You Got To Love Kids

Posted on by myangelofangels

Last night I wanted to eat out. I was tired of my own cooking. I went to a bar and grill, waited ten minutes and never got waited on. The server passed me several times and did nothing more than give me a dirty look. I walked out. No problem.

I went to a bar and grill, waited ten minutes and never got waited on. The server passed me several times and did nothing more than give me a dirty look. I walked out. No problem.

Went to a second restaurant and the parking lot was so full I couldn’t park. Okay, a bit frustrating, but carried on.

Found to the third place to eat and it was closed down. Now I’m wondering what is going on. What is the reason for this to happen like this?

I found an IHOP. Boring, but better than the first three places. I got seated behind a family of three. Mom, Dad and a boy probably about five years old.

sheknows.com

I haven’t ordered yet when I watched he evidently did something wrong. I watch-ed how his mother got him out of the booth (dragged him would be a more accurate description) and walked him to the bathroom to get washed up. I could see food on his hand.

When she came back with the boy, she informs Dad, they need to go to the car to take a break. “He didn’t listen to me while in the restroom,” she said.

As she is putting the jacket on the teary-eyed boy, I’m making faces at him to make him smile. He at least found it entertaining, and Mom caught me and smiled, though, her son didn’t see it. They got back in less than five minutes later and everything was fine. Acted like nothing ever happened. Honestly, I was impressed with the attitude of the parents.

I went back to my salad and not long after I hear this sweet voice say; “Hi. My name is Liam. what’s your name?”

I look up and see this beautiful toe-headed kid looking at me with these huge blue eyes with this most expectant look on his face. He really expected an answer from me. Again, I was impressed with the attitude of the boy.

I said; “My name is Jim.”

Liam: “That’s his name,” pointing to his father.

Me: “Holy wow! That is so cool.” He giggled and turned to his plate and continued eating.I paid my bill and got up to leave. I said to Liam; “You make sure to take care of Mom and Dad, okay?” I wanted to go on, but he interrupted me.

I paid my bill and got up to leave. I said to Liam; “You make sure to take care of Mom and Dad, okay?” I wanted to go on, but he interrupted me.

Pointing to his father again, he said; “We went to Seattle.”

Me: “You did? Did you fly there?” Seattle is less than fifty miles from Tacoma.

He laughed and said: “No. My dad drove me up there.”

We talked back and forth for a little while, parents smiling their approval. Then I said; “Well Liam, I gotta go. You take care.”

He sat there with the proudest look on his face waving and I don’t know why.

As I walked away, it dawned on me; Liam was the reason why I wound up at IHOP. I can’t help to believe that we were supposed to meet that day. My only hope is that some day soon that reason will reveal itself.

A Deeper Meaning

Posted on by myangelofangels

All together, too many times relationships fall apart. And I know, I’ve said this on other occasions. But it’s one of those topics that just doesn’t have one answer to it.

I hope and believe, we as human beings are looking for that one soul mate to spend the rest of our lives with. But … how do you know that you have that “one”?

Well, it’s explained in the title of the connection you are looking for. “Soul”. A soul connection is a very rare thing, I’m sorry to say. But to get t the bottom of any question, all one has to do is ask “why”.

So, here you are on your journey on finding that “one”. What is your first move? Describe what you are looking for and write it down so it is solid on paper. Perhaps you could hold it in your mind also.

Why? If you don’t know what you are looking for, how do you know what to look for?

You go out and meet people in your everyday life and you meet that “someone” you think may be the “one”. Come to find out, almost upon meeting something clicks between you two and you have made a connection. And it’s not on some physical level. It is something that transcends time, space and matter.

Why would you look for someone like that? Because we are not physical beings. We are spiritual beings. We are more than people of this world. Believe it or not, we are connected to the universe in some manner.

