We were lucky.

Other than some broken limbs and a chimney vent that was pulled shut, my family was okay on April 2, 1982. Our power went out for a few days, and that was about it.

Other families in Paris, Texas weren’t so lucky. Ten people died and 170 were injured.

I  recall vividly standing in the front yard of a friend’s house, watching the tornado approach us. Debris flew around it, looking for all the world like flying birds. Miraculously, just as we moved inside the tornado picked up and skipped our cluster of houses, only to resume its destruction nearby. From the safety of a hallway, we watched the monster rip metal off a horse barn. Again, miraculously, the animals were safe.

My mom, recklessly speeding in a car toward me, almost pulled over once and dove into a ditch. In that same spot the following day, we noticed the tornado had driven a huge section of picket fence into the ground. If she’d have stopped there, it would have killed her. Another miracle.

My piano teacher went to put the key in the front lock of his house only to have the house lift up and disappear. His family survived, but his child’s legs were broken. As a parent now, I can imagine his terror.

My heart goes out to Oklahomans affected by yesterday’s tragedy. I’ve already sent money to the Red Cross–the same organization that served my community so well all those years ago.

Will you join me in supporting the Red Cross in Oklahoma?

Because three decades after the tragedy in my hometown, I still feel pain when watching tornadoes on television. Sometimes I still have nightmares.

Nature, you see, is both beautiful and brutal.

And there’s a lot of work to be done in Oklahoma to put these good people on the path toward physical and emotional well-being again. They need us.

***

Image source (includes in-depth description of the Paris storm)

UPDATED:

A group of Texas bloggers using the #TXBloggers hash is writing posts to raise funds. You can read more on my friend Colleen’s blog.

Some of y’all recognize that gal in the red dress as my mom.

And, if you’re a regular reader, you know that I am honored to walk with her during these last years of her life. I’m her only child and thus her closest living relative. Therefore, I oversee and coordinate all aspects of her life. (She is in a nursing home currently, her body ravaged by rheumatoid arthritis. Her mind is a steel trap, however.)

In her honor, I will be talking about eldercare daily this week on Sulia.com.

When I asked some of my fellow Sulia writers what they would like to know about eldercare, one remarked: “We have had to learn to give [my mother] guidance when her thinking is off while observing her independence.”

I think this sentence is wonderful on so many levels.

First, yes, many elders struggle with mental health issues ranging from depression and anxiety (like the rest of us) to dementia. We must work with their healthcare providers to ensure to the best of our abilities that all of those issues are addressed rather than just the obvious ones. (Sometimes this means that we must apply a little, shall we say, gentle pressure to our caregiving “team members.”)

Second, one of the greatest gifts you can give your elder is to “observe her independence” as long as is reasonable and safe. It is a delicate balance providing support and boundaries for a parent, and this is where saying things like “tending to your aging parents is like becoming a parent to them” falls flat.

In most cases, these are grown adults with rich, full lives behind them. They have not only tasted independence but embraced it. We cannot “baby” our parents but must find loving ways to nurture them respectfully. Practicing empathy is a good place to start–how would you want to be treated? If your elder is of sound mind, can you talk to them openly about what they want and need while listening with empathy and without judgement? If you can, then that may help both of you.

Also it is useful to continue to redefine the notion of “independence” for ourselves and our parents. If we perceive and project that we perceive being newly wheelchair-bound as a tragic step down in quality of life, our parents are going to pick up on that. Conversely, if we work on our own issues about aging (perhaps talking with a life coach or counselor) and learn to see it as a natural part of life, we can open ourselves up to the full-measure of human experience.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic of eldercare both here and all this week (starting Monday, tomorrow) over on Sulia.com.

***

Updated: I’m adding links to the posts as they appear over there.

• Five Things You Need to Understand About Eldercare
• The Best Essay that I’ve Ever Read About Eldercare

At some point weeks ago here at RedWhiteandGrew.com I mentioned that I would dedicate time this summer to talking about writing.

