Category: Writing
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Dancing Like Elaine…
I love to dance. Am I good at it? Does it matter? Recently I met friends at a local dive for live music and beer. Walking into the dark bar brought waves of nostalgia from school days in New Orleans, back when eighteen was the legal drinking age and still we used fake IDs. Ah,…
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Double Grief…
In 2008 we lived in a nearly idyllic bayside community in Galveston, catching fish and crab in our literal back yard while soaking up salty sea spray and sun rays. Until Ike, a Category 4 hurricane, plowed right over our shores and into our homes. Ike turned island living into years of construction and boarded…
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Jammie Pants…
I recently enjoyed a jammie day; no places to go, no people to see, no chores to do. Sure, jammie pants have become everyday wear since March 2020, but a free day with no required log-in or check-in is a rare, beautiful gift. Too many such days strung together would make a dull person, indeed…
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Running Downhill…
Is week two of the new year too early to feel a loss of momentum from that wide-open-to-every-possibility optimism we held last Monday? When we told the world we would go ahead and make our own day by honoring that which matters to our creative selves? Even though I’ve made great strides in preparing novel…
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Go Ahead, Make Your Day…
Happy First Monday of 2023. What do you hope to accomplish today, this week, this year? Perhaps some lofty goal set in the fresh perspective of a new year already seems overwhelming. This is the time to honor that goal, lofty or not. Tend to it. Nurture it. Break it down to daily divots of…
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EOY Countdown…
Happy Last Monday of 2022. It is time to celebrate small things, which through the power of dedicated and daily moments have grown to mighty accomplishments at the crescendo of year’s end. This is a sneaky way to talk about goals and (gasp) dreaded resolutions. (I have only ever kept one resolution and that was…
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The Piddly Diddlies…
I recently flipped my schedule upside down to honor writing time. My previous modus operandi was to clear the endless slate of daily chores first. Did you catch the word endless? Those piddly diddlies never go away, so writing time never came. Now, I follow a practice taught by author Ellen Sussman (book review here). Writing…
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Merry, Happy all the Holidays…
This End of the Year time is crammed full of celebrations and traditions, as varied as the homes and spaces we occupy. For me, listening to Christmas albums spinning on an actual record player while wrapping presents is a tradition as old as decorating dozens (and dozens) of homemade sugar cookies with loved ones. New…
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The World is Your Oyster…
But you have to shuck a lot of shells to find that pearl! This last Monday of November we continue our discussion of Casting a Wide Net while Focusing on Your Goal. A broad worldview is important if we are to know without a doubt that we are laser-focusing our skills and attention in the…
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Fishing and Focusing…
The fourth ELAN Principle is Cast a Wide Net, with a subtitle of Focus on Your Goal. Sound confusing? In order to reap the benefits of focus, we must bring many experiences into our lives. So much about the ELAN principles (and these blog posts) is about uncovering our true passion based on innate characteristics…
Patty Mayeux Blog 