Home Sweet Home Ohio
We have returned from our fabulous week in Toronto. And it’s good to be home.
Miss M and I loved spending time with friends, toodling around town, and being back in a big city again. Miss M kept saying, “Look at the traffic! Look at all the people!” She was in her element. And I found it so relaxing – the city energy, diversity, anything goes attitudes, freedom, accessibility… I am definitely a city girl.
Plus, it is such a joy to be feeling like my old self again. I am detoxing from the chemo and my body is changing. I’m regaining energy. There’s no more nausea. No more leg pains or head pains. I’m feeling healthy. It’s so amazing. It makes the remaining meds, falling off fingernails, and bald patches on my head so much easier to deal with.
I find that since the diagnosis I ask the “big questions” of myself a lot more often. When you take an honest look at your own mortality it brings a new awareness to your life. I saw on Oprah’s OWN network that actor Rainn Wilson has even started a new media company SoulPancake with this objective in mind. Ask the big questions. Get talking.
My life is truly a gift (as are all our lives) and I feel this new drive to figure out who I want to be and what I want from life. To make my remaining years the best possible.
Our last night in Toronto we went out for Chinese food (at my request for good authentic Asian food – something that’s hard to come by in my new home of Ohio)… At the end of the meal we got our fortune cookies. I couldn’t believe what mine said:
“You will become an accomplished writer.”
It’s funny because as I got older I swore I would NEVER be a writer (or any kind of artist for that matter). I wanted a “real” job with a steady paycheck. Coming from a family of artists I knew firsthand the struggle of trying to be an artist for a living. And there was no way I was going that route.
But as a child writing was always something I loved to do. I was constantly writing novels in my little Campfire notebooks. Putting pencil to paper and writing sagas of teenage angst, crushes, and family drama… I would spend hours outside on the front porch writing. Or an entire afternoon devouring a book from cover to cover. The truth is that writing and reading have always been an integral part of who I am.
The fortune cookie got me thinking about my passion for the written word. And reminded me that in order to find your passion it is important to look at what you loved to do as a child. When we were young, free, and unencumbered by adult responsibilities. Maybe it’s time we revisit those loves. Rekindle the joy. Discover the passion. Bring it back into our lives.
What did you love to do as a child?
Be sure to keep asking the big questions. Peace. – T
Thanks for helping me to begin my day with wonder… A smile spreads across my face as I embrace the loving warmth emanating from your writing. It is truly your gift, your passion, your destiny.
I feel so blessed to be a part of this journey with you. As the wind and rain fall outside my window, it is the perfect day to remember, to question, and to explore and rekindle my passions.
Love you…
I am so happy that your are sharing your journey–and your wonderful news–with us.
To answer the question, when I was a child I loved to act. I grew up to become a theatre major. But then, when I was about 20, I decided to become a professor of English. During my senior year at university, I quit doing theatre: no acting, no directing, no stage managing, no nothing. 20 years later I found myself in Seattle, but splitting up with my partner of 20 years. I had to rediscover myself all over again. So I joined Peace Corps, and then moved back to my hometown. One of the first new people I met invited me to work on a show. I have rediscovered my love of theatre. If I had stayed in Seattle, I would not be the person I am now. You are so right: reconnecting with the passions of our childhood can help us remember who we are now, and who we want to become.
Namaste,
Marie
You try and raise your kids right….and then they grow up and become writers!
Kidding aside, I couldn’t be more pleased. You obviously have the gift, if you want to use it.
You definitely have a gift! Coming from one writer to another.