I live in a country where the seasons change the prospect. Spring is a renewal of life. Summer has great energy and heat. Winter is cold and harsh with just the right hint of the promise of spring.
Then there is fall; cozy and pretty with a chill that nips at your feet as you move forward.
I love the month of October with all the changing colours of the leaves and the weather turning colder with every passing day. The cozy feeling as you pull on a thick sweater to ward off the bite of cold air.
I love to taking pictures in the early morning of the frost that clings to the ground while the sun rises slowly to brighten the day.
I know with fall time is moving into winter and the plants are dying, but I do not think about death; I think about sleep and the promise of a new day when spring breaks through with all its hope and vibrance.
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?
Being an adult can be overrated because, as an adult, you need to be responsible. You have to work to live and live to work. You have to take care of other things and people not just yourself. This could mean financially, physically, and emotionally.
As a kid, the world revolves around you. You are the center of the universe. Cool. There are no worries.
I try not to be an adult with my limitations, but I sometimes see the world as a kid without filters or limits. Life is what you make of it.
I became an adult, I think, when I started working in my present profession. I deal with the elderly and mortality is a second word.
What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?
I felt pressured to exercise hard all the time. Then my schedule got jammed up, and I had little time to devote to this craft. The harder I worked out, the more I hated working out, and the more I felt guilty about skipping my workouts.
Covid hit, and I started working and looking at exercise as movement not only in a gym but to stay active at all times. Of course, we all know that but do we really know it, really.
I walked almost every day and did some workouts in the basement. The routine was great. Then, I had to go back to work with my long communes and little time for myself.
I hate working out.
I got a leg injury and found a chair workout online. The instructor was so encouraging. I began to work out every day checking my fitness tracker to record my steps and my sleep pattern.
That instructor got me thinking that long sessions in the gym are good, but how about short sessions too. I began to stagger my time and enjoy my quick, effective workout outs that were low impact but so good. As a result, I spend more time moving and making better choices with my time and my food intake.
My advice is to just move, and as my Dad would say, keep moving.
What details of your life could you pay more attention to?
Sometimes, when life gets busy, I forget to look out for myself. I keep going and going, not pausing for a break. For a long time, I would not notice anything until, wham, I am exhausted to the point I want to crash both physically and mentally.
I am learning to take breaks from time to time. My Mom always said, “Put it up. Tomorrow is another day.”
I am not a slacker, and with Christ in my corner, I will get it done.
I have never been tenacious in my everyday life until after the passing of my Dad. It hit me hard because even though he was getting up in age and slowing down, he always seemed to me as larger than life full of energy. Unstoppable. But he died, and I had to learn to rely on myself and my relationship with the Lord.
Some say it is all me. I say God is my source, and my traits are my resource.
I have five sisters, and there are two who stand out when it comes to encouragement. They never stop. They never give up. They are amazing. When I want to call it quits, they are there for me pushing me forward.
I admired them, and I started thinking like them. Pushing forward, not looking back and never giving up. If I don’t make it, I dust myself off and move on. They taught me this. And I used it in my grief with our Dad. Then late with our Mom.
The problem is that one of the two is going through a rough spell, and it is my turn to comfort and encourage her. Unfortunately, I am a sledgehammer where words are concerned.
List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.
I am a writer. And a published one who is not making money, but I love the craft.
I also love mixed media sketching. I love to capture life on canvas. I like to take pics using my cell or my digital camera, and then I edit them. That is just as much fun to do. Nature, with all the textures and colours from any season, is mysterious and beautiful.
Can I make money doing any of these professions? Yes. I need to market myself. I need to put myself out there.
What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?
When I was studying photography in university I came across a black and white photo of three little girls dressed up with little ribbons in their hair and holding their bibles running to Sunday School. The photographer’s comment was that he saw that diligent and happy behavior all through the island, and he had to capture it in that moment.
My parents provided a great life for my siblings and I. Are we uppity? Maybe, but who cares. The point is we grew up with the value of putting on our Sunday best and looking forward to meeting the Lord every Sunday. We still do this in our individual households.
This is my culture, not a national culture but one of my family and of God fearing.
We put God first in our lives. That is a great value to follow.
I can not say I associate with any certain brand. If the product works for me, then I invest in it.
I like to try different brands to see what works and what doesn’t. Maybe something is new on the market and has good reviews. It could be worth a try.
For example, for outdoor hiking clothes, I like the Eddie Bauer brand. They are comfortable and durable, but lately, I have been leaning toward the Columbia brand because it is harder to get Eddie Bauer clothes where I am. Sometimes accessibility and availability play a role in choices. I don’t stay with one thing. If it is cold and I need good winter boots, Sorrel or Pajah are my first picks.
It all depends on several valuables. Some are beyond my control.
I am a writer with not much published, only a short story here and a few magazine articles there. I need to screw myself to my desk and write more regularly.
I have an outlined schedule I need to keep if I want to complete my novel this year.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My Mom always told us that. Whatever is destined for you, you will receive.
Being brought up in a Christian home, we are taught at a young age to pray and ask the Lord for all we need. I accepted Christ as my Saviour at a young age and started following him ever since.
Mom witnessed my struggles in life at school and work. Sometimes, I would come home depressed, complaining about not getting that promotion or crying about the poor score I received on a test. I studied hard and even prayed day and night for better results.
She would sit me down and say those words. Really I didn’t want to hear them I wanted what I wanted. But as I grew older and then Mom passed I realized she was so right.
I don’t need to struggle and to walk around upset. God has a plan. A plan that will be fulfilled not in my time but in him time, which is the right time. What he has for me, nothing can take it away for me. If God is for me, nothing can be against me.
I need to trust Him when I can not trace Him. In other words, when it is dark and he seems quiet, he is at work on my behalf.
I looked back at my requests over the years, and nothing I asked for I didn’t receive. I did not get it the way I thought I would, but I received it nevertheless.
For example: I always prayed to get a job at a certain department store. I loved the clothes I loved shopping there. Year after year, I prayed for a summer job there. I never got called. I went off to university and got engrossed in my studies, forgetting about that job I so wanted. I went off to college to further my education and graduated in a field. I had no clue if I would get a job.
I got an interview for a job with good pay even before the ink was dried on my diploma.
Guess where the clinic was located?
In that large department store, I so long ago wanted to work. I was not going to be a clerk because I did not work for the store, but the clinic was a concession in the store. I worked for the clinic that paid way more than that store would ever pay, and I worked at the store and location I wanted.
Mom was so right.
Let God take control, and he will turn it all around in ways you have no clue or idea. He will do a new thing, and you will be satisfied.
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