 Whatever you do, don't call him a "Writer!"
He is a thief, and a damn good one.
He is the only thief I know (all the others have not revealed themselves to me as thieves, or at least I haven't tied them to anything missing yet).
He steals the stories of lives, and tells them amazingly well. He is a Storyteller, and I would love for you to meet him.
Caleb Pirtle III
The picture to the left is quite misleading, because it looks as if this guy is retired, his only job now might be rocking on the porch or fishing. Actually, he is one of the most prolific, engaging writers of blogs and books in my Tribe.
Caleb researches, writes and publishes blog posts daily - sometimes two or three a day - and somehow finds time to also write and publish fiction. I love his writing style, and never stop reading one of his posts once I start, no matter the length. In a time when lack of time is the driving force, his posts are a relaxation and a discovery all at once. He always hooks me...always, and I stay to the end and often comment, because he also touches some emotion that makes me want to share. How could you stop reading a post entitled The Secret of a Long Marriage with the line.... “It’s simple,” he said. “Me and my wife don’t play volleyball.”
Caleb's style is direct, and he hooks his readers with amazingly engaging sentences like, "He knew where the dirt lay and owned the shovel to dig it up" or, "Henrietta Lacks died in anonymity. Her cells were going viral......The men and women in the white coats became famous. The men and women in the gray flannel suits became rich" or, "Life is a cruel and terrible author. But life doesn’t write the final chapter."
I could go on and on, but that would rob you of the discoveries that await.
All of my favorite posts have an "aha" moment - Caleb is very good at creating these, and needs very few words to catch me.
So, I invite you to sit back and read some stories. Start here, and just click on a title that sounds interesting. Before you know it, you will be looking at the clock and cursing. It's not his fault you missed that appointment, because you were so engrossed in an amazing tale. I know, I once forgot to pick up my youngest from school for that very same reason.....oops, did I just type that?!Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 Every time I visit the social media giant with a face, I find something that opens my creative book. Whether it's a SomeECards.com cartoon or an Albert Einstein quote, something stirs, and I must write.I think it's the common thread running through all human life. All moms go through the same choices and emotions, but some of us do it with more sass or grace than others (guess which group counts me as a member). All writers go through the same angst, excitement and hope, but some are more commercially successful, some are more tribally successful and some are more poetically successful than others (again, I'm in there somewhere).Because of the common human thread that weaves this world, we writer-types can always find something to write about while trolling facebook. I bet you can find lots from that book on this blog if you just read the archives or search the categories, but I want to read what you have written, and I can't wait to weave myself into your thread.What content have you created from Facebook?Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 The business I started after breaking both my legs at 8 months pregnant will turn 10 next month. Many waves have crashed my bow, but the resulting rainbows have made the storms worth the energy!Join me for an amazing celebration with giveaways worthy of any birthday party. Keep an eye on the horizon, and hang on for the ride! The rainbow is forming...Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
Yes, Crater Lake in Oregon holds the Guinness World Record title for the deepest Lake in the U.S., and the clearest lake in the world! I took this picture in July, 2012 while on a trip to Crater Lake National Park with my family. Wizard Island beckoned to us, and we took the boat tour around the lake in the early morning light. We were dropped off on the island with 12 other people, hiked to the top amidst the trees, rocks and Bald Eagles, and breathed in the freshest, most beautifully deep perspective. Almost as beautifully deep as you.Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 Life-changing milestones just around the corner are making me more mindful of the time I have in front of me. The hourglass is running out, and if I live to 100, I'm half way there. Yes, I'm in my 50th year on this planet...if I lived on any others, I don't remember.
I also have a child just starting high school. Talk about a milestone...letting go. I feel very strongly the lyrical meaning of "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" by Sting. I am preparing to set him free, and it's scary and exciting all at the same time...just like when gave birth to him.
I now understand I must be more mindful of my actions, not just in parenting, but in everything I do.
