One of my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone TV show from 1959 is, “Enough Time at Last”. It follows Mr. Henry Bemis in his daily life. All he wants to do is read, but he never gets a chance. His wife belittles him for reading, going as far as to vandalize his books. His boss at the bank wants him to work —not read– leaving him no place he can do it. Finally, one day he’s able to sneak off and read on a break in the Bank’s vault when a huge explosion occurs. He finds everything he’s known gone. He tries to make the best of it, but finds himself lonely and almost takes his life. This is when he runs across a library with all the books intact. It’s everything he’s wanted. He spends a lot of time sorting through the books in large stacks– or preparing for this perfect moment. Proudly he announces, “There’s enough time at last”, but then the worst possible thing happens. His glasses shatter and his response is “That’s not fair at all” –and it wasn’t. But, even with the sad outcome of this story it has always made me think about what I want in my own life. How I put things off I want to do, because I have decided there isn’t enough time or I’m waiting for that “perfect moment” that never comes. Sometimes we might get what we consider the “perfect moment”, but then it doesn’t last, like with poor Mr. Bemis.

I got one of those moments in my life with my “empty nest”. I finally had time to write and I did. As it always happens in life these “perfect moments” we wait for, don’t last–or our glasses break. My moment was gone as my empty nest is now over flowing. First, my granddaughter stayed with us for the last few weeks. Next, she was followed by her three siblings, mother (my daughter) and step dad. Four of them ended up living in our travel trailer out front, while my oldest grandchild is living in the house with his sister with us, or as we are called: Papa and Memaw. Moving and cleaning have been a big part of our lives lately.

Many things led up to this event that would require a more detailed blog, perhaps in the future. The biggest adjustment for me was finding myself back in the mother role. Every other week there is homework, bedtime routines, getting them to school, doctor appointments, disorders, food orders, shopping excursions, getting just one more snack…then I fall exhausted into my bed.

I ran into our neighbor at the bus stop picking up her grandchild. We used to car pool together with our kids- many moons ago. Here we both were again, with the next generation.

This current situation got me to think a lot about my own grandparents. They were always there for me– it  has gone full circle. Funny how life does that. Although, this wasn’t in my life plans, maybe this was what life had planned for me. I’m the first to admit I have more lessons I need to learn. Yet, some negativity peeked through—should I stop writing? Should I wait or take a break until that “perfect moment” comes again?

No! The future can never guarantee the “perfect time” will come again. I have an option Mr. Bemis did not have. I can repair those broken glasses…even if it is only with some tape or glue. I know this situation will likely be a blessing in disguise, even if my first reaction was “You have to be kidding me”. So, I will do the next best thing and not wait for things to be perfect and still do the things I enjoy in life — which includes writing.

Fun Note and first blessing in disguise: My seven-year-old granddaughter is able to hula hoop and read at the same time– for over a half hour.   I’m not able to hula hoop, no matter how hard I try… but I can read:)

UPDATES:

This Second Chance has been released! Giveaway to follow soon!

Anyone interested in hosting a blog for “This Second Chance” release in the next couple of weeks–please let me know. I will send you the information. I appreciate any and all help:)

I’m back to work on The Button and Just her Poetry.

Dolphin’s Cave: Stay tuned!

Newsletters went out. This month’s Hat winners (picked by my husband and grand-kids) were: Rabia, Jan, and Jennifer!  Many free copies of “This Second Chance” were sent out! Thanks for all the support!

Book reviews next week.

So much is going on in the world, including hurricanes and earthquakes. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected by natural disasters, and other events.

Happy Fall!

Embrace your inner child, D.L. Finn

One of the ways I spent this summer was doing house projects–including painting the family room. It turned out to be a healing experience for me.

It started off as a modest project of painting the family room blue. I left the painted wood wall for last. Should I paint it blue, too– or lightly sand it I wondered? That didn’t turn out to be a simple question.

Twenty-five years ago, it was a lovely wooden wall. My husband had installed a nice oak floor that matched the wooden cabinets in that room. I like the look of natural wood, but I also enjoy the look of wood with a light coat of white paint (where the grain shows through). One morning after getting my two young daughters off to school, I felt compelled to paint this room. That “particular” day it felt “too woody” to me. I thought how hard could it be to make the wood look like I was envisioning it in my head.  Well, without researching how to do it, I ended up with a wall covered in paint and no wood grain to be found. My husband was “surprised” when he came home from work, but also patient. You see, the night before I’d had my third miscarriage. My way to deal with the emotional pain was to paint and cover up that beautiful wooden wall.