Ta-da! Now I have two events lined up on that front. One is a panel, the other is a workshop. (Look for me to post about an online workshop soon, too, here at RW&G.)

Authors and Social Media Panel
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
7:30 AM to 9:00 AM
The Egg & I Thousand Oaks (Stone Oak)

MORE information with map and RSVP via Facebook

Have you written a book and wondered how to use social media to get the word out, market your work and increase sales?

Do you have a blog topic that keeps folks coming back for more post after post? What if you wanted to turn that blog into a book? Could you do it?

This month we have two authors who have successfully used social media to take their work to the next level using social media.

Lisa Thibault Pietsch is a local author who used smart tactics to get the word out and promote her book series: “Task Force 25″. Lisa has also taken her knowledge and translated it into workshops and teaching session. We’re thrilled to have her jon us to share some of her keys to success as well as some of her lessons learned.

Pamela Price is an award-winning blogger who has turned her passion for homeschooling and victory gardens into a lifestyle blog. Her blog caught the attention of a publisher which landed her a book deal. Pamela will share her story and tips for success in her session titled “From Blog Post to Bookshelf: One Writer’s Journey.”

How to Write Your First Book
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Parman Library (Stone Oak)
10 AM – 11:30 AM
No RSVP required

What’s the difference between a published author and someone with a great book idea? The published author integrates writing into her “regular” life, consistently uses basic organizational tips, effectively utilizes resources (including social media and the library!), and grasps the realities of the industry.

Topics include:

• Strategies for building the “habit” of writing into your busy life (technology, scheduling)
• Using social media both to write and to promote your work
• Organizational tips
• Resources and support
• How to keep up the momentum
• Options for publishing
• When to seek an agent

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“Being a Momma is in your heart. Kiddos may be birth children, stepchildren, four-footed children, feathered children, nephews, nieces and so many others. So, many blessings to all the Mommas!” – my childhood friend, Tisha.

(And to those of you who have lost a mother, loving thoughts to you, as well.)

Aren’t these gorgeous against the blue?

They were near our hotel, and I visited them every day that we were in England.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen cherry trees with blossoms in person, though I’ve been to Washington, D.C. just before and after they bloomed.

I did my best with my tiny camera to capture what it was like to walk under them–to share with my mother when we got back. Sadly, the video isn’t very good. Okay, the sound is DREADFUL.

Still, if you turn down the sound and watch it, you get the general idea.

First, thanks to Serenity Health for last week’s giveaway.

And congrats to ALLYSON on winning the lovely solar fountain. She won thanks to a repin of the original post.

She writes of her win:

I am in the process of creating a big garden full of flowers and edible ornamental [plants] for my sis for Mother’s Day. We so wanted to put a water fountain in, but there was no money for it in the budget. So not only did I win, so did she. I got to show her the pic tonight and she was just ecstatic!

Allyson has promised to share photos of the final project.

Second, I’m participating today in a blog hop hosted by Gifted Homeschoolers Forum. My contribution is over at HowtoWorkandHomeschool.com. You can find a complete list of the participating blogs over at the GHF Blog Hop page.

In case you’re wondering about the book’s progress, it’s being laid out this week. And I think that we’ve just agreed upon a title–but I still can’t tell you about that, yet.

I will, however. And soon.

Until that moment arrives, I’m gradually turning up the heat over at HowtoWorkandHomeschool.com. As part of that endeavor, I’m hosting an “online office hour” over on Facebook. It’s scheduled for Tuesday, May 7 at 7PM CST. And it’s FREE!

Y’all, it would help me out a lot if you’d share a link to this post so that I can start reaching out to parents and others who may be interested in the book as well as my coaching services.

You can also sign up to participate in the office hour via Facebook.

Thanks!

April is almost gone… but the memories of Paris remain.

Come along, my readers, for a trip down memory lane.