I am one of those types who can get sucked into the black hole of links imbedded in everything I read online, so my day could easily pass by me faster than a toddler escaping his mother. Consequently, online is the one area I must fight to stay mindful every minute. To this end, I have started putting every little thing I need to accomplish each day on my calendar, and I adhere to my "social media posting/reading" time slot more strictly than any other. Because there are several wonderful writers whose posts I visit and comment often, I will need to make time to seek out, and read new writers weekly in order to expand my mental horizons with new information and opinions. I now know why posts and books are getting shorter and shorter - supply is following demand. I also use HootSuite to schedule regular postings to both Facebook and Twitter, and keep them scheduled at least 5 days in advance.
My mindfulness is also being applied to my writing. I have always been a "project" person - I get ideas, and if I don't write them down or record them on my iPhone while driving, they are lost forever...or until I happen to experience the same impetus to think of them again. This more than anything else has allowed me to get more writing done in a shorter amount of time! Since I am sort of a procrastinator...okay a lot of...even though I love to write, it is much easier to read. I can use a deadline as an excuses to lollygag all day, and power through my work at the last minute. With my new mindfulness that life is running out, I only allow myself this laziness occasionally, rather than weekly.
Back to my 14 year old...I only have 1460 days until he goes to college. Actually, I only have 12,030 HOURS of my son's time over the next four years until I let him loose on the world to make his own mark. (Yes, I'm also showing my OCD in having calculated this number four years in advance, considering extra time for weekends and holidays and only 6 hours during the school days, but if I'm confessing my procrastination, I might as well go all the way.) This number really made me sit up and say, "What?!" like I did when I heard Bill say what he did with Monica was not considered sex. I must have heard that wrong, I'm sorry, calculated that wrong...I don't understand...How could I only have mere hours left for my son to wake up every day to a breakfast I make, and go to sleep every night to my "L'amo"...? What about my youngest? He's turning 11 next month, and middle school goes by in a blink!
Hence, my mindfulness in everything I do. I won't overreact to this realization that I'm like Wile E. Coyote chasing after my Road Runner of a life. I won't wait outside the bathroom door while my oldest is inside taking a shower just to say, "I Love You" when he comes out - he told me that was creepy. I won't write for hours on end because I have so much to say, and so little time - my weak bladder muscles won't allow that.
I will simply be mindful of my thoughts and actions, and exercise my power of choice. I don't have time or energy to waste on petty thoughts, conversations and deeds. Life and love are too beautiful to cast a shadow on the world through my heedless actions.How do you keep yourself mindful of all you want to accomplish and enjoy each day? Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 I have an idea!
I know what you're saying..."So what else is new, Mary, you get ideas all the time. How do we know this one is any different than all those others written in your little notebook?!"
First of all, my notebook isn't so little. Secondly, I'm totally devouring and digesting this one until it becomes...no not that...a book full of Everything Mommy Loves.
I need your help, however. This idea isn't about me, it's about all other Mothers who can express themselves and Everything Mommy Loves in 140 characters or less.
If you are up to the challenge, and want your Mommy Love shouted out to the world, please visit MommyLoves140 and find out how you can contribute. (The title of the actual book will be much more glamorous and catch, I promise!) Pass this on to every Mom you know, and let's see how far around the world the Mommy Love spreads. Love is the universal language, after all...or is that music?
If we get enough Moms to participate and share meaningful, insightful, snarky, loving, sarcastic, nurturing, funny (you get the picture) messages about Everything MommyLoves in 140 characters or less, I will do all the work to publish the book created by all the amazing messages by amazing mothers, and all those contributing get their name/twitter/facebook/business name/website/etc. included! I will donate all profits to a children's charity, and would love some ideas on those you love! Just give me some suggestions, and together we can make a difference in a few more lives.
The page listed above says it all, and if you have any questions or comments you know where to find me, right?!
Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Mom ~ Entrepreneur
Tweet Me
Like Me
Read Me like a Book
 Jo VonBargen...her poetry is as musical and resonate to me as the Italian language and my fingers on my cello. On second thought, my fingers are nowhere near as moving as her words. Thankfully, I found her through my first Pixel Pal, Bert, and she has welcomed me into her world with the natural, raw language that is uniquely hers.
