New Children’s Book Release: Cora’s Quest

Dear Family and Friends,

I’m excited to announce the release of my children’s book, Cora’s Quest! My nephew, Chris Mendez, illustrated the book, and it was a magical experience watching Cora come to life in her woodland world through his beautiful artwork.

Full transparency, this is my first children’s book. So, I hope that anyone (adults or children) who get to know Cora will find her little story to be a charming tale, and will take her big message to heart with them into the future.

Book blurb:

I haven’t planned a blog tour, but my good friend, Resa, is just as excited as I am, so she’ll spread this exciting news on her blog as well! If you would like to promote Cora’s Quest on any social media platform, I would be honored and thrilled! If so, please let me know in the comments below, or you can email me at baydreamer25@gmail.com. A Huge Thanks in advance! 🙏

To purchase your copy from Amazon, click on the link above.
Cora’s Quest would be a delightful addition to your holiday shopping!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you a peaceful holiday season.
Lauren ❤️

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.

Laughing Spiders!

I’m sharing this story again that ties into my review of Dawn’s book from my prior post. I hope you enjoy again if you’ve already read it. And if you’re reading for the first time, I hope it brings a smile or makes you laugh. 😁

Dad saved my life when I was a little girl! He was my hero, and the unforgettable episode took place when my parents, sisters, and I were at our cabin for a weekend getaway in Big Bear, California. Sugar pines surrounded our little bungalow on the big corner lot in the mountains. We had just finished Mom’s delicious lasagna dinner, and everyone was relaxing in their own way for the rest of the evening. With crayons, I was bringing to life a picture in my coloring book, sitting on our coffee-colored sofa by our stone fireplace, and that’s when Dad noticed the spider on the cushion heading for me at lightning speed. He caught it just before it began the climb onto my leg. In those days, any spider who found itself inside our home didn’t live to see the sunrise the next morning. This moment was traumatic for me, so spiders have been the bane of my existence ever since. Even in my teen years, spiders seemed to follow my every move!

These wee beasts spent much of their time in my bathroom with the sky-blue walls and plush soft matching rugs. Never did they tour my parent’s bathroom. My mind drifts to the morning when I was about to take a shower, getting ready for another day of high school…as I turned the knob and looked up, I watched a spider ride the waves of the cascading waterfall down, down, down. I jerked my head back just in time, and I cringed thinking of that eight-legged creature tangled up in my long brown hair.

Mornings began to fuel anxiety as spider social calls manifested soon after the crack of dawn. The sun brightened the sky and another high school day was on the horizon. I grabbed a towel to dry off after showering when I felt something unnatural. Looking down, I watched in horror as a brown spider scuttled across my chest. I jumped, avoiding a nasty fall in the tub, and brushed the spider off not caring where it landed. I just wanted it off my skin!

I think these creepy-crawlies watched for me so they could plan their next prank. During another shower with my head full of shampoo suds, I spotted a black spider near my feet. The routine my feet performed was not one of a happy dance! With a swish here and there, my foot managed to nudge the scary intruder down the drain with ripples of water. I imagined it whirling into the dark depth of the water system. I quickly rinsed the suds out. Just as I felt calm run through my body, I looked down and noticed that spider climbing out of the drain! This could only happen to me!

I’m not afraid of fangs digging into me. Fear rears its ugly head when they appear out of the blue, startling me out of my wits! Any hope of building armor is hopeless. And they have too many legs; this, combined with their sudden movements of jumping or crawling at high-speed, send me into a tizzy, as my dad used to say. Also, spiders are not pretty. Not to me. The visual doesn’t compare to the beauty of a butterfly. In fact, their creepy appearance propels me into a panic as much as their sudden company!

Even after five decades, I haven’t been able to shake my skittish reactions. Even though I’m a giant compared to the spider, with any fear, the source becomes magnified. So, I’ve diagnosed myself with arachnophobia. And the tale continues…

One incident took place later in life. I’m now a wife and mom with two young children. On an evening like any other while my family was getting ready for bed, I walked through the house locking up. I turned the lights out in the living room, but noticed a dark spot the size of my palm on the carpet. I almost – almost – reached down to touch it, but a bell went off in my subconscious warning me not to. I turned on the light and staring back at me was a black hairy tarantula!

     “Oh, Shit!” I screamed, backing up slowly.

