This morning I opened my eyes, rolled out of bed onto the floor, and onto my knees, to pray. This is a morning and nightly ritual in our family. My kids are adults now, but the last thing I say to them at night is, “Say your prayers, on your knees.”
I always begin my prayer with … “Thank you, Lord, for waking me up this morning …” but after saying those words this morning, my prayer was cut short as I jumped up and ran to my office to pen the piece below. (By the way, I did return to finish my morning prayer).
THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE
We lie down, but we don’t know if we’re going to wake up.
We leave the house, without the certainty that we’ll ever return.
We get behind the wheel of a car
Not to go far…
Just a few blocks from home.
But, who could have known
There’d be a drunk driver on the same road that day?
We befriend who will become our best friend, and we’re sure their loyalty to us is impenetrable.
But then, they betray us in the worst way …
The unspeakable is their crime.
‘Til this day, we can’t talk about it.
We meet and marry the person we are sure will walk with us … ‘Til Death Do Us Part’ –
But then, they break our heart.
The unimaginable pain left behind is too much to forgive,
So we part.
We bear children and make plans for their future.
Our dreams are what we hope theirs will be.
But then, they grow up, into their own minds, and begin to dream their own dreams for their lives.
And we, well, we have to live with what their dreams produce.
It is of little use
To fight them on their dreams.
We plan for them to marry those who will love and cherish them … protect them.
But what they bring home to us are those who hurt and abuse them.
So, we pray and ask God to watch over and blanket them with his protection, for ultimately they belong to him and are only on loan to us.
Trust … we must.
Such is the uncertainty of life.
There are but a few wonders of life that we can be sure of…
The rain comes from the clouds
The moon lights up the sky
The sun comes up each day
We’ll live and then we’ll die.
~Nonnie Jules
I hope you enjoyed this piece of what I call a life reflection. Every thought, gave me pause.
Welcome back, friends! I’m honored today to host the final day of RRBC’s “SPOTLIGHT” Author, the sweetheart, Robbie Cheadle! Unfortunately, this post was scheduled for another blog but their internet is down so I have been honored to open and close her tour. Let’s all welcome Robbie back to ASK THE GOOD MOMMY! The last time she was here was March of 2020 for her WHEN THE BOMBS FELL tour.
Now, I’ll turn it all over to our guest blogger, Robbie…
Open a New Dooris a poetic peep into the life of the poet, Robbie Cheadle and her co-author, both of whom live in South Africa.
The book is divided into four categories: God bless Africa, God bless my family and friends, God bless me and God bless corporates and work. Each part is sub-divided into the good, the bad and the ugly of the two poets’ experiences, presented in rhyming verse, free-style, haiku and tanka, in each of these categories and include colourful depictions of their thoughts and emotions.
The purpose of this book of poetry is encapsulated in the following tanka and haiku poems: What drives me to write? To share my innermost thoughts The answer is clear It’s my personal attempt To make some sense of this world.
Inspiration blossoms Like the unfurling petals Of the Desert Rose
I promise is a rhyming verse poem about the serious subject of mental health and its impact on both the sufferer and their family and loved ones. This poem is written in the rhyming form A, A, B, B.
About My mind’s eye
This poem highlights the difficulties experienced by the families of people who suffer from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The needs of the sufferer can be very invasive and seem selfish as their anxiety rises and the need for others to participate in their rituals and compulsions increases.
My mind’s eye
Words, like small pebbles, drop into my resting mind,
his own needs and desires make him emotionally blind,
no consideration for others, or ability to wait, it would seem,
it’s like a physical assault, as I try and shake off my dream.
It feels so utterly selfish, it makes me completely irate,
I react negatively to his questions, which winds him up into a state,
annoyance boils up inside me, makes my stomach churn,
I always end up capitulating, so why then, don’t I learn.
