Month: April 2018

At the beginning of this adventure,  mistakes, if that is possible, were made.  Those “mistakes” now show the road my book has gone down to become what it is today.

A “mistake” made in the beginning was not always using the right pen.

Now, what is the right pen?  What it would be for me, may be something different for you.  You may want everyone to write with whatever they want to write with, to show how different people are.  Maybe you want to use a lot of different colors.  Maybe you want girls to sign with pink and boys with blue….who knows what is right for you?

What I found to be right for me is the pen my daughter gave me with my book.  It is perfect because it writes clearly, cleanly and easily. Not like this! No blotches and no bleeding go through to the other page.   If this is what bled through, think how overpowering it is on the other side of the page.  And what happens to the person I find who has a July 15 birthday?  Only time will tell.

And as seen in the photo below, one signature overpowers the entire page.

So that is when I decided to carefully provide the pen that works best for my book.

You can find the pen I use at this link:

Annie’s Favorite Pen

So pick your weapon, keep it on hand and find your right to write!

 

 

 

 

Who do you listen to the most each day?  Who is your favorite person to listen to?  The person we listen to the most, each and  everyday, almost non-stop, is ourselves talking to ourselves when  we are thinking.   And sometimes Self comes up with the funniest thoughts.

One day, for no particular reason, Self said to Myself, “How many people are alive today that have known you for your entire life?”  Myself replied, ” I have never thought of that before.”

So Self talked some more and came up with seven people.  Seven people in the entire world who Myself knew were still living, who have  known me since the day I was born.  Two aunts, two uncles, one sister, one cousin and my mom.

Then Self said to Myself, “Wouldn’t it be fun to get all of these people in your birthday book?”  And Myself replied, “That is a great idea.”

It took nearly two years to go to several different places to see these special people.   These extraordinary individuals have played an unusual part in my life story, and I seem to just take them for granted because they have just always been there.     How special it was to be able to watch them sign their names in my book.  Hopefully, I was able to tell them how thankful I am for their part in my life.

It was a wake-up call to how fleeting life is.  A wake-up call to see these life long connections as an important  part of my life.  The ones that have been in my story for decades.

So when you talk to yourself, take some time to appreciate the people that have been there for the long haul.   Self told Myself  it was time well spent!

As you begin your journey, you will have many of the same experiences I have had since people are alike in so many ways ….. and yet you will experience things never dreamed of, since people are so different in so many ways!

As my quest has progressed, there are things I wish I’d done differently from the start.  As a result, a set of “rules” has grown out of my different experiences.  However, there is one rule that is the MOST important rule of all! 

 

RULE # 1

NEVER WRITE A PERSON’S NAME IN YOUR BOOK!!!  

Each person has to write THEIR name on THEIR birthday! 

Why?

There is a totally unstudied, unresearched, unproven reason why I made that rule.  Let me explain.

My dad has been gone for many years, but there is one picture of him that is my favorite.  It is so completely the essence of who Dad is.  Therefore, I have concluded that there is something special about people when they are writing.  They are transferring some of who they are onto that piece of paper!  It’s a moment when the brain and  heart of the person ends up on the page.  Each person has a specific way to write.   And then…… when the person is writing THEIR NAME, maybe a little bit more of who they are is being transferred to that page.  And then…… when they are writing THEIR NAME on THEIR BIRTHDAY, I believe — if you sneak a look at them — you will see a bit of that real person.  

When Dad  posed for this  picture he was just trying to present himself in the best way he could.   It’s just him posing! But when he is writing, he is thinking … thinking about how to transfer his thought into letters.  When Dad was sitting at his desk writing — he wasn’t posing, he was just being him.

Also, when people are signing the book themselves, they add thoughts and ideas that bring the book  alive.

So, my unscientific conclusion is that when someone signs your book, you have a small piece of them right there, to remember and enjoy, and you get to experience — maybe, for a moment — that person being truly themselves.

 

 

This little book is one of the best birthday gifts I have ever received. Before my daughter  wrapped it up for me she found a list of all the special birthdays in my life.

Have you ever paused in this busy, crazy world and gone through a yearly calendar to find each date that means something to you? Like October 25th.  Every time I hear  October 25th , I think of Mom. In my world, October 25th  is Mom’s birthday.

When my daughter found one of my special days, she took a little sticky note and put it on that day with the person’s name on it. Then, when I would get to be with that person, they would take the sticky note off and write their name on their birthday on the TOP line of their day.

But, whoa! What if that person is no longer around to write their name on their birthday. That is how it was for my Dad’s birthday. Dad has been gone for 8 years. Well, my ingenious daughter solved that problem.

She found letters that loved ones, who are now gone, had written to me and cut their signature out and pasted it on their day.

With her careful preparation, my book was then given to me to complete the task of finding a birthday for every single day of the year.

When you have all your special days saved for those special people in your life, then you are ready to begin your journey of finding old friends, new friends, relatives and those special “nobodys” that enter your life for a brief moment who become a special somebody to you.

So I welcome you to follow along and catch the vision to see how this can happen and I hope you will have as much fun, fewer mistakes and as many surprising moments as this little book has brought to me.