     “Uh, oh! A spider found mom!” My husband, Matt, said to our daughter and son, who thankfully, didn’t share my fear. But he silently questioned the kind of spider that would cause me to shriek. This scenario sounded different.

After I managed to widen the space between the tarantula and me, my feet felt like cement blocks. Fear crept into my veins like a drug. I had never seen a tarantula up close, although I was thankful it stayed put. It didn’t budge. It was not afraid of me. What a fiasco if the tarantula had run! If it had, I would’ve run too! Heebie-jeebies creep up my arms imagining the leggy intruder finding comfort beneath the sofas (that I would never sit on again!).

Matt was taken back when he joined me in the living room and was surprised that I hadn’t passed out! My daughter had instituted the trend of saving spiders with a glass and a paper plate. So, by grabbing those two items, Matt scooped up the uninvited guest while I held the door. Per my request, he walked far enough away from the house before setting the big guy free in the yard. No tarantula was killed in the telling of this event. Our front door had been open earlier in the evening with the screen door closed. Spiders can maneuver through any cracks, but how that tarantula the size of my palm squeezed through baffles me to this day!

A few weeks after Matt had introduced “Harry” to his outdoor residence, my phobia eventually quieted down. Until recently when I sat at the kitchen table typing on my laptop. I noticed a spider crawling over the top of the screen. You have got to be kidding me! It was the color of vanilla and appeared like out of a horror flick, magnified by the white backdrop, growing to an enormous size – my skewed perception! Each leg made its way over the top! Since Matt was home, I yelled for his help. He grabbed the spider-saving tools but was too slow for the speedy spider who was off to the races! So, Matt lobbed the glass to me like we had teamed up for an egg toss! “Oh no, I missed him, too!”

     “Hon, it’s just a spider,”Matt said with a smile and a pinch of courage. He knew Harry’s ugly image had been engrained in my mind, and no matter how much effort I exerted, it was stuck there forever. So, I couldn’t believe my ears, just a spider, but I knew he was teasing.

As it happened, this spider was faster than lightning!

     “He’s on the floor…hand me the glass!”Matt tried again. “Ahh, now I can’t see him; he blends into the tile.”

     “It’s time for the vacuum then; I’m so sorry, I said out loud. When I finished pushing the vacuum back and forth, relief washed over me because I assumed the spider had been swallowed into oblivion. Then guilt followed because we tried to save the creepy creatures. My emotions were mixed! I sat down at the table again, but not before examining my laptop with eagle eyes to ensure no more spiders needed screen time!

Five minutes later, I saw the spider again!

     “Oh my gosh, Honey, he’s following me!”

     “Who’s following you?”

     “Who do you think is following me?!

I ignored Matt’s razzing, but a chuckle managed to escape anyway. I grabbed the glass but missed the spider again. Good thing we weren’t on a baseball team! The spider certainly had an agenda – still racing to an unknown destination and much faster than us. My eyes stayed focused on the little fellow as it headed for the living room. He must be having the time of his life – the furniture would be a stellar playground!

     “Just watch, I’ll find him on my chair in the morning,” I said.

     “Could be. Should I make a bigger pot of coffee?” Matt replied, as he hid behind a grin.

After all the commotion, I had survived because we didn’t see the eight-legged visitor again, and extra coffee wasn’t needed in the morning.

However, I admit and without apology that I don’t step into the shower before peeking behind the curtain first. Overcoming this fear most likely won’t happen. But if I can save a spider, and manage to hang onto the glass while it skitters around, then make my way to the door to give it freedom, that’s progress. Amazing progress! Once outside, I gently lay the glass down and with leg synchronicity, the spider crawls out heading to the roses and lantana, making us both sigh with relief.

Neither of my thumbs have ever been green for the garden, and the last thing I wanted to do was deliberately put my hands in a spider’s haven. Nowadays though, I’m in tune with the blooms, so I don’t worry about the creepy-crawlies when I’m offering the blooms a drink. Fear doesn’t have the firm grip that it had in years past.

But have I conquered arachnophobia one hundred percent? No, but I realize this phobia doesn’t prey only on me. Knowing I’m not alone while learning to exist with arachnids, that some are good for gardens, and acknowledging that they’re not out to get me is a work-in-progress. I’ve come a long way since that evening at the cabin when Dad saved my life. Maybe his reaction incited fear. Yet, if the spider had begun its ascent onto my leg, fear would’ve hurled into full force anyway!

