Weekend Coffee Share 2-23-19
Good morning, Everyone.
Come on in. How’s your coffee?
I’m sipping coffee in cloudy (yet much warmer than home) Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where my daughter’s family lives. Baby boy and little girl action abound. My husband is steadily improving from back surgery. He can drive around town and is using a cane more often than a walker. But it is too soon for him to travel and my school is on winter break, so I flew down alone on Thursday to get my grandkid fix. It warmed my heart to see my grandson instantly recognized me and reached out for a smoosh and hug. He’s 16 months of constant motion and drool (teeth are erupting two and three at a time). He climbs on any surface (not necessarily horizontal), eats anything that is offered or found and has the best belly laugh. My granddaughter is a treasure trove of imaginative play with every Disney princess, a dino-head grabber, and unicorns.
If we were having coffee together, I would tell you that yesterday was a beautiful beach day. My granddaughter and I did a Carolina Polar Bear Plunge. It was chilly but not “take your breath away” cold. We collected enough small shells to hot glue and fashion a mermaid tiara, almost like Kiniro’s in Jan Brett’s The Mermaid.
If we were having coffee together, I would report that school starts back on Monday. Trimester report cards and assessments loom close. I also need to prepare my eight-week Journaling the Journey Workshop that starts in mid-March. Although I have been journaling forever, read many books on the subject and published a book based on my journaling from the first year of breast cancer treatment, I have never taught the subject. I don’t presume to be an expert. However, I believe journaling helps one navigate life challenges, acknowledge blessings and affirms life choices. It’s worth sharing.
If we were having coffee together, I would affirm that I decided to join the 2019 Blogging from A-Z Challenge. There are two to three themes on my short list. I need to see which one would work in alphabetical order. Last year’s Food Stories Remembered theme was so much fun to write. It may be hard to top.
My coffee cup needs a refill and the busy fun day needs to get going.
BIG THANK YOUs go out to, Eclectic Alli for managing Weekend Coffee Share.
Have a good week, Everyone. Make it great.
Antoinette Truglio Martin is the author of Hug Everyone You Know: A Year of Community, Courage, and Cancer. The memoir is a wimpy patient’s journey through her first year of breast cancer treatment.
Stories Served 
Hi, Antoinette – I’ve greatly enjoyed our coffee catch-up. I agree that grandchildren are the best. (Ours are 3-years old, 2 years old and 1-month old. Congratulations on signing up for the A-Z Challenge again. I greatly enjoyed your posts last year — that’s where I met you. I’ve decided not to sign up for the challenge this year, but I do look forward to following your A – Z writing!
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Glad to hear that your husband is recovering well from his surgery.
I am hoping to participate in the A to Z challenge again this year as well.
Thanks for coffee, have a great weekend.
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How fun! Your grandkids sounds like such sunshine’s. When I read about your granddaughter, I thought about m y own daughter, she LOVES collecting seashells. I’m trying to take her to the coast in California at least once a year. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Ah – grandkids. Our own children are taking their sweet time on this front. But I recall well how our kids caused my own parents, especially my mom, to fully malfunction…
I’m looking forward to using this excuse.
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Sounds like a good little get away. Next week is winter break here (you seem to be on the same schedule as Mass, RI, Con., etc. – NH is the NE state that is off). Hope your transition back goes well 🙂
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Hi Antoinette,
Your time with your grandchildren was so precious and I’m sorry your husband wasn’t able to join you and them. My kids have brought out the best in my Mum who has always been quite reserved and holding back. Mum, the kids and I went to visit my grandfather at his nursing home and Mum just sort of broke free and was whirling around with a hoola hoop. I was gobsmacked and captured the moment in a photo, which I absolutely love. BTW my grandfather had Alzheimers but he remembered our son long after he forgot the rest of us and he adored him. He was asleep a lot of the time and unresponsive but we turned up with the two kids and he was alert. Our son had been given a Fisher Price laptop and he was showing my grandfather how to move the mouse, which was a shaped like a plastic mouse. Then, my grandfather had a go. I was gobsmacked. He refused to move from an manual to electric typewriter. The staff were also amazed and were filming him.It was quite a moment.
I am also working on teaching journaling but to my daughter. I showed her a write up I’d done about my 13th birthday with all sorts glued in, she wanted to do something similar but didn’t know where to start. I thought I’d look at how Anne Frank started her diary, because I think she started with everyday happenings and I guess built a closer relationship with Kitty like you do with any friend and moved into more personal territory.
Anyway, hope you have a great week.
Best wishes,
Rowena
PS Thanks for reminding me of the pre-April schedule for the challenge. I’m planning to do it this year, but hopefully in a less intense manner. I tend to write about 50,000 words and it gets right out of control.
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Thank you for such a kind reply. I look forward to reading you in the A-Z challenge!
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Hi Antoinette, I think I have heard about your book, likely from Donna, Retirement Reflections. I notice I can get it on Kindle. I have a Kobo. Any thoughts on this?
Your title gave me goosebumps since the concept of hugs has been in my radar recently. We use the phrase, needing a “fix” in our house, too. I look forward to reading about your A to Z Challenge. It is nice to meet you:) Erica
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Yes you can get my book via Kobo. I’d love to know your thoughts. It so nice to meet you as well.
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