Amy M. Schaefer
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From the Front Porch

I am an "accidental blogger". When I launched my writing career in March of 2014, one of the things that I decided to include was my journaling, which I have always found to be a comforting and therapeutic endeavor.  It was a big risk to open myself up in such a public forum, but it has taught me that, for the most part, we share far more experiences than we think. It's comforting to know I'm not alone!  (*the "Button Text" is the link to my first novel)
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Pearls of Wisdom

6/2/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
I have inspirational and/or funny quotes everywhere-on my fridge, on my computer, on post-its stuck to my desk, in notebooks and sometimes scribbled onto tiny bits of paper and shoved in random places. Why I do this is simple...when life takes me down rapids or over a massive waterfall, I grasp at these quotes like a hand-hold on a lifeline to steady my course until the waters smooth over into something more manageable! Aunt Mattie's generation (she was born in 1909) simply called them pearls of wisdom and as a child, I remember her sharing many of those pearls with me.

On the night before my mother's funeral in 1997, I was staying with her in the home where I grew up. I got up in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep, and quietly crept down the stairs. I walked by her bedroom, the door was ajar, and she whispered to me in the dark, "Come lay with me awhile." I crawled into bed with her and snuggled against her frail body, my mind full of troubles and my heart broken. She patted my hip the way she would when I was small and said, "Honey, I have seen war, lived through poverty during the Depression, and buried so many of the people I loved in my lifetime. You know how I get through all of that without letting it break me?" she asked. "No," I replied. "I don't even know how I will ever feel happy again," I confessed on a sob. "You will," she assured me. "You will because no matter how painful or bleak something feels, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel This, too, shall pass," she said. And it did. I still miss my mother and all the others I have loved in my life who have passed on in one way or another but that blinding, choking pain...with time, it passes. My crazy quote collection keeps Aunt Mattie close, as well as reminding me of all the things I need to remember, especially in difficult times, such as:

"A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all her might that which she desires." --Paulo Coelho

"The conversation between your fingers and someone else's skin is the most important discussion you can ever have." --Anonymous

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." --Steve Jobs

*Image from picswallpaper.com.

2 Comments
Yvette Aldrich
6/10/2014 01:29:28 pm

This one made me cry for so many reasons. I wish I had met Mattie. Barbara loved her so much.

Reply
Amy M. Schaefer
6/11/2014 01:38:44 am

When you are here, one night we'll snuggle and I'll introduce you to her. She quietly, graciously touched so many lives in her 90-something years that the ripples will be felt for many lifetimes beyond her passing. She loved children, had an infinite amount of patience, and not once in all the time I spent with her did I ever hear her say an unkind thing to or about another human being.

Sending you and Scott love and strength as you face the rocky road in front of you.

Always,
A.

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    About The Author

    I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter.

    Since then, I have learned to reach well beyond what I ever dared to think was possible. I've learned not to allow fear to stop me from whatever future I want to create!

    What keeps me grounded? My Tribe! What provides the wind beneath my wings? A well of reserves filled with unstoppable passion!

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  • Amy M. Schaefer, Writer
  • Blog: From the Front Porch
  • Novels
  • Short Stories
    • Children's Books
  • About the Author
  • Contact
  • Photo & Art Gallery