And so I wonder, had the spiders been laughing at me when their presence whirled me into a frenzy? My intentions were always good. I simply didn’t want to be roommates. Laughing with me would’ve been perfectly welcomed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
Cute spider photo found on the web.

Thank you for stopping by, and for taking the time to read this lengthy story.
Enjoy your weekend! ❤️

My latest collection of poetrytouching on nature, love, and the mysteries of life
that would make a great for any holiday! Click on the image for your copy. Thank you! 💚

Mark Bierman calls it “a love letter to life”

I am thrilled that my book, More than Coffee, released in fall of 2021, is still receiving beautiful reviews. Mark Bierman wrote a fabulous review in December as we headed into the holiday season. So, I’m delighted to share as we move forward in this new year full of possibilities. But before I do, if you haven’t met Mark and experienced his compelling story telling and fantastic sense of humor, you haven’t been fully living! His book, Vanished, is a riveting novel, and here is the link to my review: https://baydreamerwrites.com/2022/04/18/book-review-vanished/. You can also find Mark at his blog: https://markbierman.wordpress.com/. And now I will share his commentary that made me do yet another happy dance…

It’s pretty green outside these days, every flake of the white stuff has melted back into H20. But no matter what Nature’s decided, we’ve been coasting into the Holiday Spirit here.

The tree’s up, it’s branches adorned with bulbs and baubles for the exclusive swatting pleasure of our two felines. Outside, soft white lights are strung across the lilac bush and a spotlight highlights the Nativity.

But I’m not here to discuss Christmas, well, unless you’re looking for the perfect gift for that book lover.  

So, without further ado, let’s raise a glass and toast a great read!

What’s it about?

From the early woes of childhood and teen years, this collection of stories and poems paints a picture of young dreams and fears. But as adulthood sets in, these dreams and fears change. More than Coffee touches on love and loss, nature and endurance, marriage, and parenting. In these memories, humor diffuses fear and taking risks proves to be a powerful method in boosting self-confidence. Through it all, whether in the wilderness near a sparkling lake or in the comfort of home, there’s nothing like a good cup of coffee. A poignant and reflective collection of verse and prose that is best enjoyed sipping your favorite coffee roast.

My Thoughts:

The title gets it right. This book is about far more than coffee, more than a journal; it’s a love letter to Life. An exquisite and heartfelt testament to a life well lived.

Every anecdote and poem is a window to a different season that is relatable to anyone who’s been on this journey for more than a decade. The stories and poems are thoughtfully crafted and wonderfully penned. They complement each other nicely and capture the intense emotions of those moments and milestones.

I smiled at the tales about her bouts with arachnophobia, but not because I’d wish that on anyone. It reminds me of my own, ‘tour of duty’ in the defense against spiders when I had to “save”  my youngest daughter. Then again, I feel the same way about snakes.      

I highly recommend this book for those who savor each day!

Meet Lauren and grab your copy in time for Christmas! (or an upcoming birthday or Mother’s Day!)

Lauren writes poetry, memoir, and fiction short stories who lives in California with her husband of thirty-four years and their chocolate lab; they have two grown children. She has authored two collections of poetry: New Day, New Dreams (2013) and Finding a Balance (2015). Her latest book, More than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose was published in 2021. And in 2022, she contributed four poems to the anthology: Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships. Lauren writes about family, experiencing loss, finding joy in the smallest things, and nature from her many backpacking and camping adventures.

Parallel to her passion for writing is her love for reading. Whether it is a gripping thriller or a heartwarming romance, she enjoys exploring different worlds and meeting diverse characters, drawing similarities to reality that translate into her own writing. Her writing projects are sometimes serious – drawn from painful subjects and raw emotions – or they spotlight her silly side – pulled from humorous moments captured in photographs.

Lauren is inspired to write from her love of nature and the marvelous wild world that surrounds her: the smell of the woods, the sound of a babbling brook, and the chorus of birds singing. Recent backpacking trips with her husband along the California coast and Sierra Nevada mountains have stirred up thoughts to pen about love, lost friendship, family, and the possibility that anything can happen. Hikes along the Paper Mill Creek remind her that life is fragile. From trout hatchlings to swallowtail butterflies, Lauren marvels at how the world is interconnected and that every living thing matters. She hopes her readers will find a little nugget of delight, comfort, or understanding in her poetry and stories – some detail that resonates with them beyond her words.

