Each Tuesday  on Sara Healy's blog A Sharing Connection there is a creative writing challenge which revolves around a picture.  This week's picture was of a wall with a garden behind it.  The challenge was to create a short story about what was behind the wall.  This is my story.

Each day as I walked to work I passed by a beautiful garden. There was sign that said, "Visitors Welcome" but I was always too busy to stop to see what was inside. Today I promised myself that I would slow down and spend just a few minutes walking inside the garden. It was going to be my special challenge of the day. I always challenged myself with at least one thing and today’s challenge I quickly found out was going to be how to get inside the garden. Since the sign said I was welcome I could not figure out why it was so hard to get in. As I gently began to touch each brick of the wall, time passed by without my noticing. I became so involved in what I was doing that I forgot to hurry. When my fingers lightly touched the last brick a hidden wall opened and I gained entry into a magical place filled with flowers of every size and color. I found a bench next to a beautiful pond and sat down to think about what had just happened to me. I had walked by this garden twice a day for a year and never stopped to look. My life was filled with things to do but I was in such a hurry I never enjoyed them. Today taught me that there are many beautiful places and things very close to home that we can see and enjoy if we just slow down and take the time to find them.

Is there a special place close to you that you need to take the time to visit and enjoy? I would love to hear about it.

When I woke up this morning at 4:00 to a horrible thunderstorm I decided to unplug my computer but of course before doing that I checked to see what Jamie's Wishcasting prompt was for this week.  Her prompt, "How do I wish to be brave?" was very appropriate for the storm I was watching swirling all around me but it is not the weather that I need to address. I wish to be brave as I transition from one stage of life to another. We are all transitioning all of the time but as I age I want to do so without looking back but by moving forward bringing with me the knowledge I have gained from the past as well as a strong sense of excitement for all of the new experiences I am about to have. I believe that if I move through life with this attitude I won't have to be brave because I will be living life to the fullest without being scared!

Taking Jamie Ridler's e-course Sparkles is really alot of fun. For 31 days you receive a creative prompt which can be completed in 5 minutes.  Of course if you are like me and the prompt is anything that has to do with a camera it might take alot longer.  I really want to learn how to take a good picture and I have been happily snapping away for several months but I don't really know a whole lot about what I am doing.  So when this prompt involved a self-portrait, I thought oh great now what am I going to do. But I  had fun taking pictures and my five year old grandson thought this picture was hysterically funny which made me have even more fun and for me that is what this e-course is all about. 
Last week I wrote alot about spring and warm weather and beautiful flowers. Well this weekend, it rained and hailed and was very dreary outside. It is supposed to get cooler again but I have decided that no matter what this week I am going to "Sparkle" with or without the sun.  I would love to know more about the creative projects that keep you sparkling each day.

I think in my neighborhood everyone has gotten spring's message to go out and party and play.  This has been an incredible week in the south.  The days have been sunny but with just enough breeze to be cool.  The sky has been blue, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and the trees are turning green.  Everywhere you look you see people walking, running, and having fun.  There are kids in the playgrounds, parents playing tennis and golf, and teenagers just having fun no matter where they are.
My husband and I took a motorcycle ride to a local park.  As we sat on the bench overlooking the lake, I told him I felt like I was in an old fashioned postcard.  Everywhere you looked there were people enjoying themselves.  There was a group of elderly ladies (walkers and all) who were having such a good time talking and laughing.  There were couples strolling (not walking) holding hands as they meandered the trails.  There were unmotorized boats on the lake that glided past young boys with their kites.  It was really a beautiful place to be on a sunny afternoon.
Those are the images that made this week special for me.  This was a week filled with natural beauty!  This was a week filled with simple pleasures!  I couldn't ask for anything more.
I would love to know the special moments you experienced this week. 

I really think it is important to have dreams, set goals, and than take action.  A few weeks ago, I said that I was going to add a short story page to my blog and put some of the things I write on that page. Monday I started a new writing class and so I have decided that as I write a story I will then publish it on my Short Stories page of my blog.  Please feel free to read this week's very short story  "The Witness Protection Program" and then either email me with a suggestion or comment or leave a comment on this blog.  Either way I will be able to communicate with you which for me is what blogging and writing are all about. 