Think about it. Do you believe for one second that all the possessions the millionaires and billionaires have are making them happy? Not on your life! Granted, they don’t have any financial pressures, but they do have financial problems hanging on to their money. Then again, some have so much money they give it away! It’s all physical and meaningless once you have an over abundance.

So, let’s say you’ve found that “one” you have been searching for. Before too long, you start ending each other’s sentences for the other. Or, even weirder yet, you start the other’s thought. You do things at the same time and the cosmological events just  keep on rolling! And I have witnessed one or two relationships like that.

But what if that doesn’t happen for you? Here’s the good part. Look for it in the other person. Here’s the hard part (not bad part). Slow down. Take your time at this stage. Listen to what the other person is truly saying. Is that person speaking in vague terms? Or are they saying what is on their minds? Are they answering your questions or are in line with your comments and stories? Or do they go off on some tangent that has nothing to what you are talking about?

How serious do they take themselves? One of the secrets in life (at least that’s what I like to call it), is not taking yourself too seriously. What I mean by that is if you do something wrong; let’s say drop a plate of spaghetti on the floor, how upset are you? Are you angry at you? Or do you think; I can clean this up and get another plate.” Is that how you react? Is that how the one you are looking at reacts?

People who take things too seriously are said to be egotistical. They beat their chest and claim; I can do no wrong. Should I do wrong, I am no good at anything! or something to that nature.

That’s a black light in a relationship. Look for white lights. People who are lighthearted in life. Someone, and this is one of those kickers, who is helpful to others. Someone who thinks of others first and yet is not some door mat. Someone who can forgive themselves for messing up once in a while. That just might be the “one” you are looking for.

Above all, keep this in mind; Nobody is perfect. Did I really have to say that? But every now and then I need to be reminded of that.

If Only

Posted on by myangelofangels

I was sitting on my rocker one gloomy afternoon. Heard voices going through the back of my mind and weird pictures going through my head. Indescribably weird. It was like I was trying to put together a puzzle with no sensible clues or pieces that didn’t have pieces that matched or fit together.

Suddenly a sound exploded in my head.

“Papa?”

I’m sure that my eyes started to flutter.

“Papa? You sleeping?” It came across a little softer that time.

My eyes opened but only barely a slit. I looked over the frames of my spectacles and saw a blurry figure in front of me.

“Did you know you were sleeping, Papa?”

I removed the spectacles and wiped the sleep from my face.

“I guess not, Andrea,” I said as I returned the spectacles to my nose.

“How can you do that, Papa?”

“Oh,” I said sagely, “when you are as old and tired as ole Papa, you just go to sleep for a while.”

I felt kind of embarrassed. So to shore up the ‘Papa pedestal’ my granddaughter had me on I followed up with this; “I don’t always fall asleep and don’t know it. Sometimes I want to go to sleep and I do.”

The ‘smarter than needs to be’ seven-year-old giggled in a little girl manner. “Yeah, but Papa, it’s only three o’clock. How can you be tired now?”

I picked up the precious little angel and sat her on my lap. I kissed her on  top of the head. She looked up at me with huge brown eyes as if I was going to say something world changing or something.

“You just wait, dear little one. Someday you’ll be old like Papa. Then it’ll be your turn to fall asleep and take naps in the middle of the day.”

“You’re funny, Papa,” she giggled in utter innocense.

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Because I won’t grow old. I’ll stay young aaaallllll my life.”

I thought to myself; If only… Then I posed this question to her.

“What is the oldest you will ever be, baby angel?”

She put her finger to her chin. She thought and she thought. I pretended to go back to sleep complete with a snore. Andie tried tickling my belly to which I burst out with a fake laugh. She laughed with me thinking she got the best of me.

After we settled down, I asked to get her back on track; “Now, what is the oldest you will ever be?”

She knitted her delicate brow returning her finger to her chin. Finally, she burst out; “Twenty-five!” A moment past. “No. Wait. That’s too old. Isn’t that how old Mommy is?”