Amazon.com

Instagram Website

Thanks again to Mark for this amazing review, and I admit that “love letter to life” made my heart sing!

Happy Reading and Happy Friday! ❤️🎉

© Lauren Scott, baydreamer writes – All rights reserved.

Coffee in December…

It’s that time again when most of us wonder where the past year went and how fast it zipped by. In just a few weeks, we’ll be drinking champagne and kissing at midnight, ringing in a new year, 2023. Decades ago, these numbers sounded straight out of The Jetson’s! But before the bubbly and the kiss comes Christmas, a Christian holiday for those of you who celebrate the birth of Jesus. But another jolly soul arrives, too, Santa, so you know what we need to do…shop!!

And if you’re looking for a gift, specifically, a lovely book that can be read in one sitting or savored by reading one poem or story at a time, look no further, my book, More than Coffee, may just be the perfect choice!

To give you a little peek inside the pages, here are some wonderful reviews:

By Sally Cronin Delightful collection of prose and poetry reflecting on a life

This is a delightful collection of prose and poetry reflecting on a life tinged with sadness but also a great deal of love and humour. The author celebrates moments from her early life and marriage of over thirty years with stories that will entertain and also bring the reader’s own experiences to mind.

Sometimes it is the simplest things that evoke the warmest memories, such as a silver cutlery set, a toy frog called Sam, a yellowed kitchen chopper and the first time baking a traditional family birthday cake.

We are invited to concerts as a teenager overcomes self-doubt to solo in front of an audience of 2000 and fulfil a dream inspired by her idol Barbra Streisand. There are moments with spiders that might have you looking around your immediate surroundings, but you will also find yourself in some wonderful wilderness areas offering moments of reflection and a dip in a mountain pool.

Love is a central theme beginning with her mother and father’s love story that endured for nearly 70 years having begun in WWII with all its uncertainty and lengthy periods apart, and the author’s own fateful meeting with her husband, involving a kitchen appliance!

The loss of parents, even after a long and wonderful life, leaves a hole in our hearts. Their stories and poetry dedicated to them in this collection are heart-warming and reinforce the extent of their loving influence on the generations that followed.

The final part of the collection reflects on the changes that come when children leave the nest, and whilst this is obviously a time of sadness, there is also pride and delight as new lives are forged with future adventures to look forward to.

I enjoyed all the stories and poems in the collection and I am hard pushed to pick just one favourite but this one touched my heart.

Simple Existence

I stare at this page, milk white as the
blanketed ground in winter’s staging
where are the syllables?

I fear they have flown to faraway places,
across desert dunes and boundless oceans
and might not return so that I may tell him
(again) how irreplaceable he is.

Instead, I’ll touch his lips with mine
and steady myself in the arms of a man
who is satisfied with my simple existence.

I can highly recommend this collection to read in one sitting or to dip into when you are in need of gentle and uplifting moments.

By Jane SturgeonMore Than Coffee: So Much More Than a Memoir of Verse and Prose

I loved every word in this book. Scott’s style and loving expression took me into the heart of life and to what truly matters. Her thoughts of Wil, her father-in-law, are compassionate and delightful in equal measure. Scott’s love for her family and the life she and Matt have built for their children shine through. Belonging and Riding With The Wind are two of my favourite poems.

More Than Coffee is a delight from start to finish and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a dip into the magic of life.

By Robbie CheadleA bright ray of sunshine

This lovely book is a mix of a memoir about the author/poet’s life with some beautiful freestyle poems included after each prose section to enhance the emotion and moments shared. The memoirs are relatable and cover delightful memories of family brought back through inherited items and stories shared by family members as well as the author’s own life experiences including achievements, romance, parental love, and overcoming fears. The author’s personality and humour comes through strongly in her writing and poetry, as well as her joy and pleasure in the simple things in life.

My favourite poem in this collection and the one that summarised for me the spirit and essence of this book is Fulfilled.

