Uncategorized Archives - From the Write Side

PANTSING THROUGH AUGUST

If I have learned anything over the past eighteen months, it is the simple fact that life can change in unexpected ways in the space of a hiccup. Making plans to travel, sending deposits for tickets, and planning to attend conferences, may or may not work out. Yet I persist, penciling in dates and researching airplane flights, trusting in the belief that things will work out as they should. In other words, I'm an optimistic pantser! Is this any way to go through life? Let's [...]

By irvinjgdm|2021-07-31T17:32:38+00:00July 31st, 2021|Essays, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Slinking Into Summer

OMG, it's June...summer sun, sweat, sandy beaches, sweet tea, and Slurpees...this year a languid slide replacing the frenzy of the regular routine...remember bursting from the schoolroom doors, cheering the arrival of the long vacation? With all things virtual that have filled our days, how, I wonder, will it go this year? Now, I do live in Ohio, so counting on normal on any given day is a little like playing craps. You shoot for a temperature point and hold your breath. This Memorial Day Weekend [...]

By irvinjgdm|2021-05-31T15:33:31+00:00May 31st, 2021|Essays, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Don’t Stop Believing

As I write this note, the two-inch snowfall melts outside the window, and the weatherman predicts temps in the twenties tonight. I have covered all my tender peas, lettuce, and spinach, but my heart quails at the prospect of losing blossoms on the tulip pear or on the pansies in the window box. Still, beneath the coverlet of white, spring trembles, preparing to begin again the rites of renewal and growth. And then that song plays in my head..."Don't stop believin..." I step away for [...]

By irvinjgdm|2021-05-01T23:13:23+00:00May 1st, 2021|Essays, Uncategorized|0 Comments

The Tides of March

What does it mean to shift from one season to another when the snow still falls and the wind whistles ice-laced tunes across the brown-coated land? What if the shamrocks delay their debuts and the violets linger beneath the swell of crusty dunes piled high against the cedars? Conversely, as we 'spring' ahead with the time change, how to account for the early peek of perennial beds, the too-early-to-survive budding of blossoms that, in years past, remained dormant until they were assured of milder temps? [...]

By irvinjgdm|2021-02-28T13:24:00+00:00February 28th, 2021|Uncategorized|0 Comments

An October Like No Other

When I was a kid, the best thing about October was the run-up to Halloween. The expectation of a bagful of treats overrode any other considerations. Those with birthdays that month had their happiness doubled by the promise of presents and candy. The weeks leading up to All Hallows' Eve echo with the memory of prior years, sweet chocolate cheers, and little ones announcing their costume choices, mostly homemade or cobbled together from whatever clothing Mom could spare. This year, 2020, feels so much different. [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-09-30T15:14:06+00:00September 30th, 2020|Essays, Uncategorized|0 Comments

October 2020 Author Of The Month: KATHLEEN AMBRO

I met Kathleen Ambro at a writers' gathering before the pandemic took them all away. She was delightful. We shared information and talked about our writing. I'm always intrigued by the variety of ways we choose to tell our stories. As an author of children's books and of a biographical novel, she has some insights to share with us. As we talked, I knew I wanted to host her on my website because she had a story to share with other writers interested in the [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-10-08T17:36:31+00:00September 30th, 2020|Author of the Month, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Let’s Dance!

The summer grows hotter. The world roils with the pandemic. I stretch the limits of my housebound sanctuary and, when the mood strikes, I dance. Visiting our grandchildren last weekend, I was struck by the eagerness of my five-year-old grandson to hold a dance party. Cooped inside due to heat and COVID, regular outdoor activities have been curtailed. I understand the need to move, to shake our legs and shake off the anxiety that rides us like a shawl these days. He found his father's [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-08-01T13:59:52+00:00August 1st, 2020|Essays, inspirational, motivational, philosophical, Uncategorized|0 Comments

2020 August Author of the Month: VALERIE J. COLEMAN

My August author is a dynamo of energy, enthusiasm, and personality. She is multi-talented, writing, editing, publishing, and presenting at conferences, both in person and now in the virtual arena. I can't tell you how pleased I am to introduce this lovely woman to all of you. Please welcome Valerie J. Coleman to the writer's circle for this dog-day month that finds us still hunkering in place and longing to be out and about again. Janet Irvin: Valerie, thank you so much for taking time [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-08-01T13:59:37+00:00August 1st, 2020|Author of the Month, Featured, Uncategorized|0 Comments

How To Survive and Thrive With Uncertainty

If there's one thing we all know, here in May of 2020, it is that the future is more uncertain than ever. A funny little virus with spikes on its belly has infected the world, overwhelmed our hospitals, and thumbed its nose at our efforts to send it away. Life as we know it has changed. We sequester in place, using time in untimely ways. The rush to sports practices and music lessons, to grocery stores and fast-food restaurants has boiled away. We stare from [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-04-30T13:44:55+00:00April 30th, 2020|contemplative, emotive, Essays, inspirational, philosophical, Uncategorized|0 Comments