Jimmy and the Black Spot - Free Children's eBook

I wrote this children's book to encourage us all to see the needs of others.

Enjoy this free eBook

So far, no publisher has taken me up on this story.

If you are a publisher who'd like to see it illustrated and published, please email me!

Free children's eBook - The Forgotten Path

I wrote this children's book to encourage respect for the elderly.

Enjoy this free eBook of an adventurous story with an important message!

So far, no publisher has taken me up on this story.

If you are a publisher who'd like to see it illustrated and published, please email me! 

2 Words + 3 Words = 1 Word

     ~ the secret to happiness ~ 

Last week I chatted with two girls – best friends.

I asked them: “What’s the next big thing coming up that you’re excited about?” This is one of my favourite questions. It always unlocks a world of stories and potential mentoring topics.

One girl started, “Camping! We always go camping at Easter.”

“Cool,” I said, “Who is going with you?”

“Everyone! My family. My cousins. My grandparents.” Then she turned to look at the other girl. “And my best friend!”

“Wow!” I said to the other girl, “You get to go camping with her family! That’s cool.”

“Not just me!” She said, “My family comes, too. We do it every year.”

“That sounds like fun!” I laughed. “Do you go camping often?”

They both nodded their heads. 

Then the first girl’s eyes teared up. “But you know what?”

I saw something big coming. I leaned forward and focused on her eyes. “What?”

“Sometimes, my parents leave me with my grandparents,” her voice was a shaky whisper as she confessed, “and they go on holiday without me.”

“By themselves?” I said quietly.

She nodded.

“That’s AWESOME!” I nearly shouted, throwing my hands up in the air. “Do you know what that means?”

Scowling at my joy, she said, “What?”

“They love each other!” I clasped my hands together. “Am I right?”

“Yes,” she said, smiling sheepishly. “They always say that.”

“And they are proving it, by spending time together.” I said, “They are keeping their love alive and keeping your family strong by going away together. You are one lucky girl!”

“I am?” She looked happier, hopeful even.

“Yes, you are!” I leaned back in my chair. “You both are.”

“Your parents know the secret to happiness!” I cupped my hands together like they held a surprise. “Do you want to know the secret?” I peeked in my hands. “I have it here in my hands.”

“Yes,” they both said, excited.

“Repeat after me,” I said as I lifted my cupped hands up to my ear and paused to listen.

“I’m sorry!” I said.

“I’m sorry!” They both repeated.

My hands shook like there was something trying to get out. “Oh, there’s more to the secret!” I held it up to my ear.

I smiled. “I forgive you!”

“I forgive you!” They laughed, repeating me.

“Those five little words are the secret to happiness.” I said, “Your parents obviously know them well. I’m guessing they taught those words to you, already.”

Both girls nodded.

“You are the luckiest girls in the whole school.”

“We are?”

“Yup.”

Time for Self-Care

Self-care is choosing to actively spend time maintaining your overall health and happiness. Taking care of yourself leads to holistic healthiness – body, mind, social and spiritual wellbeing.

Daily Time: Find daily time for yourself. Start small. One nurturing activity each day will lead to beneficial long-term results.

Weekly Time: Switch off the technology and spend time with your family for an entire day each weekend. A day disconnected from work each week greatly benefits the health and well-being of both you and your family.

Group Time: Join a club that meets regularly. Spending time with peers doing something you love will increase your friendships which is proven to add years to your life!

Annual Time: A yearly holiday away from home, work, school and all the other responsibilities of everyday life is important for both you and your family. It doesn’t need to be expensive or distant, just get away and spend time having fun with those you love.

A happier healthier you improves relationships with family, friends and workmates.

Self-Calming Techniques

We all get overwhelmed. We could be angry, frustrated, anxious, tired or even hungry. Here are some simple strategies to help regain your calm. Learn them and teach them to your children.

1. Breathe. Fill your lungs as deeply as you can. Breathe out slowly.

2. Listen. Think/talk about three things you can hear in your environment. 

3. Look. Name five things you see around you. 

4. Draw. Doodle on a piece of paper for a few minutes.

5. Release. Make a tight fist, then release it.

6. Count. Slowly count to ten. 

7. Imagine. Take a mental holiday. Imagine every detail.

Some self-calming techniques will work better than others. Try each with your child. Talk about how each one affects you. Not only will you learn some better self-awareness and self-calming skills, you’ll get to know each other better.

One Secret of Success

This morning before taking my boys to the train for their first day of University for 2018, I learned a valuable lesson about success.

I said to the oldest, “Thanks for not telling me the torch was all the heat I needed to make it through the mountains!”

He laughed. “Well, I didn’t know that. I did a quest for the old man and got some warm clothes. That’s how I survived the cold.”

“Well,” I said, “Now I’m stuck. How do I get across the river?”

“There’s a bridge!” he laughed.

“Yes,” I said, “but there is a gap. I can’t get on the bridge.”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “You’ve got to use your magnet and put the metal door across the gap.”

“Ah…” I said, “of course.”

“Actually,” he continued, “there’s a boat a little further up the river, too.”

“What?” I said.

“Yeah, there’s often more than one way to solve the puzzles. That’s why Zelda is so easy.”

“I see,” I said. “Thanks for that, I feel much better now!”

We can all benefit from the lesson my son taught me. Success isn’t about perfection, it’s about progress. How your child accomplished a task may be different than how you did it, in your day. And that’s OK. In fact, it’s more than OK. It’s AWESOME!

Setting goals, overcoming roadblocks, achieving small victories are all part of being successful. Success isn’t about being perfect, it’s about moving one step further on your quest. It is achieved one step at a time. Success is about progress not perfection.

Laws, Limits and Lessons

Without boundaries life is less fun and often dangerous. Laws provide boundaries in society. We’ve all driven through an intersection when the traffic lights weren’t working. Everyone is on high alert and proceeds with extreme caution. But what if there were no traffic lights, no speed limits and we could drive on whichever side of the road we chose? Sounds like fun to some of us. But in reality, none of us would use the roads for fear of death. The boundaries provided by everyone respecting and obeying road rules allow each of us to regularly get to our destinations safely.  

Healthy families have boundaries, too. Families benefit from clear laws and limits in how we treat each other, respect our property, perform our daily routines and cooperate to get things done. Expecting others to be or do things without establishing laws and limits will lead to frustration and disappointment.

Just as drivers study the road rules, we must learn the laws and limits of our family. And to respect our boundaries, we first need to decide what a safe home looks like and then write laws and limits to create that home. Post them somewhere everyone is likely to see them. The fridge is a good place.

Just like riding in the car with a learner – we parents need to be in teaching mode and expect mistakes from our children. These broken laws and exceeded limits provide opportunities for lessons that can be told again later. We learn through trial and error. When a learner breaks a road rule the adult in the car is responsible – we get the ticket, the fine and the points. Parents who take this approach to raising children create safe environments for learning.

Every story we tell teaches a lesson to those around us. Our words reveal our focus, our purpose and what is important to us. You don’t tell stories about things that bore you. Whether it bothered you or bettered you, the stories you tell teach lessons to those around you.

So, write your family laws, set your family limits and teach your family lessons through the stories you tell about those laws and limits – when they were helpful and when they were difficult. The boundaries we set create the people we become!