Fulfilled

Let me drink from the gaze in your eyes
Eyes that have me wildly mesmerized
Mesmerized under their vivid piercing spell
Spell which only you many cast over me
Me, with a heart madly in love
Love, a whirlwind of euphoric emotions so true
True in not only our hearts, but in our minds
Minds, fully aware of their endless thoughts
Thoughts so amorous of us entwined

Now, if after reading these beautiful reviews, you find your interest is piqued, simply click on the Amazon link above, and Magic! Your copy (or copies) will be on its way! 🙂

So, I will end by saying that through the poems and stories in my book, I hope to inspire you to see the beauty around, to feel gratitude, to face challenges with verve, and to trek through that fear knowing you will find the light. I invite you to pour a cup of your favorite roast, or your preferred beverage, sink into your favorite chair, and enjoy the the rich taste while turning the pages. My wish is that you’ll find even a little nugget that resonates.

Thank you for reading, and I offer my utmost appreciation to you who have enjoyed my memories, and to those of you who have written reviews.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, MERRY CHRISTMAS,
AND HAPPY READING! ❤️🎄❤️

Cora’s Quest – A Children’s Story

Cora trots down the slippery slope. Her heart feels lonely, and her little legs feel wobbly. But it’s not like her to complain, so she scrambles on the muddy trail alone. She would love to meet some friendly critters to brighten her mood. Her body shivers and her tummy rumbles. She misses Ma and Pa so badly.

They wouldn’t leave me alone with the trees and the scary crunching of the leaves. Cora thinks to herself. And those sounds are scaring me! Owls screeching, the howling wind, and unnerving grunts and growls in the distance act like robbers, stealing her courage. Besides being afraid, I am very hungry.

Then those tummy rumbles turn into fluttering butterflies because her imagination runs wild. She senses her courage fly up into the darkening sky. The trees seem to grow taller as their twisted branches resemble long arms reaching out to grab her. “I have to stay strong like Ma and Pa taught me. My body may be small, but my strength can be just like theirs!” Cora says as she continues forward on the trail while the world around seems to close in on her.

She doesn’t understand how she became separated from Ma and Pa. One minute they were trotting down the trail together, but when she turned around to tell them that she saw a cool caterpillar, she noticed they were gone! Cora doesn’t think home is too far away but looking up at the surrounding trees makes her dizzy. And in every direction she turns her head, another trail winds its way to somewhere. Only she doesn’t know where!

“Wait, is that singing?” Cora says for all the animals in the forest to hear. She halts on the path and listens to the hopeful tune. Suddenly, she doesn’t feel afraid. “I hear happy hums, too!” She says with delight. “Maybe Ma and Pa are looking for me!”

Instead of following the trail, she paces back and forth, so excited to see her parent’s loving faces. “I think they’re coming around the bend, and when I see them, my heart will burst with joy!”

But as quickly as Cora’s fear disappears, she notices the big bush ahead shudder and the unsettling sight makes her heart skip a beat. She hopes it’s her ma and pa, and not a big, fat, furry bear claw! She feels stuck in her mucky tracks. Even if she motions them to move, her hooves won’t budge an inch. The excitement she felt before has turned into alarm because she doesn’t have a clear view of what lurks behind the shrubbery. 

Cora would feel a little better if she could still hear the singing and humming, but the music stopped when she saw the big green bush shake. “Who goes there?” She asks with a spirited voice. “Show yourself! I am not afraid of you!” Cora thought her courage had left her for good, when it had been with her all along. She just had to give it freedom to shine.

With eyes wide open, Cora watches in wonder while her ma and pa sprint out from around that same shaking bush that made fear travel from the tips of her ears to the tip of her tail. Now she understands the panic her wild imagination caused.

Ma and Pa run up to their precious little girl, loving on her with kisses galore! “We’re so sorry, Sweetheart! Pa and I were talking about the upcoming Deer Dance on Saturday, and then we realized you continued on without us. We had lost you and started to panic!”

“It’s okay, Ma, I’m a big girl so I stayed strong the whole time. Well, maybe I did get a little scared, but I kept thinking of how you and Pa taught me to be brave. And I want to grow up to be brave just like my parents!”

“Oh, Cora, your Ma and I are so proud of your bravery! Come on, let’s go home now. I think we all deserve a feast of acorns and apples!” Pa says to his courageous daughter as he lovingly nudges her to lead the way. Cora and her ma and pa trot in the opposite direction on the path, heading to their haven, while her heart pounds rapidly out of celebration.

