Whether it’s The 4th of July, Canada Day, or Labor Day, this holiday weekend is an opportunity to reflect on how we celebrate, how we take a break from writing, or even how a special bond is at the tips of our fingers.
Below are holiday posts from the past. Please join in the discussion and feel free to respond to other people’s comments.
Joe Moore – The Parade of Life
It’s easy to forget about the outside world when we’re immersed in our story, thinking up blog topics, or working on promo for the next release. Time can slip by. We have to remind ourselves to step out and smell the flowers, to watch the clouds scud by, and to cherish that moment as it will never come again. Imagining people and places in our minds is no substitute for the real thing, but it’s natural for writers to become isolated when we’re more at home with our characters than the outside world. But once these hours at our desks crawl past, we can never experience them again.
Really, we full-time writers should get out more often. What do you do to push yourself out the door? Joe Moore – July 6, 2011
Kathleen Pickering – The Fourth and Celebration
So, for those of us with troubled times crowding our thoughts, I suggest taking a moment to let the kid in you enjoy the fireworks and celebration July Fourth offers. Heck, let the fireworks last all year long! After all, The Fourth celebrates our great nation overcoming oppression in pursuit of freedom to follow our dreams. For that I feel gratitude, right down to my toes. The child in me wants to ooooh, and ahhhh and remember never to forget how lucky we truly are!
Won’t you join me in celebrating? How did you spend The Fourth of July? Kathleen Pickering – July 5, 2011
Sue Coletta – What Do Apes, Humans, and Koalas Have in Common
Genetics form the base of a fingerprint, but they are personalized when the baby touches the inside of their mother’s womb, resulting in unique whirls, deltas, and loops. Hence why identical twins don’t share identical fingerprints. Each baby touched the womb wall in his or her own unique way, swirling and drawing like finger paints on a bathtub wall.
Maybe it’s me—I do tend to get overly sentimental around holidays—but I find it heartwarming to think the tips of our fingers forever preserve the unbreakable bond between momma and baby, imprinted for eternity.
I hope my discoveries kickstart your creativity in new and unsuspecting ways. Happy Labor Day to our U.S. readers! May your burgers be sizzlin’, the buns toasted to perfection, and your beverages be cold. Sue Coletta – September 6, 2021
Good morning, Steve. Thanks so much for this particularly stellar collection, particularly Sue’s observations about fingerprints. I rarely think of them, other than in those situations when I don’t want to leave any behind.
Have a great Fourth, Steve, and a terrific weekend!
Thanks for stopping by, Joe.
I found Sue’s post interesting when she first posted it, and when I saw it was a holiday post I thought we should look at it again.
Have a great Fourth of July weekend!
Thanks for the shout-out, Steve. Happy Fourth, everyone!
Thanks for your post on finger prints, Sue. It was very interesting, and worth reading again.
I hope your weekend is wonderful.
Good morning, Steve!
I’m with Joe Moore about the necessity of getting outside. My wife and I take a morning walk each day before breakfast. Later, if the weather is dry, I often take a micro break from writing and walk in the backyard to get some fresh air and recharge. Of course, any clear night often finds me outside for a least a bit, with binoculars and/or telescope. If it’s not clear, I’ll still pop out for a minute.
It’s humbling to think of all those who sacrificing everything over the centuries so that we could have liberty from tyranny, and something I think about often.
I love Sue’s point about fingerprints and the indelible connection between baby and mother their imprints represent.
Have a Happy Fourth everyone!
Thanks for your comments, Dale. I always enjoy reading what you have to say. I’m with you on getting outside. If I don’t get out for at least a little “real work” in the afternoon, I feel the ADHD setting in.
Great comment on the sacrifices of so many. Yes!
Have a wonderful 4th of July Weekend!
Thank you, Dale!
Hi Steve! Happy 4th to you and yours.
I loved this collection, particularly Sue’s. It’s especially meaningful to me given the confusing times we live in, because science like that grounds me again in unassailable truth.
And let me make it personal.
My fingerprints, those one-of-a-kind grooves that no one else in the whole world- living or dead shares with Deb Gorman-those grooves identify the me in me. And they came from the inside of my mother, the “secret place”.
