visit, Archbishop Tutu found time to write personal notes to the UMKC team, thanking us for our assistance.

You want to write, paint, exercise, read, whatever? We all have 24 hours a day. It's just a question of how we prioritize them.

Dear Jan,
Thank you very much for all you did to look after us during
our lovely visit to your university. We enjoyed ourselves hugely.
God bless, Desmond Cape

Creativity Tips: Share Great Stories

There's nothing better than a story well told, unless it's a true story well told, complete with happy ending. Here's one of my favorites. Enjoy!

I still need to see the movie ...