It is Wishcasting Wednesday and today's prompt is "How do I wish to sparkle?"  I love this question.  Last year my word for the year was sparkle and it was such a fun word.    My answer to Jamie's question is simple.  I want to sparkle in every way possible.  I want my eyes to sparkle with the anticipation of the fun I am going to have each day. I want to sparkle when I walk and sparkle when I talk.  I want there to be an energy and sparkle in everything I do.  I want to live life to the fullest.  Last year I learned how much fun it is to sparkle. I began to really notice things and appreciate them to the fullest.  The sun sparkling over the water, the snow sparkling on the trees and of course the new earrings that sparkled in my ears all brought a smile to my face.  It doesn't have to be expensive to sparkle.  It just takes the right mindset and the willingness to make choices that can help you live your life to the fullest.  Is it easy?  Not always.  But is it worth it?  I can answer without hesitation, a big loud sparkley "Yes!" 

       "Success is not final, failure is not fatal:  it is the courage to continue 
                                            that counts."  Winston Churchill      

When I read this quote this weekend I thought of the moments I felt really great during my lifetime and I also thought of the times I felt that I had failed and I realized both were in the past.  They were wonderful memories or embarassing moments but they were in the past.  It is now, the present, that matters.  It is learning from both our successes and our failures while continuing to grow and learn that takes courage.
Five years ago at age 60, I decided to to take yoga something very new for me.  Most days I was the oldest in the class and by far the most self conscious.  I had no sense of my body and when the instructor was looking left I was looking right.  When everyone else was down I was up. It was hard everytime I went but I kept going back.  I took private lessons which helped me so much and I got better.  Yoga taught me so much about my body but also about myself. Now, I truly believe in the mind, body, and spirit connection.  It also taught me that although I may be successful in a pose today I may not be able to hold it tomorrow.  It taught me that although I may fail at a pose over and over again that if I keep trying one day I will get it. Yoga has helped me to realize that nothing in life is permanent so it is my responsibility to make each and every day as meaningful and special that I can.  
Courage comes in many shapes and forms.  We are all different and have different challenges in our lives but noone lives without facing a challenge.  Learning to live in the moment, celebrating our successes, and learning from our mistakes or failures and continuing to move forward is what courage is all about to me.  What does courage look like to you?
PS:  I am seriously thinking of becoming a yoga instructor.  Now that will take courage but I think I can do it.

It is amazing how fast the week can go by. It is Friday the day I have set aside to share something that made me happy, feel good, smile or laugh. This week it was harder to find things to smile or laugh about.  With so many people suffering, it has been a difficult week.  But then I thought about three stories I heard of three different women who I felt were very strong and I thought I would share their stories with you.  These three women come from different generations but they have one thing in common a creative spirit and a sense of adventure.
The first is a young girl, the daughter of a friend, who is a senior in high school.  She is very artistic and loves to draw caricatures.  For her prom, she created her dress and her date's tuxedo entirely out of duct tape.  She also made all of the accessories, from top to bottom, for both of them.  It took her five months to complete the outfits which were incredible.  I admire her so much for being true to who she is, for honoring herself and her art, and for having so much fun doing it.  As one of her many fans said, "Look out Project Runway."
The second is the story of a good friend who is in her mid forties.  She loves animals and currently has nine rescue dogs.  She loves her dogs and takes incredible care of them.  One of the things she does to exercise them is to ride her ATV as they run beside her through the pasture and woods.  Several weeks ago the throttle on the ATV stuck and her choice was to go down a steep hill or hit a tree.  She chose the tree and was incredibly lucky that she was not permanently injured.  She broke her jaw,, knocked her bottom teeth loose, and was very bruised but yesterday was able to meet me for lunch.  The doctor told her that because she is so strong she has been able to heal very quickly.  She not only takes care of all of her dogs but also her horse that she has had for 32 years.  Laurie is an incredible painter and loves nature. I think there is something about being creative that makes us strong people.
The third is someone I have not met yet but is a friend of Laurie's. She came to help when Laurie was hurt.  Laurie said she was a huge help and is always very calm.  This lady is 74 and also loves horses.  She has 16 acres which she takes care of by herself.  She also takes care of her own horses as well as the horses she boards.  Again, she does this all by herself.  Another example of a strong woman. She says that people think she is crazy to have so much to take care of at this stage of her life but this is what she wants to do.  So this is what she will do.
  It is always so inspirational  to meet, know, or hear about women who are confident, strong, and true to themselves and their dreams no matter how young or how old they are. 
 Please take a moment to leave a comment or share a story about something special that happened to you this week.  I would love to hear from you!!