How absolutely cool is that?
🙂
Good morning, Deb. Great way to state the meaning and uniqueness of each of us. So profound. So thought provoking. The mystery of life.
I hope you get to spend some time this weekend with those who found their fingerprints in you.
Love that! 🙂
Isn’t motherhood REALLY special?
Thank you, Deb. Those truths ground me, as well.
Used to get out a lot more before they shut down the town. I can fake getting out to write via Coffidivity. Then I step out the door for some sun. One benefit of SoCal is Vitamin D, which I try to get each day. Exciting!
Fourth is family and hot dogs and a little ceremony for the grandboys….lest we forget.
Nothing like really getting out. And Vitamin D has so many benefits.
I like that you have ceremony to remind the grandchildren. So important.
Enjoy you weekend.
Happy July 4th to all! I’m so thankful for the wisdom granted to our Founding Fathers to create our foundational documents & a system of checks & balances to guide this nation as long as we honor those documents.
RE: Mr. Moore’s statement about getting out more often–I’m usually trying to work it the other way around–I want to find more time to be isolated with my writing. Love it! 😎
Whether you plan to party with friends or use the holiday to get writing done, I hope you have an enjoyable 4th. I’m steeling myself now to prepare for all the noise. I love *seeing* fireworks but the noise drives me bonkers. Here in the southwest I’m praying people use their fireworks wisely since the fire hazard is so high.
Enjoy!
Ah, yes, the fireworks. Some of my over-exuberant neighbors started a week early. Nothing like waking in the middle of the night and thinking branches are falling on the roof.
Like you, I am impressed with the wisdom of our founding fathers and the founding documents they wrote. When we see the conflict and the politics (the games) that are being played, it is amazing those documents have helped prevent a return to tyranny.
Have a wonderful 4th, and no fires.
Happy 4th, Steve and everyone at TKZ! Thanks for rerunning these posts, esp. Sue’s which I enjoyed just as much the second time around.
Giving thanks for freedom and independence and the sacrifices of those who fought for us so we can enjoy them.
Happy 4th to you, too, Debbie. Glad you’re enjoying the archives. This was JSB’s idea, and I’m milking it for all it’s worth.
I started with a search for holiday posts, and found Sue’s because it was a Labor Day post. The connection between holidays and family was appropriate, I thought.
Thanks, freedom, independence, and sacrifices…I say Amen.
And this weekend, I’m adding friends, TKZ friends, who have so enriched my life. Have a great 4th of July weekend!
Thank you, Debbie!
My mom’s birth anniversary, my Dad’s death anniversary, and a sibling’s wedding anniversary are all within a few days of each other in July. That pretty well says it all on Sue’s post. Plus, it’s another proof that my family has a weird tendency to cluster happiness and unhappiness even though we don’t mean to.
My weekend will be spent with a few outdoor chores, goofing off inside, and maybe TV fireworks. I’ve already done the grilling since I had some of that chicken marinade I shared here that needed using so I did hamburgers for the night and chicken for the weekend. I need to get off my rear here and see if I can get that dang lawn tractor started. Have a Happy 4th, everyone.
Thanks for stopping by, Marilynn. It is interesting how many families have clusters of birthdays and other anniversaries.
I hope you can get the lawn tractor started, and you have a good 4th of July weekend.
I like the collection you chose, Steve. I wish I could get out more often, but this time of year is usually too hot unless one is willing to get up before dawn.
Love the excerpt from Sue’s post about a baby touching the inside of the mother’s womb. Forever connected to our past.
I am grateful beyond words for having been born in this country. Have a happy and healthy 4th!
Thanks, Kay. I always appreciate your thoughtful comments.
I agree about getting out. There is so much to do inside with the writing, and my “getting out” is more about getting out into the woods. Our last storm blew down 15- 20 dead Ash trees on the trails. So, I cut wood for a couple hours each afternoon until I’ve had enough of the heat.
Sue’s post was a favorite. The human bond, the connection of touch, resonates with all of us.
We have so much to be thankful for. Have a great 4th of July weekend!