Tuesday, December 23, 2014

I'm Gonna Love You Anyway!

Blogger how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
photo credit - Scarborough Botanical Gardens, Tobago
Carolyn Correia 2013 All rights reserved.

Blogger, wordpress and tumblr all do something great, but it's been 7 years and counting and no matter what anyone says...#Blogger .... Imma love you anyway! 

As they say: if it ain't broken, why fix it right? That's how I feel about you with google analytics at your finger tips, great user interface and all the features you need...why go elsewhere? 

To hell with SEO key words...I know I need to learn, but I love what I do...the most important thing to me is getting what I have to say off my chest. The "hits" will come with time.

One more day for Christmas ...the eve of Christmas Eve and I'm blogging about blogging....

Today my sister and I went out to do errands...mostly my errands and a bit of Christmas shopping. I took a drive by the Botanical Gardens last week and saw the beautiful lights just like Tobago. Thought she needed to see that. I guess I will take my mom and other sister soon. 

As that time nears, we're just doing ordinary things: painting, cooking, making sorrel and ginger beer and trying to keep my Dad's memory alive.  Still have to make ponche de creme and bake the traditional turkey and ham that we picked up tonight. We will not be putting up a tree or any lights this year however. I have to tell you though, it's getting harder. I don't even want to think about the future when the house gets emptier and I have to carry on with my normal life.

For now, I'm savouring the memories and making the most of the moments. Trying to keep busy and "do my do." I still love Christmas and I think it's gonna be okay. Life is made to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest. I know he wouldn't want it any other way. I always told him I wanted to go before him, but he wanted me to live and be happy. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." I continue to pray for his eternal life and light.

I've completed my book, so now I have something to look forward to. On to the next! Already thinking of continuing my poetry and publishing an e-book in 2015. I wrote 10 poems in June. The rest will be dedicated to my father's memory.

What is the legacy you leave behind? I hope to leave behind my writing...in the hope it can help generations after me. 

Happy Holidays....See you tomorrow. I'm getting the hang of this blogging every day thing...this is the shortest blog yet ...completed in 15 minutes or less!

Peace & Love.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Why I'm awake at 2 am is anyone's guess. Actually I'm reviewing my second book before I send it off to my editor over the next few days...but yet I should be asleep. A few nights ago I went to bed at 6 am. Then I realized that some of my friends who are also entrepreneurs or just creative kindred spirits are also up at this time.

The reason for my blog: I think I need to take my techy friends' advice and that of fellow authors and bloggers to resume blogging every day. It can't hurt right? Especially since I'm getting ready to launch a new social media campaign as the countdown to the publication of my new book is on. 

For the subscribers who got here by accident (meaning my friends/acquaintances who I subscribed to this list) I will not bombard your inboxes every day unless you really want me to...which you can indicate by way of a response to this blog. 

If you're game and you want to hear from me every day, just reply by saying: "I'm in" or better yet, log in to blogger.com and "follow" or subscribe to my automatic posts. 

If I don't hear from you, I would assume that either: a) You get too much mail as it is and can't keep up, or b) You don't read my blogs anyway! lol...No offence taken. Some of you may already notice that not all of my blogs come to your email.

So I digress. As I continue along my path of healing, I realize that the mind is really something. It's like a garden hose...if you prevent some of the water from spurting, then you control how much you want to get wet. So too with your mind. If you purposely try to block out and filter some of your thoughts, the less you would be affected. 

But be on your guard, this has a way of backfiring as just at the water pressure may build up and unexpectedly let loose...so too can your thoughts and emotions take over when you least expect when doing normal things like driving, watching television or grocery shopping.

For the past two nights I've returned to my room to sleep since that first night of my Dad's passing. I've realized that I am very conscious of his memory when I am alone to myself. With family over, it was easy to avoid the full onslaught of this. I even dreamt the first night that he was trying to tell me something and gave me a great big hug. I wasn't afraid. Although I could not remember what he was saying, I woke up at peace.

Have you lost a loved one? If so, how do you deal with these emotions?

So I've decided I will blog. Are you in?

Peace & Love