What Mother’s Day Means to Me. #mom

I found this pin in a pile when my mom recently cleaned out her room. Oh, the things she saves! It is about 30 years old and brings back so many memories. My mother is a huge part of who I am as a person, more so than anyone I know. Her faith and her ability to not curse make her seem angelic and very religious, but let me tell you about the quiet rebellion she has instilled in me through all these years.  She has truly shaped who I am as a person.

Independence is something I learned from my mom. I always thought she just developed it because my dad left, but I believe she had it long before then. You see, Mom left home after graduating and lived in Denver, working as a telephone operator. A few years later, she got married and had me; then my brother came along five years later. She returned to work when I was 11 or 12 after she and my dad divorced. As a teen, I grew to admire her for that. She was a proud Union member, which this pin represents. When Dad left, she worked to help support us. Today, I am also a proud Union member, which is why I love this pin. I also hate the kitchen, so I totally agree about a woman’s place!  Worker’s rights are very important to me as well.

Books, books, books!! I love them, maybe because she taught me to love them. Some things are hard to say, and I now write to get a lot of things out. Part of why I think I love books and writing is because Mom shared this with me. She also read just about anything. Stephen King’s Cujo and Firestarter were lying on her night table, so at an early age (12 or 13), I had read them after finding them in her room. There were ugly things and even profanity inside them. It almost seemed taboo, and I was hungry for even more. Perhaps she reasoned that it was better to prepare me for the world in this way. Maybe, she listened to all those people who told her I was precocious, and just let me read what I wanted.  I thank her so much for not trying to keep blinders on me, though I was reading these books long before she let me see R movies….Still, I loved this secret world of knowledge. And life happened, as it does to all of us. It will shock and disappoint, so why restrict our written education? Those books created warriors who arose from horrible situations, except Cujo, which just taught us to be sure your dog gets rabies shots. I hated King for a while, but it sure didn’t stop me from devouring the next Stephen King book!

Thanks Mom, for leaving a door open for me that sparked my imagination, and thank you for being the best example of what I could grow up to be!

I wish everyone a happy and relaxing Mother’s Day!

-Pamela

Advertisement

M is for Mother. #AtoZChallenge

Mom in her youth, holding her baby brother.

“Mother,” by Pamela Schloesser Canepa

An icon of strength,

Mother paved the way for me,

Courage led by faith.

 

(c) 2017, All rights reserved

**The AtoZ Challenge theme for my blog is “Who I am.” Yes, it’s wide open.  In April, I will blog from A to Z to include little tidbits about me, poems I’ll share, and stories. Each day I will write something based on the next letter in the alphabet.  It’s been fun so far, yet it has really given me a chance to pause for reflection as well.

Want to know more about the A-Z blog challenge?  Visit http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com

 

 

 

The Smell of Summer, a.k.a, Hanging with Mom

Inspired by writerswrite.com prompt, “Write about the smell of summer.”

1989.  In Vicky and Luverne’s tree, MN.

I’ve been wanting to write about my mom lately, anyway; she’s been having a reawakening of sorts, so this prompt fits right in!  My answer to the smell of summer would be, sunscreen.  The smell has always made me feel beautiful and relaxed, maybe because it signifies a relaxing day at the beach and the slight sunny glow that results (no burn, please).  Well, lately, my mom has smelled of sunscreen quite often!  This in itself makes her seem 20 years younger.  She used to wear perfume a lot, and being allergic, I always asked her to tone it down.  I do not associate the smell of perfume with youth; scented lotion is much better.  But now, she more often smells of sunscreen than not.  It is all part of her new goal of being active and getting OUT.

My 75 year old mother should give lessons on how to stay young.  Besides working part-time in a grocery store, she has been going to a Senior Center for a couple years now, and made several friends.  She usually goes to their exercise classes.  I’ve accompanied her once or twice, and I would say, they are really exercising, and it’s sort of fun.  They go to coffee afterwards, and they are a delightful bunch.  One of them is writing a book, like I am, and another loves to read everything, even Fifty Shades of Gray. (She’s 80, by the way).  I believe this group of friends is part of what keeps my mom young and active.  But that’s not all…