His bright and agile mind is really most deceiving,
results in a lack of understanding and others not believing,
if it was obvious, this incapacity showing on the outside,
the gulf between experiences, mine and theirs, wouldn’t be so wide.
As the source of stress nears, the questioning intensifies,
this is the self-calming technique, on which he most relies,
it is also the most invasive, and causes the most tension,
I confirm that I promise and try to limit any further extension.
A relaxed and happy home, I have heard of such a place,
a desire so strong, it is one I can almost taste,
as he starts along the uphill path of his teenage years,
I feel my own will be fraught with concern and tears.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Roberta Eaton Cheadle has published nine children’s books under the name of Robbie Cheadle. She has branched into writing for adults and young adults and, in order to clearly separate her children’s books from her adult books, is writing for older readers under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. Roberta Eaton Cheadle has published two novels for YA and adult readers and has contributed to seven anthologies.
Friends, thank you for dropping by to support Robbie on the last stop of her tour. To catch up with the rest of her 7-day tour, please visit the “SPOTLIGHT” Author forum on the RRBC site and don’t forget to pick up a copy of her book above! Lastly, we ask that you LIKE and SHARE this post, as well as the “SPOTLIGHT” Author page to your social media, to enhance Robbie’s support!
What did you think of Robbie’s poetry? She’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
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If you’re seeking amazing support from the most awesome literary community around, we invite you to join us atRave Reviews Book Club, where author support is simply grand! We’ve put hundreds of authors on the map from name-recognition alone and we can do the same for you! We’re more than just a club – we’re family, where everyone knows your name and works to promote you just as hard as they work to promote themselves!
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This morning I logged onto my Twitter and I find this. It was so moving and so incredibly heartbreaking, I could not take another step without sharing this with you. I’m a parent of a college student. I’m a parent of a college athlete. And as a parent who loves all, I feel all his pain.
Friends, we are living through some very difficult times. To me, it almost feels as if we’re all in this boiling pot and at any given moment, we’re all going to just boil right over. Systemic racism is a real thing and it’s clear by the marches and peaceful protests that are taking place right now all over the world, that it isn’t just the black community who is angry – everyone with a conscience is pissed at what is going on right before our eyes. And, because these protests and marches house more than just those from the black community, maybe now, change is really going to take place … positive change, that is.
I was excited when I learned that the network, BRAVO, had gathered and produced a show with cast members from various shows of their network, to discuss this racial climate we’re living…
Yesterday, as I watched the final night of the Democratic National Convention, I was so moved by the story that was told about Joe Biden’s mother, I captured the audio to share with you below…
I thought I was the only mom in the world like this!
I have a story so eerily similar to Joe’s, that I was reeling when I heard the one above.
When my baby was in kindergarten, a little boy shoved her on the playground. When she told the teacher, as she had been taught to do (by my husband), the teacher responded rudely with … “If you tattle one more time…”
Well, when I picked my baby up from school that afternoon, I noticed as we were walking to the car, her beautiful smile was missing. “What’s wrong, baby?” I asked. She shared with me what the teacher had said to her.
I turned around so fast, my baby’s feet were probably lifted from the ground, as her hand was in mine while I was in fast motion. I marched up to this teacher, in full view and earshot of every other parent, child and teacher around, and I asked her, “Did you threaten my baby?” In her boldness (or ignorance as to the kind of mom I was and still am) she said, “Yes, she tattles…”
Before the woman could finish her sentence and before I could form another thought, my finger was on her nose. Yes, TOUCHING THE TIP OF HER NOSE. I said to her, very calmly and with extreme clarity, “If you ever threaten my child again, I’m going to sweep this entire area with your little body.”
Yes, I said and I did just that – I also meant every word. So, as you can see, I loved hearing that Joe Biden’s mom, a mom before my time, was fierce enough to “warn” a nun that she would rip that damn bonnet off her head if she threatened her child again. She was a mom just like me!
