Do You Remember?

The coming of spring always makes me sentimental, although I’m not sure why. I’m almost as nostalgic as I am during the holidays. Do you ever have those waves of just really missing something or just remembering when? I never thought I’d ever say—or write—those words—“I remember when…”, but it looks like I’m about to. A couple of times even.

I remember when flip flops were called thongs. My juxtaposing these two terms has been an endless source of amusement for teen relatives and friends of my children. “Ha ha ha. She said she wore thongs on her feet. Ha ha ha.”

I also remember the days when men wore their pants around their waists and men’s shorts were actually short. Whoever came up with the idea to dress men like toddlers was apparently trying a subtle form of population control, because there is nothing remotely sexy about a guy tottering around trying to hold his pants up.

I remember the days before social media, when I could be invisible if I wanted to. I still can to a certain extent, but everyone now leaves a digital footprint. It’s odd to think that there was a time when people got to know each other by what they taped to their dorm room doors or on their binders. You could learn a lot about a professor or fellow dorm dweller just by what they taped on their doors or hung on their walls. Those were our Facebook profiles back in the day—pictures of favorite bands, profound quotes, announcements of poetry contests, etc. Hmmm, not too different than now, if you think about it.

I remember when I could find clothes that actually fit my entire body everywhere...wait, no, that's never happened. Nevermind that one.

I remember the 80s and the Cold War, which appears to be starting up again. People younger than me don't have memories of growing up under the threat of nuclear war, which then suddenly, with the crumbling of one big wall, thankfully dissipated. I do, and it's weird to think I lived through something "historical" that's now taught in history class. I also have memories of MTV and watching some really terrible music videos, some so hilariously awful they make reality TV look Oscar-worthy in comparison. But we devoured them, craziness and all, mesmerized. Who could resist? Where else could you see a guitar player setting fire to a priceless 16th century painting with his hair?

I miss really good actors. My faves are getting older and dying or leaving  the biz at a rapid clip, and I just can't get into any of the newbies. They all kind of look alike to me--same hair, same make-up (for the ladies), same come-hither tattoos, same quirky I-don't-care-what-you-think-of-my-style kind of style, same personas. And personality? Not too much. There aren't many originals out there, and I'm really struggling to find a movie with actors in it that I'd pay more than a dollar to see.

I remember pet rocks and Rubik's cubes, although I have to admit I liked the pet rocks better. I could never figure out the cubes, but the little ones did make great keychains. We had all kinds of mindless useless stuff at our disposal to keep us entertained, at least when we weren't watching music videos on MTV.

What about you? What do you miss or remember? Please do share in the comments section. 

Happy Reading!

Celebrate Life

I'm filling in today because I missed last week, and I was going to continue my soapboxing from yesterday. However, I received some unhappy news recently that a dear family member suddenly passed away, and I lost my steam somewhere between ranting about bra straps showing and jeans that don't fit the human body.

We writers thrive on using life experiences in our writing, both the sad and happy, and that's what I'm doing today. I don't want to leave you with a bummer post on a Friday, and I won't. Any loss has the potential to bring back memories of loved ones and past events, and this loss is no different. We were close when we were younger, and now I find myself remembering the good times we shared and enjoying a quick trip through the past. Too long gone perhaps, but never far away.

So to celebrate life this weekend, please take a moment to remember someone or something wonderful. If you'd like to share a special memory in the comments section, please feel free to do so. Most importantly, enjoy your trip down Memory Lane!

Summertime -- Invigorating and Inspiring

Swooping seagulls chasing the summer breeze and each other. The slap of a fallen wave as it meets the shoreline and gently sizzles. Every breath of salty air tickling my nostrils and making me smile. Sand tickling the soles of my feet and sifting between my toes. Sunshine warming my skin. The buttery sweetness of caramel corn wafting along the Boardwalk. French fries, golden-brown from a peanut-oil bath, making my mouth water as they're scooped into a cardboard container. Red and yellow plastic buckets splashing water into sandcastle moats.