Like all true voices of the human spirit, her work cannot be easily explained. Adjectives like transcendent, deep, soulful, beautiful, heartfelt, scary, painful, peaceful, moving and intimate are used, but to really understand, you must experience.The Day Will Come, when you hopefully visit Jo in Texas through the pixels on your Kindle, Nook or computer, and you will use those same adjectives and know that she is "seasoned and wise."Pick up any of her books, especially the latest, and you will wonder how you ever got through life without her words. Here is her Amazon page, Twitter handle and Blogs, so start following! Go ahead, I dare you. Open your mind and heart and you will certainly follow it to her, soul open in awe.
Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 You probably don't see it, because neither do I. It's just beyond the horizon, just out of sight. That experience we've never had before...do we really want to see it before it gets here? Do we want to be forewarned in time to prepare?
Both my sons (as well as their parents) will have that experience this fall. One is going to high school, and the other is starting middle school. Just like everything else in life, there are benefits and drawbacks to knowing, or not knowing what's coming.
My high schooler has no idea what his new adventure will bring, because he has no friends already traveling the path to guide him. The campus is huge, and scary, just like the seniors. Luckily, he will play trumpet in Marching Band, so he is being exposed to the campus and some of it's inhabitants before school starts in preparation for the upcoming Football season. He is still very nervous.
My middle schooler has an even better idea what awaits. You see, his big brother had already been to his middle school, and we have toured the campus throughout three years of Orientations, Back to School Nights, Open Houses and Band Concerts. The Music Director already has a spot for him in the Trombone section, and his Principal was the Vice Principal in his Elementary School until 3 years ago. He is still scared.
Inherent personality probably plays the largest part in how we anticipate a new adventure or a fork in the road in our current one. My oldest is a "glass half full" kind of guy, so he is a little more optimistic about what awaits him, and being tall for his age, he feels a little more secure in the way he will carry himself at the start of this new journey. My youngest is a "glass half empty" kind of guy, so even though he knows most of what awaits him, he is concentrating on what he doesn't know, and since this pessimism creates some difficulties when making new friends, those fears are maximized.
Sometimes it's better not knowing what awaits, because we have an opportunity to bring a more positive outlook to new situations, however, the blind polly-anna may be blind-sided. Sometimes it's worse knowing what's around a corner, because we spend time anxiously anticipating the negatives, but the pessimist can also be pleasantly surprised when it's not so bad after all.
Even a detour in the road on the way to the grocery store can bring about these optimistic or pessimistic attitudes, so you don't need offspring to relate.
The picture above shows us watching the sunset last night, the three of us and the pups (poor dad is home working) with the entire beach to ourselves. At that moment, I knew we would all handle whatever happens...just like the waves.
Which do you prefer, knowing what awaits, or taking it as it comes?
Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweetMommyLoves to Chat!Everything MommyLovesSay Bump and Take a Left
 Sorrel River Ranch, Moab, UT When the weather starts to heat up, all children have the same thought...SUMMER VACATION! Most parents know to book reservations for popular destinations months, sometimes more than a year in advance, but some unique, relatively unknown vacation ideas might surprise you with their availability. Start with the individual family members' interests, and plan away for one of the more memorable trips your family will ever take! 1. Fuel Their Interests/Talents: Many kids attend summer camps around their sports, music or drama interests, so why not include a family vacation stop as a destination that supports and expands their interests? Maybe the family drama queen/king might love a stop at an Oregon Shakespeare Festival performance during your trip through the North West. My 10 year old is a serious Paleontologist wannabe, so our family participated in a Paleontologist-for-a-day "Dino Dig" program in Thermopolis Wyoming. We planned this as the first stop on our two week+ first-ever driving vacation last summer, and the fossils we dug up are now officially cataloged with our names as the ones who "discovered" them. We actually got to dig up and touch rocks that were once bones 65 million years ago...how cool is that?! Our stop-over on the way from our Northern California home to Wyoming was also the World's Largest Dinosaur Museum near Salt Lake City, Utah...yes, he really does want to be a Paleontologist when he grows up! Getting late elementary school to middle school aged children thinking about how their interests and talents might fit into their adult lives will help fuel their passion and focus through the tough times of puberty.