Every mom in this world should feel that protective of their babies. Every mom in this world should be that bold when it comes to standing up to adult bullies when they threaten their babies in any way. Every mom should be just like Joe Biden’s mom. I wish I had known her!
Bravo, Mrs. Biden!
Have you ever had a brave mommy moment like Mrs. Biden?
There is so much to see and do at this amazing event, but at the top of that list, is a huge helping of fun! There are so many games to play and win! So many door prizes to be won! So many people to meet and new friends to make – and I don’t want you to miss another second of it!
So, drop by, visit every area of the event, but don’t leave any of the (virtual) author booths or Vendor booths without leaving a comment, because those comments get your name thrown into a lottery to win that author’s door prize!
Every year, we also raffle off (7) $100 Amazon gift card gift baskets and there’s still time until this Sunday, August 16th, for you to purchase a raffle ticket or tickets! Don’t miss this amazing opportunity!
We’re the most amazing book club around, but what kind of book club would we be if we weren’t offering AUTHOR READINGS to our friends? I am certainly not that kind of friend! I want you to drop in and have fun and win prizes and door prizes!
Well, I’ve talked enough. Time for me to hurry and get back to all the fun! I’ll see you there!
Please forgive my sharing lately of news that isn’t writing-related, but there are certain things I feel we need to get the word out about regarding this pandemic we’re living through. Some things are just too important not to share, so when you happen across information that might be beneficial to us all, I hope that you will also share it with the masses.
I know that we are bombarded daily with news of the Coronavirus – how it’s taking its toll on families, etc. Today I came across this message from CNN’s Chris Cuomo about how it feels to have this awful virus, and because he is a trusted anchor, in my opinion, I felt his message needed to be shared with you all.
From losing 13 pounds in 3 days to hallucinating having a conversation with his deceased father, this is an absolutely compelling account of…
Welcome all to day 5 of the WHILE THE BOMBS FELL blog tour! This post is definitely one parents can learn from so I am proud to be able to share it with all of you.
What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2?
Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often they come and the air raid siren sounds signalling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden.
Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia.
Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes.
What is tetanus?
Tentanus is an acute infectious disease caused by spores of bacteria. These spores are found everywhere in the environment, particularly in soil, ash, intestinal tracts/feces of animals and humans, and on the surfaces of skin and rusty tools like nails, needles, barbed wire, etc. Being very resistant to heat and most antiseptics, the spores can survive for years.
Symptoms of tetanus
Tetanus is often called lockjaw due to one of its common symptoms being spasms of the jaw muscles. Other symptoms of tetanus include:
Muscle spasms (often in the stomach)
Muscle stiffness all over the body
Trouble swallowing
Jerking or staring (seizures)
Headache
Fever and sweating
Changes in blood pressure and heart rate
Symptoms of tetanus can appear anywhere from 3 to 21 days after exposure. The further the injury site is from the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), the longer it will take to see symptoms in an infected person. The quicker the symptoms present after an injury, the higher the risk of death.
John A. Roebling was a German-born and educated civil engineer who immigrated to the U.S.A. He is famous for his designs of rope-suspension bridges, including the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge over the Ohio River in Cincinnati, which is named after him. In 1867, while he was surveying the site for the Brookyn Bridge spanning the East River in New York, his foot was crushed by an arriving ferry. His injured toes were amputated, but he still developed tetanus, which killed him on July 22, 1869.
Joe Powell
Joe Powell was an English footballer and the captain of the Woolwich Arsenal in their first year of League football. During a match in 1896, he broke his arm, which had to be amputated. Despite the amputation, he contracted blood poisoning and tetanus which eventually killed him on November 29, 1896. He is one of the only footballers to die directly from an injury that occurred during a game.
George Montagu
George Montagu was a English army officer and famous naturalist who specialized in birds. He pioneered work on the Ornithological Dictionary which was the first document to catalogue Britain’s bird population. One day in 1815, he stepped on a rusty nail and died of tetanus shortly afterward. His collection of over 200 birds was donated to British museums.