Gardeners in the Tuileries

Outside a restaurant near Notre Dame

(Photo credit: K. Price)

Before the lunch rush on the Rue Cler

Primroses on the Rue Cler

Roses on the Rue Cler (at Au Nom de la Rose)

Camellias near the Eiffel Tower

Night scene (by my husband)

Day scene of the Eiffel Tower

Near the bird market

Flowers, baguettes and a bicycle… what more could you want?

Five years. Whoa.

So much has happened to me–professionally and personally–during that time. And I’ve come to treasure the many relationships forged online through this blog and my other social media outreach.

I wasn’t sure how to mark the occasion, but then the folks at Serenity Health approached me to offer a giveaway to you all. (Full disclosure: I have in no way been compensated for this promotion, either in cash or in-kind gift(s).) They let me pick from among their tremendous selection of home and garden items, and I went with something blue! (Blue glazed pottery is a personal fave.)

The giveaway items a solar fountain in my favorite color. It is perfect for home garden or apartment patio. (You can read the details about it here.)

Think you’d like to own it?

Then read on for the details!

About this Contest

Serenity Health will ship it to one lucky reader free of charge. (It’s an $89.95 value not counting the shipping and handling.) The winner will be selected at random.

There are multiple ways for readers to enter this contest:

1. Leave a comment here on the blog.

2. Tweet a link on Twitter to this post and copy me ( @redwhiteandgrew ).

3. Share an image from this post on Pinterest and use this text: “RedWhiteandGrew.com is celebrating 5 years of blogging with a giveaway from Serenity Health.” (Or just repin this one.)

4. Leave a note on my Facebook page with a link back to this post telling me where you’d place this in your home or garden.

5. Leave a comment on my Sulia.com feed on this particular post.

You can register to win up to FIVE times. (Get it? That’s one time for each year of the blog’s existence.)

Deadline for entries is 5PM CST on Friday, May 3, 2013.

The winner will be announced on this post and on my Sulia.com page the following week.

GOOD LUCK!

And thanks so much to Serenity Health for donating this lovely item.

I’m a writer.
It took me almost 32 years, two degrees, and three full-time jobs to lay claim to that term.

And here I am, ten years later waiting for my first non-fiction book to come out and working on a novel.

Curiously, my parents *wanted* me to be a writer. They gave me a succession of typewriters beginning in fourth grade and encouraged me to take creative writing in high school alongside typing classes. They applauded my awards in high school journalism contests.

But I felt like… an imposter. A phony. A fraud. I figured that my success was dumb luck. I kept that fear locked up inside of me, allowing it to stand between me and what I longed to be, what I was made to be.

What finally happened to release me from my self-imposed limits?

I was hired to work in fundraising for a non-profit arts group, where I learned how to write grant proposals. My boss was a whiz at preparing the budget, but I was the one with the chops for the statements. After writing almost daily for months–and with much praise from my superiors, it finally clicked in my head.

I wasn’t an imposter.

I was a writer.

And that’s when my professional life became not just satisfying but deeply satisfying. I dropped down to work part-time while I started my freelance career, then became a magazine editor (a job that I loved), and then switched back to freelancing when we moved home to Texas. Lucky for me, social media came along and gave me multiple outlets to express myself.

In hindsight, I know exactly what changed for me. I made writing a daily habit. If I had it all to do again, I would have started that habit a lot sooner and not been intimidated by the idea of writing, writing, writing as much as I could, whenever I could, about whatever I fancied.

I would have accepted my need to write as part of who I am.

But that was all years ago, and bygones are just that… bygones.

I’m happy that I learned the lesson at all, and while I was still young enough to do something about it.

What dreams are you waiting to fulfill? What talents have you set aside because of “imposter syndrome”?

Related Content on Sulia.com: If Hemingway Said It…

* When this post initially went out to my blog subscribers, there was a grammatical error. So I chuckled and then I fixed it. That’s another thing that I’ve learned… mistakes happen. Fix a problem or chalk it up to experience. But don’t ever let the fear of making a mistake stop you from writing, if that’s what you want to do.