I smiled at her warmly. “No, no. Mommy is a few years older than that. But not by much. Okay?”

“All right. But how old is Mommy then?”

I fought the urge to laugh. “Do you want to be as old as Mommy?”

“Not if she’s too old. I think I’d rather be younger than Mommy.”

“Then what is the perfect age to be, Andie?”

“Fifteen.”

“Why fifteen?”

“Because Mommy always talks about being ‘sweet sixteen and never been kissed’. I figure right after their sixteenth birthday girls will kiss a boy. I don’t want to kiss boys. They’re yucky! So, I will stay at fifteen. That way I’ll never have to kiss a boy the day after my sixteenth birthday.”

“You’re a good girl, Andie.”

The Beauty of Goals

Posted on by myangelofangels

We started a new year five days ago. And as always, we all, if not most of us, made resolutions.

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Mine is to write 2000 words a day on my project six days a week. But it’ll probably turn out to be seven days a week but I won’t feel guilty if it is six days. And I have to tell  you, it changed everything in my writing. It gave me purpose and though I hate to use this word, it gave me dedication. “Dedication” to me sounds like a cruel word for some reason. Every time I hear the word I almost hear a whip crack. But it changed my attitude towards writing. And after just a few days of sitting down and writing with a goal to reach, writing became so much easier. The story is getting done faster and in a more organized fashion.

Before, I had the attitude that there is always tomorrow to get a few more pages done. And I’d go slacking off doing nothing with my life. Another day wasted. I made a promise to another author that I had to stop that attitude. Then I gulped hard wondering how I was going to do that. To be honest, at first, it sounded like empty words. Even to me! After thinking about it, I decided that it wasn’t going to be that way. So for the next few nights, I sat at my laptop and did the math on how many words had to be accomplished. It wasn’t hard at all. As a matter of fact, I never did 2000 words. I always did more than 2000 words. The first time I did it, I was shocked. I felt so accomplished for the first time in a long time.

creativecrash.com

I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you this because I know how difficult it is at times to get motivated to write. Honestly, I wasn’t. At least not every night (or day). Having a goal to reach before opening up that file is a motivator. And should be used as one every day you need to write.

Another goal everyone should have is a date as to when your project is to be published. Give yourself a deadline. Otherwise, nothing happens. Not only give yourself a deadline but tell someone what that deadline is. Have them hold you to it. Make yourself answerable to that person.

Education is a great thing to have. Take about an hour to read somebody who is an award-winning author who had a blog/vlog or some kind of teaching tool to give you the know-how to do what you want to do. Do that every day if you can. It may not be as important as you writing, but it is important that you know your craft. Especially grammar. But, much to my surprise, I learned there is a formula to writing.

Certain things have to happen at different stages of the story. Your protagonist has to be crushed by the antagonist at a certain interval in your story. You have to know what to do if the storyline changes. And believe me, that’s a surprise to you when you’re writing and the story goes into a different direction than you planned. I wonder to myself; How did that happen?? Because it wasn’t in the outline.

Now I have to rewrite the previous scenes before it or rewrite the outline. Ouch!

 

Living Together

Posted on by myangelofangels

It is common that people, these days decide to live together before getting married. I’ve known enough couples who have done this. It seems that the younger the couples are, the quicker moving in and cohabitating happens.

I’ve seen people in their twenties do this, I’ve seen couples in their thirties do this.

thegloss.com

It appears to me that the question on how long a relationship lasts all depends on how mature the couple is and when in the relationship this decision is made. It’s not marriage, yet, it’s still a serious decision that needs careful weighing.

Back in the 1990s, couples stayed together longer if they cohabitated first. For some reason, that has changed. People are more secure if they wait until after they are married to live together. The secret is that the couple has to make a specific commitment to live together in order to make it work.

The questions that should be thought about are, for instance; Why do you want to live together? Do you honestly see us as a life long couple? How are we going to do this in a fair, manageable way?

