What's in a Mother? #RB4U @melissa_keir

What's in a Mother??

Welcome back. It's Melissa Keir, again...Today is the day after Mother's Day but I wanted to take a moment to talk with you about your mom, your grandmother and the wonderful women in your life.

I have been a mother for 25 years, although not a grandmother yet... I'm sure that will come in time- no rush! But I've had almost 50 years as a daughter, dealing with the complex relationships that occur between a mother and a daughter. I'm sure there are many more qualified people reading this, who have their own insights to share...I welcome them. I love learning...it's in part why I'm a teacher.

Mother's have a special place in our hearts. We strive to be like them and often times... unlike them as we learn just who we are. My own relationship with my mother was filled with those conflicts. I remember my mom being my fiercest supporter when I was asked to write 150 times "I will not talk in class". So much so that she often wrote some of the lines herself to take a stand against using writing as a punishment. She ran for School Board Member on the same platform. Looking back, I have to agree. Writing shouldn't ever be a punishment. Too many children hate writing or physically struggle with writing, so why make it worse??


As a teenager, I wanted to be anything but my mom. We looked a lot alike. People remarked on it, how me more than my other sisters looked similar. It came back to haunt me after my mother's death because it was hard for my dad to be close to me. I felt it was how much I resembled her, both in personality and appearance. 

My mom attended my school dances as a chaperone and was so loved by everyone. She danced with all the hot guys and even stood in the "kissing line" for a peck on the cheek. She'd even gone back to school to get her hairdresser's license and cut/styled many of my friends' hair.

It was at this time, I wanted to stand on my own two feet, be my own person. I rebelled. I'm sure she was laughing behind her hands. I took up smoking only to be shown that she had done it many years before. I dressed outrageously, only to be reminded that my mom wore jeans before many women were permitted to.

This was a constant struggle between us, until the day I stood on my own two feet as a wife...then mother. During those years, we were never closer. She's who I called when I needed help baking her special breakfast treat, or help with a colicky baby. She was so proud of my teaching degree and work in the schools.

Too quickly, she left my life. One day we were planning our holiday dinner and the next...a funeral. Now we are back full circle...


My mom wrote a manuscript for a romance novel when I was a teen. She submitted it in large manila envelopes to many publishing houses. Never acceptances but sometimes re-writes or maybe's. While my mom instilled my love of writing and reading- especially romances... she never was able to see any of my work.  I believe that she would have been my biggest supporter and critic as well. She didn't pull punches with me. 

Each Mother's Day is bittersweet. I'm a mother to two wonderful adults now and yet, I still long for more moments with my own mother. Her advice, her acceptance and recognition. I can only hope...I've done her proud.



 http://www.melissakeir.com

See you next month---same bat time...same bat channel! :)

Dear Diary.....Reflections on Life #Musings #RB4U

Dear Diary... Reflections on Life

Hello I'm Melissa Keir and welcome to day of the month where I get to be witty and hopefully give you something to think about. August is my birthday month and also the time when most children go back to school. For me, it's also been a time of reflection. At Romance Books 4 U, we are talking about diaries. I didn't really have one since I had four nosy sisters who loved to read and share my secrets, but I did use my computer as a diary...sharing my fears, pain, and silly moments. 

Since August is about Diary and reflection... Here's my question to you.....

Sometimes the words can inspire you to step outside the box, enjoy life, savor things around you and give into those moments of quirky happiness.

 The words can pick you up when you are feeling down or make you pause and think about what's going on around you. We are not here alone and one word, smile, or gesture can go a long way!

 

Sometimes the words can remind us not to worry about what others said (even what we ourselves say in our head about our weight, nose, figure, brains...). We are so much harder on ourselves....

.....And others are just so jealous that they use words to strike out and in hurting others, they can make themselves feel better. Just remember that when you look back on those days and the words, feelings, memories.... 

You were so much more than the size of your clothes, being a cheerleader/band kid.... You are the product of all the pieces... the good... the bad... the silly... the weird... the smarts... the athleti

c....YOU... WONDERFUL AMAZING YOU!!




Thank you for sharing your insights today...I'd be hard-pressed to say it in only two words....So here's some leeway if you can't say it in only two words. Just share what you'd tell yourself....


Mine..... I'm happy with me and my life. (and that's what matters) :)







Musings of a Madcap Mind.....by Melissa Keir
It's not a romance novel but does feature your own happily ever after if you will only reach for it!!

One woman’s musings become another woman’s courage…

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you worry about the person you’ve become? Sitting down at the computer, Melissa spent many hours reflecting on her life, family, and relationships. These musings, recipes, and poems tell the tale of one woman's changing thoughts and feelings about life. 

