The Perfectly Imperfect State of Motherhood

Vitality Stories

photo by Alea Toussaint

photo by Alea Toussaint

The Perfectly Imperfect State of Motherhood

Part 1

Motherhood

It’s okay if you don’t like being a mom all the time.

Since I don’t have children—something I’ll write more about next time—my friends who are mothers feel comfortable sharing the range of their emotions about motherhood. The highs and the lows. The joy and the frustration. The exhilaration and the exhaustion.

Time to themselves and being able to talk is limited so given a chance, they need to leverage fortuitous baby naps and vent (after the unnecessary preface that they love their children more than life itself) about self-doubt and parental ineptitude, convinced they are the worst mother in the world, followed by tears and, “What was I thinking?” promptly self-edited to, “But don’t get me wrong, I love them more than any thing or one.” There’s the inevitable discussion about spats with the spouse and the need to start having ‘date nights’ to rekindle the flame. And each meltdown ends with, “I’m just so tired.” Continue reading →

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Vitality Stories

Who me?!

“You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are.” ~ Fred Rogers

What do you want to be when you grow up is an old question, but it was on my mind last week when a few experiences converged in a single day.

It started with watching, Mister Rogers & Me. It hadn’t occurred to me Continue reading →

Vitality Stories ~ Artist Michael Michaud

Vitality Stories
an interview with

Artist Michael Michaud

MIchael Michaud, photo provided by Michael Michaud Jewelry

 

The Reason

To learn from someone else, we need only to ask them about their experiences, and that’s the purpose of the Vitality Stories Interviews. I’m not writing the memoirs for artist, Michael Michaud, but I discovered his work while I was on a four-month road trip and, unbeknownst to him, he inspired me to change. Continue reading →

The Best Way To Meet Your Parents

Vitality Stories

Leona Beck

The Best Way To Meet Your Parents

 

Sometimes it takes two

If you really want to get to know your parents, or a loved one, write their memoirs.

My mom, Bonnie, and I wrote her memoirs and the experience changed the way I think about her as a person. Before Memoirs (BM) she was my imperfect mother. But today, I think of her as a woman who was navigating her way through life, in a different era, making choices that resulted in pride, laughter, tears, or regret. I catch myself comparing my life at forty-four years old to what she was doing when she was forty-four, and every single time I think, whew, I’m so glad I’m not in those shoes. (If I was, I would have eight kids with a ninth on the way, a troubled marriage, a pile of bills, and I’d be struggling with undiagnosed bipolar disorder.) I also learned to accept that her perception is her reality and this makes me more patient when our collective memories or experiences don’t add up.

What I’m trying to say is writing your parent’s memoirs might be one of the best gifts you’ll ever give to yourself. It will be a different gift for each person. In my case, it was forgiveness.

But where to start? How to start? There are many books available on how to write memoirs. I’m sure my process will continue to improve, but for those of you who are thinking about this worthwhile project, here are the steps I take with each of my clients. Continue reading →

How To Pay Off Debt With Heart

Vitality Stories

photo by Gretchen LeMay Photography

photo by Gretchen LeMay Photography

How To Pay Off Debt With Heart

Sometimes it takes a village

In Tiger Drive, Carrie Sloan is seventeen and knows college is her only way out of her neighborhood and away from her toxic parents and absent, older siblings. She is conflicted about leaving her two little brothers behind, but believes breaking free from the family mold is the best thing she can do for them. But even without the family’s secrets and choices complicating her every move, Carrie won’t be able to pursue her education without financial aid and she is determined to write a winning scholarship essay.

While Tiger Drive is fiction, I can relate to Carrie and the obstacles she faces and I drew from personal feelings to write her. At seventeen, I was a senior in high school and supporting myself with two jobs after school and on the weekends. If not for a Pell Grant and a generous Continue reading →

Vitality Stories Lesson #6

 

Vitality Stories

Lesson #6

IMG_1222

You‘re never too old for field trips, trikes, and milkshakes

~

Emotional eating and rusted trikes

I recently visited my mother in Carson City, Nevada. I hadn’t been there in almost two years, but after moving from the east coast and living on the road for the past four months, the road, actually a plane, landed me in Northern Nevada.