A good thing to think about is how did the relationship begin. Was it a “hook-up”? Or was that person someone who you truly wanted to get to know and develop something meaningful with? Because, if you saw that person and you felt your face light up and your heart skipped and you wanted to be more than you are before you saw him/her, chances are pretty good that you found the person you were looking for. Now the thing to do is talk.

Don’t get me wrong, no one is saying that living together is wrong or bad. It does have it’s advantages. Living together will let you both know how the other person is when relaxed in the home environment. Habits are discovered that were totally unexpected. (And aren’t you glad to know that he really does pick his nose and leaves it on the side of the leather chair?) The discoveries are limitless, not to mention surprising. Who knows, they may even disappoint. But that’s what relationships are about. And you have to either overlook and forgive or you may want to move on. Hopefully, you can do the former as opposed to the latter.

Before writing this blog, I did some reading on marriage from www.nationalmarriageproject.org

I didn’t want this to be a stat sheet. So I went on my own observations on other couples I know who are living together. I can tell you on one couple who have been living together for almost fifteen years. It is unfortunate that the relationship is, in my opinion, a disaster. And for some reason, they grind it out. I also know others that are doing great.

There are a lot of variables in making a relationship work. But that’s just it. It takes work whether you are in a marriage, or just thinking about getting married. Work hard at it, but work together as a single unit.

 

Open People’s Minds

Posted on by myangelofangels

I’m sitting here at my desk wondering what to write about. I’m searching inside me looking for what is moving me tonight. What is on my mind? The only answer I come up with is; People.

People become relationships in our lives. And the strange thing is; some you like and some you don’t.

I asked myself “why?” There are a lot of answers to that question. To point out all the reasons would not only bore you, it would be pointless. But I would like to talk about one thing I read today and it struck home for me. Then I experienced it tonight when I went to my daughter’s house for dinner tonight.

Have you ever got into a conversation and the person you spoke with said something that you didn’t agree with? Think back to your reaction. Did you try to convince that person how wrong they were? And if you did, how did that person react to you? Did they come around to your way of thinking? I’m willing to bet not.

We all have egos and pride. Even the humblest person has an ego and pride. To be told we are wrong solidifies the idea in our mind we are more right than ever. To be told we are wrong is an attack on our mental well-being. Who likes to be wrong?

randomhouse.com.au Author of How To Win Friends & Influence People

Dale Carnegie explains in an ingenious way to persuade people to change their opinion, ideas, what have you. Tell the person this; “Perhaps I’m wrong, and many times I am. Maybe I need clarification on something. But let’s look at the facts.”

More times than not, those words work wonders with people. People become humble and even try to help you in your point of view at times.

Guys, use this on your wife. Don’t try to be right all  the time. Use this to get her to relax and open her mind a little. Ladies, use this too. Use that line and hold hands while talking. Whenever there’s a disagreement, sit down and hold hands while talking about the disagreement. But I just went off to another conversation.

This statement can be used in any situation at any level.

Look, everyone, all I’m trying to say is there are ways to get along if you keep the other’s person’s feelings in mind. And I’m not talking about Political Correctness in this blog. All I’m talking about is using good manners and a little consideration.

But if something has to be said and it may upset the other person you are speaking with, say it as delicately as possible. Remind yourself how you may feel if something like that was said to you.

To get back to my dinner story; I was telling the lady of the house of a book I was reading that was based on tablets found back in the 1950s. The gentleman of the house immediately went into the interrogation on the substance and accuracy of the book.

Had he known this secret of opening people’s mind, we could have had a more pleasant conversation.

 

On Outlining

Posted on by myangelofangels

As I mentioned, I’m working on my second novel. The first one I accomplished in a style called “pantsing”. That’s when you sit and write by the seat of your pants. Hence, pantsing. My Angel of Angels was a disaster! It started in one location and the story should have gone back to the opening scene and wound up in “whoknowswheresville”. And I did it after being told by two people that I should outline the entire story. Awww, what do they know about me? I know what I’m doing. I showed them.