She started chatting with our neighbor, longer than necessary.  Yep, I’m sure other neighbors are looking and thinking, something’s going on there.  Well, he’s not yet 60, somewhere in his 50s.  But who cares, it’s just talking, right?  Well, it is, isn’t it?  I told her not to get drunk around him; I think she has already broken that rule.  Well, yeah, she drinks socially now, more than before, but I’m not here to judge.  In fact, she had two-for- one margaritas when we went out for Mexican the other night, and got really silly.  Heaven forbid I tell her what to do, but I did suggest she slow down and drink more water. (She didn’t).  My son spoke up and said he’d drive her car home.  Bless his soul.  I got past the urge to set limits for her, when I came home one day and they were outside the garage, standing there, chatting, shooting the breeze.  I should explain, I live with her; we bought a house 8 yrs. ago, and my now 20 year old son lives there, too.  So, on this particular day, I drove into the driveway, and said, “Hey, kids!”  Well, that’s just what they looked like!  As if they sneaked out to see other, young love in the works.  They both laughed and Mom loved the role reversal.  So I’ve decided to let her have her moments.  If this makes her feel good, it is not my place to limit what she is doing or judge it.

He bikes a lot, and eventually they went biking together, for a 6 mile ride.  She has since become quite regular with it, and if he’s working or busy, she goes by herself, for 6 to 9 miles.  So evidently, the new habit is sticking, and she won’t be relying on him to go bike riding with her.  She seems determined to seek out her own happiness and not depend on any man for it.  I say, Go Girl!  Last week, she bought a new bike.  I don’t think she needed it, but it sure is a sweet ride and seems very comfortable.  Sometimes she is up before me in the morning, and gets out riding her bike before I have even showered.  With the advent of summer and the heat, she started wearing sunscreen.  One night I noticed the sunscreen smell and realized it was her. The scent of the beach came to mind, relaxation, sunshine, and lazy waves.  But most of all, a feeling of youth.

The photo above is of me and my mother, in 1989.  We’d climbed a tree on my Aunt and Uncle’s farm in Minnesota.  She said she did it just to prove she could.  What a happy memory.  She and I laughed about it the other day, because she couldn’t get back down!  (I think someone had to help her).  But this is one thing that keeps my mother young, and I hope it has rubbed off on me.  She doesn’t exclude herself from anything because of her age.  Sure, we had a good laugh about the tree, but she did prove that she could get up there, so who cares about getting down!  She still has a youthful attitude towards throwing caution to the wind.  And a somewhat innocent belief that things will turn out just fine.  That was a wonderful summer memory.  I don’t see it as the past, either, it is just another example of how my mother has lived, and still does, live her life with an attitude that keeps her young.  So the smell of sunscreen is still something I associate with beauty, relaxation, and youth.  And now I often detect it on my mother:  the smell of summer.

Sale on my published e-book, Made for Me

 

Just in time for Mother’s Day!  Starting Sun., 5/08 at 8 a.m., my self-published Kindle e-book, Made for Me, will be 1.99, (regular selling price was 2.99) for 3 days only starting Sun., 5/08 and ending Weds., 5/11 at 11 p.m. (My dad’s birthday!)  The Amazon link is http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DZ5230G/

So, why am I blogging this?  I blog this because it’s part of spreading the word, and part of my journey as a self-published writer.  It will have been 30 days since I published my sci-fi tale of love in a modern era, Made for Me, meaning that now, it is eligible for a sale.  That means advertisement.  This is advertisement that I don’t have to buy.  So why not put it on sale?  Two weeks ago I did a giveaway of my book on Amazon. I gave away two books, and two people won out of 71 who entered, bringing a good number of followers to my Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon author page.  The cost?  I paid for two e-books.  But I think it was a valuable process in getting my book out there in the public awareness and very much worth it.

This is a little scary, the term “public awareness.”  I pushed it aside when I published, and I have to just laugh at it.  Isn’t that what a writer wants?  If I want to be known as a writer, that’s what I need!  I do not want to be like Emily Dickinson, admired and enjoyed mostly after she is gone.  The time is now, and I am willing to work hard to earn it!

Seriously, I am not just trying to sell my book.  I decided recently, that part of this blog is going to be the sharing of my journey through self-publishing as a writer.  Soon, I’ll feel I am able to call myself an author.  It can be a little lonely to be a “self-published” writer.  But there are many out there on the same journey.  If you are just starting out, reach out, share your experience; there are many willing to share theirs, or who may learn a lot from your experience.

By the way, back to Mother’s Day:  my mom loved this story and the book it grew into.  It totally encouraged me to tell myself, yes, it’s good enough.  Yes, someone will love it.  Therefore, it is worth my effort and time to be the writer that finishes, and publishes the book, and the agent who promotes it.  I am so thankful for a mom who encourages and believes in me!