Come along with her as she explores her reflections, using her words which mirror her changes.

EXCERPT:

Birthdays….the word conjures up memories of balloons, cake and pin the tail on the donkey (weren’t those games always lame?). As a child, birthdays were second in importance of holidays. Only Christmas was more important. You would agonize over which friends to invite and what to put on your wish list.

Parents plan for these parties like a general planning for war. Each party needs to be different and better than last years (or the little girl’s down the street). I remember the year my daughter wanted a pool party. Her birthday is in May—not exactly pool weather in Michigan! So we rented two rooms at a local hotel and had our party there to my daughter’s delight and her friend’s envy!

As you get older, birthdays change. You dream of breakfast in bed, your favorite dinner (in a restaurant- not cooking it yourself!), and the PERFECT gift. Quickly this fantasy fades. Reality sets in and birthday just becomes another day. You still have laundry to do and bills to pay. It only takes one or two years to understand that birthdays are very different now that you are an adult and certainly as a mom. My first birthday after getting married was a shocker. Not only my husband forgot but my family did too! Only after listening to my crying for hours, did my husband pull a frozen pie out of the freezer, put candles on it, and sing happy birthday.

Some adults fear and dread their coming birthdays because they mark another year closer to old age and death. They fight getting older. Just go to the make-up isle of any store to see that. The cosmetics industry makes tons of money off that fear. I remember that my mom never would admit her true age. She would tell everyone (each and every year) that this was her 25^th birthday. We weren’t quite that gullible. We would tease her about WHICH 25^th birthday this one was.

Available in Print and ebook: Amazon

VETERANS DAY - A TIME FOR REFLECTION

Yay! Tomorrow is November 11, Veterans Day. A day off! No Mail! We get to wear red poppies, wave flags, and go to a parade!

Many American tend to think of Veterans Day as just another day off. Or, if you don't have a holiday, it may be just another day when the mail isn't delivered.

That's too bad, because it should be a day of reflection and thanks to the multitude of armed services veterans, and their families, who have kept our country "the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

Don't confuse it with Memorial Day, which honors those service men and women who have died in the service of their country.

HISTORY - Nothing is easy when it involves the federal government

US President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day for November 11, 1919, one year after the armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month and brought to a halt the actual fighting in WW I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed seven months later, on June 28, 1919.

I was surprised to read that Congress didn't officially recognize the end of WW I until June 4, 1926. It's hard for me to envision signing the treaty without acknowledging the end of the war. However, in the same resolution, Congress requested President Coolidge to proclaim November 11 as a national holiday. This is the same day celebrated in other parts of the world as Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Victory in Europe Day, and other names.

An act approved in May 13, 1938, made the 11^th of November a legal federal holiday, known as "Armistice Day", dedicated to the veterans of WW I and the cause of world peace.

Something as non-partisan/non-controversial as this took almost ten years. No wonder we're in trouble.

Then, on June 1, 1954, Congress approved legislation changing the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day, a holiday which honors of the veterans of all wars, not just WW I, and celebrated on October 25. The first Veterans Day was celebrated on October 25, 1971.
 

Confusion ensued. No one was happy.

On September 20, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a law which returned Veterans Day to the original date of November 11, beginning in 1978.

Sigh of relief. This pleased just about everyone, although I used to wonder why my employer gave us a union-negotiated holiday on October 25, when the official holiday was November 11. Now I understand.

Hopefully, everything is settled for a while. And it pleases me that Veterans Day hasn't been moved from the specific date. That's not an accident. The proponents wanted to preserve the significance of November 11 and to focus attention on the purpose of Veterans Day.

A TIME FOR REFLECTION AND THANKS

As Senator Mike Johanns said,

"Nothing we can do in Congress will ever fully return the favor of those who have given so much for America.  But we must do all we can to honor them.  All Americans share in the responsibility of caring for our veterans who have defended our freedom.

Fewer causes are so imperative or so noble.  This Veterans Day, we remember the service to our brave men and women in uniform.  We thank them for their sacrifice and for their service."

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE PAST AND TO THOSE MEN AND WOMEN WHO CONTINUE TO SERVE AND PROTECT OUR FREEDOM…AND THEIR FAMILIES.

Romantic Suspense series Tour Director Extraordinaire by R. Ann Siracusa

All For A Dead Man's Leg

First Date - free read short story

All For A Fist Full of Ashes

Halloween In The Catacombs - free read short story 
Destruction of the Great Wall - release date November 9, 2012

First Christmas Follies - release, December 2012

 

Sci Fi Romance 

All In The Game 

Breathless Press Buy Link