When the mistake was pointed out to me, and after my embarrassment waned, I just laughed at myself. Then, rewrote the book five times before I was satisfied with it.

Which brings me to my point. Outlining. If you want to streamline your novel, outline. It keeps your thoughts collected. It will save you a ton of work in the long run. Some writers will take as long as two or three months to get it right. It’s amazing what comes to mind when outlining and writing.

sert.carlton.edu

I’ve run across stories where authors will outline their story and then start the project. Somewhere along the line, a fantastic idea springs into their mind and they use that idea instead of what they have in the outline. Then go back and update the outline. But that’s all part of writing. Some people think it’s never ending. But it’s not. As a matter of fact, when a project is done, it’s both a relief and a disappointment. We celebrate the accomplishment and mourn the fact that we are done and won’t see those characters again. Unless, of course, there’s a sequel.

Now, if you’re sitting there wondering how one outlines, I have to break it to you gently. There is no wrong way to do that. Just start writing giving you story shape and form. But … oh yes, there’s that dreaded but, it would be a great idea to figure out who your reader target is. Are they children? Young Adults? People between twenty and forty-five? Seniors? Who do you want to read your story?

List your main characters next and give a full description of their personality. And this may constantly grow as the storyline grows. And I mean create a detailed description of how they think and act. Weaknesses and strengths. How do they look? Does a person have a mole on the corner of their mouth? A wart on their nose or hand? Do they limp? The list can go on and on. But get it down so you know what your characters can and can not do.

I keep hearing authors advise; make sure the person is relatable. I don’t think that means the reader has to like the person, they just have to understand the hows and whys of the character.

The reader will like the protagonist more than the antagonist. But the reader should at least find something to admire in the antagonist. Just a little something that gets the reader to think; okay, maybe he’s not so bad all the time.

I read a book last month where the antagonist was a hired gunman. He killed the protagonist’s girlfriend’s son. A ten-year-old boy. It turns out that the antagonist has a twelve-year-old boy himself. And I caught myself thinking; He’s not such a bad guy if he can love a child.

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There were some very touching scenes between the gunman and his son and a small part of me rooted for the bad guy just a bit.

This is just a quick synopsis of outlining. There are a lot of books that explain how to do this in detail. I will advise this, though, Keep it fun, keep it simple and don’t stop honing. It pays off in the long run. Outlining done well is what makes good ideas great stories.

 

Just a Few Thoughts on What and Why

Posted on by myangelofangels

I was thinking about what qualities one needs to be a writer. I had to pose the question aloud. It helps me think. Later on, I asked; Why do I write. What purpose am I trying to accomplish?

I have a knack where I can watch me from outside myself. And I watched the thoughts, feelings, and emotions I had while writing.

First, let’s get into the qualities. An important quality a writer needs is to like people. If a writer doesn’t like people, it comes across. The reader will pick up on it and put that book down and never read another story by that author. Unless, of course, the reader doesn’t like people either. Right. How many people in this world truly do not like people? You have to relate.

Patience– A writer has to have the patience of an angel at times. There is a lot of research one has to look up. Even if it’s looking up something contrite to the layout of a foreign city. Then there is the dreaded rewrite. Under normal circumstances, a book is rewritten several times. I was told some time ago that Stephen King rewrites his stories at least eight times before turning it into the proofreaders. Personally, I quit at five to seven.

Confidence– And you know what I’m talking about. Ever feel afraid to turn in your story to be proofread? It’s like learning how to write and the teacher is looking over your shoulder to see how well you are doing. Scarry. Worse yet, what if the reader won’t like it? Scarier yet! But we all know that one miscue can destroy a book. One wrong word can throw off the entire plot. A weak theme and a book ain’t going anywhere.