Thanks to technology, I’d been in touch with my mom on a regular basis, but now that I was going to be in town for 10 days, I had a laundry list of things to help her with in an effort to give my local siblings ‘serving on the ground’ temporary respite from meeting Mom’s needs. I’d be doing her shopping, cleaning, defrosting her dormitory freezer…you get the picture.

I was also in town to see friends and take my first headshots, but my mom was anxious to see me and I have the cell phone log to prove it. My visit would be a treat because I had promised Continue reading →

Kathie Lee & Hoda’s Favorite Things: I’m Going to the Doctor?!

My Favorite Minute

KLG & Hoda's Favorite Things

“It’s for little kids, who are afraid. It’s a sweet little book.” Kathie Lee Gifford, Kathie Lee & Hoda’s Favorite Things, TODAY (May 25, 2015)

Watch the Video

Click Here to Order from Amazon

I am over the moon to share that Kathie Lee Gifford shared my first children’s book, I’M GOING TO THE DOCTOR?!, on TODAY.

What a ride! I appreciate everyone’s support and enthusiasm. People rock!

Available at Amazon

 

It’s here! I’M GOING TO THE DOCTOR?!

It’s here!

I’M GOING TO THE DOCTOR?!
GTD cover Amazon

A little over a year ago I decided to tap into my rainy day account to follow anything but a rainy day dream. I quit my job, moved to the East Coast with my supportive boyfriend, set up my writing room, and pulled a 2011 draft of Tiger Drive out of a box. Thanks to feedback from a few talented peers, Tiger Drive is complete and I am now querying agents. Fingers tightly crossed.

In the meantime, I quickly learned I needed to build an author’s platform and social presence — Egads! I jumped into Dan Blank’s Get Read course where I explored my audience, goals, and identified my content for a website that didn’t exist. As you know, it does now. As a bonus to the class, I made new friends and gained a few subscribers from the start.

All of a sudden, I recognized synergy between my creative writing and my ghostwriting. On one hand, I’d finished Tiger Drive, but on the other hand I kept hearing from my seniors, “I wish I would have finished this…I wish I would have finished that…” And every time I heard someone dish this sage advice, instead of patting myself on the back and saying “You did it, Teri. You wrote Tiger Drive,” I would think about this thick padded envelope in my closet containing Continue reading →

A Love Letter to Me@25

Vitality Stories
Dear-Boobies-Im-sorry-I-took-you-for-granted-copy

A Love Letter to Me@25

Inspired by the ladies I am meeting, I wrote a series of love letters to my twenty year-old self (and therefore the twenty year old ladies of today) recommending small things I could have done differently twenty years ago that would improve my health and well-being today. I know. I know. Someone probably gave me the same advice and I never followed it and the youngsters of today might ignore me, too, but sharing is caring! Hindsight is free for the listener, or in this case, the reader.

I joined with The Indie Chicks, a team who promotes self-empowerment, drive, and independence, to publish the first letter, “Dear Boobies: I’m Sorry I Took You for Granted.” Please feel free to share with the lovely ladies in your life.

Until next time, take care of you!

DEAR BOOBIES: I’M SORRY I TOOK YOU FOR GRANTED

Vitality Stories Interview #2

Vitality Stories

Interview #2

Bonnie, 2nd from left, WCCO Radio, March of Dimes Telethon

Bonnie, 2nd from left, WCCO Radio, March of Dimes Telethon

Hello, My Name Is Bonnie

Why, What, How

Most of the senior citizens I’ve met yearn to be an example of success and happiness. They don’t relish the idea of anyone making their same mistakes. Often times, they don’t always know WHY they made a certain choice, but they almost always know WHAT they would do differently given the chance, and they always know HOW they want to be remembered. Continue reading →