Summertime and trips to the beach have always spurred my imagination more than any other activity. Sensory overload in the most glorious way. Whether on a moonlight dinner cruise or cracking crabs on a patio after a sun-drenched day, my writing tablets are filled with details of my travels on the sand and boards. Even after I emerge from the ocean, and long before my hair is dry, I'm making memories and recording them on paper. Water dapples my arms and hands and drips onto the steno sheets, but the ink never blurs much.

Backyard barbecues where burgers flipped and shoes flip-flopped. As the sun set, mosquitos buzzed but not nearly as loud as those filling lounge chairs and reclining on blankets. Citronella candles soon burned and banished those winged warriors. Lightening bugs filled coffee cans and glass jars covered with lids in which we'd punched holes.

Here are a few songs that capture the essence of summer and find me singing along whenever they're on the radio. Where did those days of riding my bike with the transistor radio tucked into the basket go? Not too far away, for they live among my fondest memories...









Surf, swim, smile & enjoy your summers,

Shawna Moore
TO HELLE AND BACK AGAIN -- Ellora's Cave
TORMENTED (Recommended Read) -- Ellora's Cave
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave

Treasured Gifts

I’m not a materialistic person. I agree with the world when it says Christmas is too commercial.

But I think there is something positive to be said for Christmas gifts.

Gifts can be lodestones to memory. I can never relive the Christmases of my childhood. But the memory of certain gifts takes me right back to those holidays. I had a bachelor uncle who lived in California (back when CA was the land of sunshine and dreams). We only saw him every few years, and naturally, he didn’t know us children very well. But every year, he’d send each of us individual Christmas presents. One year he sent me a gold and turquoise pendant watch. Did I want a pendant watch at the ripe age of about 12? Nope. But I knew it was something special. I knew the gift represented his attempt to maintain a connection with us, no matter how tenuous. Though he may not have known what a teenaged girl really wanted at that moment in time, he tried to buy something that looked beautiful to him, something he hoped I would treasure, and something that might remind me of him when I wore it. At least, I attribute all those thoughts to him. And now that he’s no longer with us, I still think of that pendant with great fondness. He was my uncle, and he wanted to do something nice for me. That was the real gift he gave.

My parents started a custom of giving each of their daughters a piece of sterling silverware each Christmas. We chose the pattern, and then added to it on each gift-giving occasion. Did it thrill me to open a spoon? Nope. But by the time I was an adult, I had a full set for 12. Now I look back on those gifts, and I realize they represented my parents’ hope for a certain kind of life for their daughters. One would need to have a family and a somewhat comfortable lifestyle to need a set of sterling silver. Those knives and forks I never used at the time actually represented their hope for my future.

In a similar vein, I recall a boxed set of “classical” albums I opened one year. Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky and more. My mother is a trained pianist and always tried, with varying degrees of success, to instill her love of music in her five children. So, while that boxed set wouldn’t have been my choice on Christmas Day, I remember it now with gratitude. What a gift to last a lifetime – the love of music.

Does anyone else have special gifts they remember years later?

Carly Carson

www.carlycarson.com

Happy Christmas Memories by the Half Dozen

The Christmas cards are ready for mailing, the cookie recipes are chosen, the gifts are purchased and wrapped and I've sung my way through many Christmas carols. While I'm not wiping flour off my cheek, a couple tears have taken its place for the time being. Here, my blog-reading friends, are a half dozen of my favorite memories from Christmases past.

1. My last Christmas spent with my beloved mother is my most precious Christmas memory. I videotaped a good part of that day and conducted some special spotlights with her. Despite her cancer’s advanced stage, she enjoyed her lunch and opening presents. Seeing her able to thrive for those moments made me even more thankful for my gift of fabulous parents. Nothing and no one could ever top them for me.

2. Dad putting together my fiery red Schwinn bike. No more training wheels—I was a big girl! His patience despite my eagerness to try out my newest toy was admirable. How glad I am that I didn’t grow up during a time when electronics and computer games were all the rage. Real toys were much more fun and provided many more adventures with my friends.

3. The first Christmas of my marriage. Murphy’s Law insinuated itself from the time we perked the Christmas coffee to the time we kissed goodnight LOL Light strands wouldn’t stay lit. Bulbs tumbled off the tree boughs. One extension cord remained elusive until well past sunset. While gathering ingredients for the holiday meal, I dropped an egg on the kitchen floor. But one thing overrode the frustrations – love reigned supreme that day.