We lived with it until this last summer. I thought how hard could it be to sand a bit of that paint off… and see the wood grain. I started with the “distressed” look. I tried to like it, but well, I didn’t. So, I got to work and sanded all the paint off that section of the wall. There was the wood I remembered from years ago peeking out of the white. Determined, I got to work with my little circular sander. It took all my strength holding it up and pushing against the wall to chip away at the white paint, but it was happening bit by bit.

My husband came home from work again – and stared at the wall. He realized the work we had ahead. He went into the garage and returned with his heavy-duty sander. The paint came off faster (with the right sand paper), but it was also heavier to hold up. My arms ached at the end of each day, but my husband would take over when he got home from work. We continued this for several long days into the next weekend.

The room was off limits during this time, with sheets hung up to prevent the dust from spreading throughout the house. Each day we’d clean up the mess.

Finally, on a Sunday morning my husband wearily pronounced he was through. He declared this was a project he never wanted to do again…I completely agreed. All we had left was the cleanup and painting of the trim and ceiling. Gee, was that all? Even with my best efforts, the dust made it throughout the house. Clean up was a whole other project I focused on, while he finished up the painting.

Now, we have a beautiful room and I have closure. The time came to sand all of that paint away and bring back the beauty again. Writing No Fairy Tale helped me see some patterns in my life and let them go– finally.  It may have been just painting a room and sanding a wall – but it removed what was buried inside me all these years. This summer I expunged it and exposed the possibilities that life offers—including the birth of a son whose 23^rd birthday is this week!

This Second Chance will be released this week! Watch for it! Giveaway to follow.

Dolphin’s Cave: Stay tuned!

Monthly Newsletter is coming out the 20th! Check your email if you are subscribed.

Embrace your inner child, D.L. Finn

Here are some awesome 4 or 5 star books I’ve been reading:

Finding Katie

by Harmony Kent

“Finding Katie” is a beautifully written story about a difficult subject. Katie’s a seventeen-year-old girl who cuts herself to deal with childhood abuse and flashbacks. Being written in first-person present really pulled me into the story and I found it a hard book to put down. Katie ends up in a mental institute after she cuts herself too deeply. Although this isn’t light reading, I found a glimmer of hope when a nurse stepped in to help this young woman. I rooted for Katie and felt her pain as she opened-up to herself. This may have been a fictional tale, but this is a reality for some children. I finished this with a little more understanding of the people who pull others out of that darkness created by their loved ones. I highly recommend this psychological thriller.

Hidden worlds around us, is a repeating theme in my work. Here are a couple of poems from No Fairy Tale that I wrote while working on Dolphin’s Cave that reflect that sentiment.

ANOTHER WORLD

Deep under the sea

Is another place,

Not just for fish

Or humans to explore.

It’s their world,

Unseen by mortal eyes.

They know it isn’t safe

To show themselves just yet.

They welcome back

Another one

Who had been lost

From their fold.

They are safe,

And they wait

For their time

To come forth.

Until then they watch,

Wait, and swim

With the dolphins,

Hiding in plain sight.

UNDERWATER WORLD

I can breathe.

I shouldn’t be able to,

But I can.

In an underwater deep chill,

I can breathe.

I am a part of this world

Hidden from humans.

Am I even human anymore?

Not that I care now.

I am not afraid.

I know this is where I was meant to be.

Deeper I go.

Ahead is a cave

That I enter,

Riding on the back of a dolphin.

My eyes are strangely soothed

As I enter an underwater city

Ringed by golden towers anchored

Firmly in the rocky substratum

Of this marine world.

So many faces

Like yours are watching,

As though they have been

Long expecting.

It is strange and scary.

You approach them.

When you smile weakly,

They smile back.

This is home now.

You know it.

Without being told,

One reaches out

And takes your hand.

You don’t pull away.

You are home.

Updates:

This Second Chance is almost ready! I just finished putting my final touches on it after a thorough edit. I sent it to my first reader, Danielle to make sure I didn’t miss anything! Thanks, Danielle:) Then it heads back to formatting, Monday! So mid-September is my best guess for its new release date! Very excited!

Dolphin’s Cave…stay tuned.

As you know when I moved from Wix to WordPress, I lost all my old blogs. So, I was thinking about running some of my favorites here (along with new blogs). I will continue to post my book reviews (new ones next week). So, I will let you know if it is a new blog – or a blast from the past!

No Fairy Tale is a 2017 Readers’ Favorite Finalist for Poetry General Category!

Sending thoughts and prayers to those impacted by the hurricane that hit Texas – and helping where I can.

Embrace your inner child, D.L. Finn