Actual Dinosaur Fossil fragments
2. Traditional Destination With a Twist: Okay, just because our most famous National Parks are immensely popular summer destinations for many families in the U.S., that doesn't mean your family needs to follow the herd in Yellowstone, stop in the middle of the road when you see people congregated with binoculars, and hope they spotted a bear! There are wonderful guided programs whose very purpose is to educate children and families on the nature unique to the park that was created just for your visit. You guessed it...our next stop last summer was Yellowstone. We participated in one of the coolest programs ever - The Lodging and Learning program put on by the Yellowstone Association Institute. This four day program took three families of 4 on an amazing adventure through the unTourist-inhabited parts of this huge National Park. Our guide was one of the biologists who helped introduce the wolves back into Yellowstone, so the stories and history made those amazing animals come alive for all of us...and YES! we saw wolves, and visited one of the original wolf dens! We also saw bears, eagles and more geysers than I ever want to smell again - all accessible from the comfort of a small bus driven by somebody else, and great hikes through untouched wilderness. The kids received their Junior Ranger badges, and memories that will never fade. Grand Canyon and Yosemite offer similar adventures, as well as your favorite National Park, so why not take a unique look at a traditional family destination?
The Wolves come back to Yellowstone!
3. Parent's Pick: I can't imagine planning and taking a family vacation without some part of the trip devoted to the parent's relaxation and fun! Disney cruises have separate adults-only pools and restaurants, and most resorts do also, so there are plenty of opportunities for mom and dad to relax, while still vacationing with the kids. Me...all I need is a spa visit while Dad takes the kids swimming! For our summer driving vacation, we decided to end our trip at an amazing ranch resort along the Colorado River - Sorrel River Ranch, Moab, UT.  Fiery Furnace Hike, Arches National Park We planned this so both the kids and adults could have the amenities they wanted, but still stay together. White water rafting, horse back riding, spa (*wink*) and a private guided hike into the Fiery Furnace of Arches National Park capped off our vacation perfectly. I still long to go back to this resort, and so do the kids! That is proof we had not only a great family vacation, but a totally unique trip! Since I'm sure you don't want the type of unique family vacation the Griswalds usually have, start with one big destination, and plan uniqueness around that. When you tailor the standard family trip around the uniqueness of the family members, you produce a more memorable, less stressful vacation for all - not to mention less bickering when the kids know they are doing stuff they love! There is only one drawback to this type of trip...now you need to plan ALL your vacations like this! Enjoy!Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
 Have you ever seen a friend after they had drifted out of your life years ago, and were surprised how much their life had changed, but they actually stayed the same and had not grown? Our lives change all the time, how we adapt, and change ourselves to dance to the new rhythm matters. Don't sweat it, just close your eyes, listen and teach yourself the new dance steps. Some of us change our rhythm monthly, seasonally, yearly or only once a decade (God Forbid!), but until my drum is lying in a heap of ashes in a box, I will continue to listen to my own rhythm and dance. Here are some of my favorite quotes that help me stop and listen. Join me?! - "If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change." — John A. Simone, Sr.
- "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “When there is nothing left to lose, we find the true self-the self that is whole, the self that is enough, the self that no longer looks to others for definition, or completion, or anything but companionship on the journey. — Elizabeth Lesser
- "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quite voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" — Mary Anne Radmacher
- “At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” — Lao Tzu
- "Let him who would move the world, first move himself." – Socrates
- "Life is not measured by the number of breathes we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." — Maya Angelou
- "Turn your wounds into wisdom." — Oprah Winfrey
- "Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness." — Napoleon Hill
- "I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it." — Maya Angelou
- "If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." — Frank A. Clark
- "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." — M. Kathleen Casey
- “I shut my eyes in order to see.” – Paul Gauguin
- "The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism." — Norman Vincent Peale
- "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." — Wayne Dyer
- "There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." — Denis Waitley
- "Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves." — Mason Cooley
- "The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them." — Maya Angelou
- "The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost." — G.K. Chesterton
- "All the advice in the world will never help you until you help yourself." — Fred Van Amburgh
What rhythm makes you dance right now? I'm dancing to "Rumor has it" by Adele right after I hit 'publish'! I can't help it - that beat gets me every time.Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left
|