Tetanus and While the Bombs Fell
When my mother was a very small girl growing up in the English town of Bungay during World War II, one of the young boys who lived in the town stepped on a piece of rusty corrugated iron while the children were playing in the river one afternoon. Derek contracted tetanus and, much to the shock of the children, died a horrible and painful death.
This is a short extract from the book:
“Unfortunately, Derek Mickleborough’s experience of standing on the piece of corrugated iron did not end that afternoon. The children had no way of knowing that the day spent at Sandy would be the last time any of them saw Derek alive. By the end of the following week, young Derek started experiencing mild spasms of his jaw, chest, neck, back, and stomach. Derek’s symptoms worsened over the following few weeks, and he became ill with fever and sweating. He also experienced stiffness in his neck and had violent muscle spasms. Within a month, Derek died of lockjaw or tetanus.
The children of the town, who learned of his horrible symptoms and spasms through overheard conversations amongst the adults, were shocked by his death.
His parents did not call the doctor for a home visit timeously as they did not have much spare money available and they were quite ignorant as to the symptoms of this deadly illness and its dire consequences.
It is unlikely that the doctor could have done much anyway as there were no antibiotics available in Suffolk at that time.”
AUTHOR BIO:
Hello, my name is Robbie, short for Roberta. I am an author with six published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with my son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about my mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of my children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.
I also have a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.
I have recently branched into adult and young adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential my children’s books from my adult writing, I plan to publish these books under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. My first supernatural book published in that name, Through the Nethergate, is now available.
I have participated in a number of anthologies:
Two short stories in #1 Amazon bestselling anthology, Dark Visions, a collection of horror stories edited by Dan Alatorre under Robbie Cheadle;
Three short stories in Death Among Us, an anthology of murder mystery stories, edited by Stephen Bentley under Robbie Cheadle;
Three short stories in #1 Amazon bestselling anthology, Nightmareland, a collection of horror stories edited by Dan Alatorre under Robbie Cheadle; and
Two short stories in Whispers of the Past, an anthology of paranormal stories, edited by Kaye Lynne Booth under Roberta Eaton Cheadle.
“You don’t have to be oppressed to disagree with the oppressor. Change only comes when we all take a stand.”
~Nonnie Jules
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I came across this story and it ripped my heart out for a couple of reasons – one, to know that we are still here in 2020 is just maddening, and two, that there would be those who would try to hurt someone, still in 2020, based on the color of their skin.
Read this story aboutCrystal Mason. Tell me what you think about it in the comments below.
In case you’d like to delve deeper into this story, here is the link to YouTube vides about this story.
Happy New Year! It’s 2020 and I’m so glad that I’m able to be here sharing with you!
Due to my busy, busy, busy schedule with the RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB and RAVE WRITERS – INT’L SOCIETY OF AUTHORS, I have found that my own writing time and the time that I connect with you, my followers, has been greatly compromised in the past years. One of my resolutions for 2020 is to get back on track with my writing and blogging and to stay there!
I’ll have more to share with you later but, do keep up, because this year, you’re going to have a lot more questions to ask the good mommy!
Today, I’m here to share awesome news…so please take a look below:
-If you are an author looking for amazing support, #RRBC is the place for you!
-If you are looking to grow as a writer, #RRBC is the place for you!
-If you are looking for a community where your peers push for your success just as hard as they push for their own, #RRBC is the place for you!
When visiting, we ask that you #follow our site so that you’re kept up-to-date with all the awesome news that we’ll be sharing in 2020.
If you like what you see after looking around the site, then please, JOIN US! We’d love to have you!
Friends, I know some of you have been straddling the fence about joining RRBC, but, in this new decade, this new year, make the decision to get off the fence and jump right into the most awesome community of writers there ever was. I promise you, you’ll be so glad you did!