Be fair to yourself– Every time you sit to write, set a goal for yourself. A good goal is to write 2000 words. Or write an entire chapter. Then come up with a worthwhile reward. You have to come up with a worthwhile reward and goal otherwise you won’t be interested in attaining anything. And if you don’t attain it; no reward for you! It just has to go both ways.

One quality an author can not have is being lazy. And I learned that the hard way.

One item I put in my debut book, My Angel of Angels is that Manuel’s dad died of celiac disease. I did a search on diseases. Celiac disease came up and I thought that had to be a terrible disease. (Notice I didn’t research what ciliac disease is.) Let’s put it in the story.

I gave one of the copies to a co-worker my daughter works with (They’re both nurses). My daughter texted me one day and asked if anyone died in the book. I explained about Manuel’s dad. Ten minutes later she texted a thank you. I texted back if there was a problem. Ten minutes went by. Okay, she’s at work. I waited until lunch break. I sent another text. She never replied. Finally, I asked why is she laughing at me (I just knew she was). She informs her father of very little medical knowledge that nobody dies from celiac disease.

In this profession, this is called Lazy Writing. One quality a writer can not have is being lazy. Know of what you speak. Please. It will save you from a lot of embarrassment.

And the most important quality one can have is————enjoy what you are doing. Again, a reader will know that this is a drudge for you and never read you again. They feel as drained as you do at the end of your writing. Why would you write if you’re not enjoying it? You may as well go get a job at minimum wage and work.

Words are fun things to play with, look up and throw curves at people with. Keep loose and tell a story that will captivate the world.

My Thanksgiving Story

Posted on by myangelofangels

My debut book, My Angel of Angels was based on a relationship between a man and a woman. And I was bestowed the honor of being asked to write a blog on how a man should treat a woman in a romantic relationship.

This week we are celebrating our Day of Thanks. And that means, for the most of us, being around those who mean the most to us, our family.

As I was growing up, that meant driving through the snowfall of Western New York. (that would be close to Buffalo N.Y.), going to Gramma’s house and bringing her to our house. Complete with her brother Henry and her sister-in-law, Helen, who love to die her hair a soft shade of blue.

There was a house full of kids having a grand old time as Gramma taught us how to sing Silent Night in German. Henry would sing along as Helen wondered what was going on. The fire crackling in the fireplace and the aroma of a delicious turkey dinner wafting from the kitchen. Mom and Dad both in charge of the oven. Turned out, Dad was a better cook than Mom with a lot of dishes. So, Mom was more than happy to listen to Dad about how or when to baste the turkey. Actually, she did really well with the veggies and potatoes and the rest of the sides. And there were a ton of that. Dad’s strong card was the meat department. But, boy, could he rustle up a bowl of corn that tasted like it was still on the cob!

After Grace and the carving of the bird very little was said. A lot of munching and gulping. Every now and then you heard a: “Great job, Mom.”  or “Delicious bean casserole, Kay.” (Kay was Mom.) But you could always tell when people were coming up on having enough. Forks slowed and the conversation started to pick up.

Dad would suggest that we take a break for a while, but that never lasted more than fifteen minutes before Mom would ask who wanted Apple or Pumpkin Pie. Helen would, without fail ask for “a little slice of both, please? Just make them half slices, if you could.” Mom never failed to please the little bittie. Ice cream on the apple, whipped topping on the pumpkin. “Oh, thank you so much Catherine.” she’d say.

After the dessert was accomplished, we’d all sit back and hold our bellies and talk about how wonderful dinner was. Mother taking in all the compliments as graciously as anyone could. Then Dad would look at the adults after a bit and ask; “Who’s for an after dinner drink?” The after dinner drink was usually green Creme de Minthe on the rocks. And when we children got to be old enough, we took part along with the previous generations. Oh, how nice that was.