4. At the age of eight, sledding was one of my passions. If I asked mom and dad once, I probably asked twenty times exactly when the snow was deep enough for sledding. This particular Christmas Day, the hill near our home saw little traffic (those were truly the wonderful days). He got my sled down from the rafters and we set out for some winter fun. I made many trips down the snow-covered slope before a car approached. By this time Dad was likely tired of hauling my sled back up the hill, and we were due to depart for my grandmother’s home for Christmas lunch and a get-together with family members and friends we hadn’t seen in quite some time. Of course, mom awaited our return at home and had drawn me a bubble bath. I’d love to know how I really managed to catch a breath between the talking, singing, enjoying my family’s excellent cooking and sledding.

5. Although I don’t have memories of this particular Christmas, my first Christmas must have been one gala celebration. I’ve seen pictures of myself wearing an adorable Little Miss Santa suit complete with furry trim and a perky hat any young diva would adore. Propped up in my highchair, I grinned for the camera and played the cover baby LOL Oh, and I’m later posed with a giant panda bear (my “Pandy”). Mom often laughed and recounted how, at only four-and-a-half- months of age, I did my share of baby-talking that holiday LOL

6. The Christmas following my engagement, I enclosed a letter with my Christmas cards that extolled the virtues of love and how love made a difference in my life. Never kept a draft copy, but I still remember most of what I said on those two red pages.

I’m truly looking forward to more Happy Christmas memories. Life is too short to delay expending every effort at making special memories and cherished connections with those we love. Friends and family are our greatest gifts. Without them our lives would be far less rich and rewarding. In short, our lives would be rather empty.

Here’s wishing you all good health, much happiness and countless loving moments.

Blessings and all the holiday best,

Shawna Moore
TORMENTED -- Available now at Ellora's Cave
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Easter Greetings and Memories

Spring and sunshine. A perfect combination for days spent outside, especially on this Easter Sunday. Many fond memories have resulted from my Easters of years past. Pastel dresses trimmed in lace, some featuring crinolines in their skirts. When I was eight I was so proud of my sparkling white patent leather Easter purse and matching shoes. My white gloves sported delicate rosettes fashioned from seed pearls on the cuffs. And how I laugh now at recalling the way my leotards never failed at working themselves into a position that prevented me from straightening them in public. After worship services my parents and I would head back home and find a couple lovely Easter baskets displayed on our dining room buffet. Green or pink grass sprang up from the bottom and cradled the colorful foil-wrapped chocolates and yellow marshmallow peeps. Always a delectable chocolate bunny standing in the center. Near the baskets rested a bowl of multi-colored dyed eggs wearing wax designs or the imprints from seasonal decals. After I changed into traveling clothes, Mom and Dad would host the first of my many egg hunts that day. No matter where they chose to hide those eggs, I found them pretty quickly. Of course, that only prompted me to ask if we could hide the eggs “just once more” before going to my grandmother’s home for Easter dinner. But my favorite parts of Easter Sunday were always the loving gestures, hugs and kisses from parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Family togetherness meant the world to me on those Easter Sundays and remains my most cherished memory. Over the past week I’ve received holiday emails and messages from my dear friends that have brought smiles and turned themselves into more fond memories.

There are a couple dark-chocolate truffles in the cupboard. I might become tempted to sample one before this Easter Sunday is done. Funny thing about those chocolate goodies during my childhood. I never ate hardly any chocolate until much later in life. Sure I snacked on those chocolate bunny ears and worked my way to their feet, but most of the remaining candy was shared with friends or put in the family fridge where it lasted many months until finally disappearing.

Today I wish you all the sunshine and happiness of the season and hope your day results in many fond memories. Share your fondest Easter memories with us before the Easter bunny hops out of sight.

Smiles across the miles,

Shawna Moore
ROUGHRIDER – Ellora’s Cave
HELLE IN HEELS – Ellora’s Cave
Shawna’s Myspace
Helle’s Myspace