In Others' Words: Heroes

"I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle 

of patriotism."~Bob Riley, politician

I was a military wife for 24 years. For two of those years, my family lived overseas--in Turkey to be specific. We moved with three kiddos, ages 5, 2 and 3 months. I remember telling my husband, "I didn't even know the Air Force could send you to Turkey. That must have been in the small print."


I finally understood patriotism when our first 4th of July rolled around while we lived at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. As I watched the fireworks and the jets flying over, tears streamed down my face. I had never been more proud to be an American.


The reality is, our overseas assignment was no real hardship compared to what some of my friends experienced. Sure, phone reception was unreliable and the products in the commissary, i.e. the military grocery store, were limited and often out-of-date.


But I didn't experience the heartache of losing my husband. I never stood beside a flag-draped coffin, surrounded by my children, wondering what the future held for me.


Several of my friends did. 


These are the people I remember on Memorial Day. Yes, I honor all of the military men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country. But I also think of my friend Susie--and her husband Mark. And my friend Barbara--and her husband John. 


I remember the ones we lost--and the ones who remained behind.

photo by linder6580/stockxchng.com

In Others' Words: Mistakes

"If you can't make a mistake, you can't make anything."

~ Marva N. Collins, American educator

I don't know about you, but I wish I'd stumbled across this quote a lot sooner in my life. For me, mistakes were all about wrong, wrong, wrong--not a chance to try again and get it right. 

I like Marva Collins' attitude. It's the whole "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" approach to life, instead of the "If at first you don't succeed, you're wrong! So, sit on the bench and let somebody else do it right!" approach. 

Mistakes happen. If nothing else, it means we're in the game. We're trying. We're living.

Made any mistakes today? Good for you. You're in the game!

Photo by Cieleke/stock.xchng.com

Changing Direction

I'm embracing change. Moving in a different direction.

Specifically, I'm embracing change in my writing life. I've crossed over to the dark side and am writing fiction. My writing buddy, the brilliant writer Evangeline Denmark, even wore a T-shirt to critique group one day that proclaimed: Come to the Dark Side. We have cookies. And she served me homemade cookies to prove it!

Ah, the lure of baked goods! How could I resist?

I'm somewhat of a split personality when it comes to writing. Even as my first novel makes the round of publishers, I continue to function as a non-fiction writer, earning the nickname The Evil Editor (TEE) among my writing friends. (They assure me it's said with love.)

• I still edit Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International.
• I help write the My Book Therapy Special Teams blog--providing an editor's view of the writing life.
• I write a bimonthly column for MOMSnext, an online e-zine for MOPS International--providing perspective for moms of school-age children.
• I'm a regular contributor to MomSense magazine.
• I blog over at MBT Ponderers, a fun blogging community where writers ponder faith, fiction and friendship.

And then there's this blog, which has been sorely neglected.

I'm embracing change here too.

Starting today, this blog will focus on others' words--hence, the title "In Others' Words."

I love quotes--have quite a collection of 'em--and I'll be using this blog to share other people's words of wisdom with you. One quote a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. With or without a brief comment from me. And then I hope others comment too.

In Others' Words.

This blog isn't about me.

It's about us.