The after dinner drinks took a good thirty minutes to enjoy. The conversation would go on to politics and other topics. The children sat right there in their seats listening trying to learn a thing  or two. But as tradition held in my family, you’d be next to being disowned if you didn’t start picking at the dinner again and nibble at the soon to be leftovers and top off the Creme de Minthe.

I have never witnessed anything like that in any other family I have had a Thanksgiving Dinner with. And it is the one thing I miss the most every year when I don’t have that traditional meal with them. It’s just not the same without the second round and Creme de Minthe. Well, that, and the relationship I have with my family.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Love and enjoy your family.

 

Her New Pet

Posted on by myangelofangels

“Can I keep him, Mommy?”

“What are you going to do with him?” Mother said as she made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.

Little JoAnne thought for a moment. “I can teach him tricks.”

“Oh. You’re going to teach him tricks. What kind of tricks?”

Her worried, huge brown eyes searched the kitchen floor. She raised her head and her face brightened. Mother saw the light bulb appear above her daughter’s head.

“I can teach him to roll over.”

“Roll over, now,” Mother exclaimed. “Wow. that would be quite a trick for him to do.”

“Well, I’ve see’d them get rolled over on TV. So, I know’d they can roll over.”

Mother beamed a smile into her little girl’s face. “What else do you want to teach him?”

JoAnne screwed up her face as she contemplated. “How ’bout we teach him to sit?”

“We?” she said. “Oh, now you want my help.”

“Please, Mommy? I think it’ll be so much more funer if you help.”

“Oh, I don’t know. He’s your pet, Jo. I think you should take full responsibility for him. I mean, you are four years old and a big girl now.” Mother explained. “You teach him to sit. Can you teach him to speak?”

“We can try.

“No, no. There is no ‘we’. This is going to be all you. You train him, you feed him, you make sure he gets enough water and sleep.”

“Mommy, sleep is not a problem. He can sleep in my bed with me at night.”

“You know, Little Bit, animals need more sleep than humans. They have to find a comfortable place to sleep in all the time all day long. Can you provide that for him?”

“How ’bout I put him on a extra pillow?”

“That would work out just fine. Where is one, by-the-way?”

There was a hesitation. But she finally said; “We can go to the Starvation Army Store and get one!”

“Don’t you mean Salvation Army?”

“Oh. I guess I do. Can we go there and get a pillow?”

“After lunch,” Mother said as she placed the sandwich on the table with a tall glass of milk. “But for now, go wash your hands and face. You have been handling an animal and they have germs.”

“Mother, why are so icky about germs. You act like they can hurt you. They’re just tiny little thing too small to hurt anyone. Don’t worry so much about germs.”

“Okay, Baby. Now go wash up like a good girl.”

JoAnne dashed out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. She dampened her face and hands with cold water and returned to her mother. She proudly held out her hands for her mother to see.

Mother turned her hands over to see both sides. “Hmmm. Did you use warm water?” JoAnne lowered her head feeling ashamed. “Is the soap still dry also?”

“Yes, Mommy,” she responded sadly.

“Honey, you know better than that. Now go wash up like you’re supposed to.”

She left dragging the toes of her shoes across the floor making a stuttering sound as they moved.

“None of that, missy. Now pick up your feet when you walk.” JoAnne did. But it didn’t make her feel any different.

When she came back to the table, JoAnne sat at the chair with the sandwich.

“Wait a minute, missy.” Mother checked the temperature of her hands. She could tell they were washed with warm water. “Okay. I hope you enjoy your lunch.”

JoAnne bit into her sandwich with a bit more energy. After a few bites, Mother asked;

“What do you want to name your new pet?”

JoAnne washed down her mouthful of peanut butter and jelly with a gulp of milk. “I think his name should be Tommy,” she proclaimed proudly.

“Tommy. Why Tommy?”

“Because, Mommy, it goes best with what he is. Tommy Turtle. That’s his name. Tommy Turtle.”