I love to write. I've always loved to read & write. Some of my favorite memories as a child are spent with my nose stuck in a book. I was a shy little girl and the living, breathing definition of a "book worm". I grew up in a great old house with plenty of nooks & secret places to read. One of my momma's favorite stories is the time I fell asleep while reading behind a loveseat in the parlor. We had 10' windows that you could literally walk through and my sisters & I used to take the very long drapes and make ourselves a little "tent" with the drapery panel over the loveseats. It was the perfect place to hide & enjoy the cool breeze. One summer day I crawled underneath the loveseat with a "tent" to read & apparently I fell asleep (which was my 2nd favorite thing to do, behind reading). My momma was working & my daddy was home. She called him to check in & he thought she'd taken me to work. My momma flew into a panic when she realized I'd been missing. Apparently it caused quite a stir. They were tearing apart the neighborhood looking for me & all the while I was fast asleep tucked out of site beneath the love seat. My poor daddy was so happy to see me he almost crushed me to death with his hugs!
I also loved to visit the Jackson Library. The librarians were the Turnipseed sisters, Ms. Dot & Ms. Nell. They looked so much alike I would forget which was which. In fact, I think Ms. Dot was actually the librarian but Ms. Nell would fill in for her sometimes, but I'm not really positive. I can still remember the musty smell of that old building & the I LOVED the particular smell of cracking open one of the many books I checked out every summer.
My love of reading has fueled my love of writing. I have at least 4 books in various stages of completion. I may never finish any of them, but I think it's the actual writing that I enjoy so I'm okay with that. My son, Garrett, is also a writer at heart and he's quite good at it. Since I read to my boys almost every night & treasure books I like to think it's a love I've passed on to them all. Nowadays I get the extreme privilege of reading to my grandsons. Their mom (my daughter-in-law) is also a book lover so who knows? The next great American writer may be named Shotwell!
I also love poetry. I've been thinking and reading a lot about heaven lately. I was outside the other day making shapes out of clouds & this came to me. As a Christian, I have NO fear of death. In fact, I know when it's my time I have some lovely things to look forward too. This is my attempt at sharing how I think it'll feel to leave my earthly body & enter God's Kingdom:
A ship’s silence pushing forth into depths unknown
A soul breaks
free, adrift to Glory.
Bathed in golden light and joy unspoken.
Suspended aloft in peace overwhelming.
All doubt cast aside beyond mind’s understanding.
Fullness of knowledge dissolving all fear.
Cindy Shotwell
© 2012
Take good care,
Cindy
Absolutely beautiful my friend....:)
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