Her family is finally together again.

~ The End ~

© Lauren Scott, baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
Illustration: Chris Mendez
MCD – Mendez Custom Designs

One Minute of Freedom

The day I saved a spider…My daughter taught me how when she was twelve years old; her heart loved all creatures. There is much to learn from our children.

Lucky for me, the dime-sized trespasser stayed still on the floor, as if paralyzed by my enormous presence, unaware of my heart pounding erratically, ready to jump out of my chest. But I mustered up an ounce of finesse and a pound of courage. I hurried into the kitchen, pulling a tall clear glass from the cabinet, a glass that has its own place on the shelf, and one we don’t drink out of. It holds the label of spider catcher. I placed it over the spider’s body. Then I grabbed a paper plate and cut out the flat base. I slipped that piece under the glass. When I picked up the spider in its glass cage, its speedy steps just about made me fling it across the room! I didn’t want to feel eight tiny legs skitter across my hand. I managed to tamp down those goosebumps, firmly holding the paper. Then again, I never thought the day would come when I felt compassion for a spider, but I did while watching it scurry around the sides, probably fearful. If it only knew I was the good Samaritan. Stepping outside in the yard, I laid the glass on the lawn, pulling away the paper. Out scurried the arachnid – in a cartoon, it would’ve waved to me. The happy spider didn’t waste one minute of freedom. If only humans could be so wise.

Have you lived with arachnophobia? Can you relate to my fear, my pounding heart, and the courage I had to muster up to save that lucky spider? Do you also prefer arachnids to stay outside? Is there a different creepy-crawler that speeds up your heartbeat?

Lauren Scott (c)
Cute spider photo: Google
I can’t look at real spiders on the screen yet,
but I’m working on it. 🙂

Waiting to Exhale

The calendar showed October 4th, 2012. She and I sat in the sterile office surrounded by semi-gloss light blue walls, our hearts thumping, hands like ice. We waited for the man who wore a white coat to join us, hoping he would provide gentle answers to appease our questions.

The matter was serious, but when I first saw his face, I thought of Santa, stark white hair and fluffy beard, red, rosy cheeks good for pinching. The only thing missing was the apple red hat, and though he would bear dreadful news, his smile was welcoming, as if the three of us were meeting for a stroll in the park on a lovely spring afternoon.

It was amazing how a tiny scope could be guided through the mouth and throat then down the esophagus. CT scans, lab work, MRIs, and a needle too long to discuss occupied her hours for over 1,000 days. Still, we craved clarity. Our world was hazy like thick fog a driver would endure crossing the Golden Gate Bridge during summer in the wee hours of the morning.
And we waited – a necessary evil that all people grapple with too often to count the times on their hands.

Then on that autumn day came words we would have liked to have hurled back to Santa. We had hoped for gentle. Instead…
“All tests point to this auto immune disease, and there is no cause or cure,” he told us with a touch of remorse. The future would necessitate a transplant. It was not cancer, but this finding should not be shunned. She was twenty years old, like a sunflower of friendliness and optimism. He added, “Just live your life.”

I felt her physical pain rip through each atrium and ventricle – my most excruciating moments of being a parent. But her strength embraced and consoled me, her mother, of all things.
Life pulled us through each season.

The calendar now presents the year 2021: She is a lovely, young woman – a wedding band adorns her left ring finger, and geography has changed along with a new insurance card. She meets with another man who wears a similar white coat. X-rays and jabs repeat. “All of your tests are normal,” he affirms. All is normal. Words we had hoped to hear from this new expert.
“I don’t see a reason to keep you in the same box,” he confirms.

This is amazing news! But abdominal stabs and pruritus from the past were as tangible as a twisted knife to the gut. How can we negate that agony? What is the deeper meaning? Should we get the champagne flutes out, give them a quick wash? Has this nightmare finally ended? She chooses to live in the here and now.
Life continues to draw us forward to witness each sunrise and sunset,
although we are still waiting to exhale.

Lauren Scott (c) 2021

The Right Attitude

No-fear-Image

One of my new dear friends, Debby, from https://dgkayewriter.com/, wrote this to me regarding my last health update and it stuck…

“We get what we focus on, so don’t make it fear!”
~DG Kaye

This message isn’t new, but it’s so easy to allow fear to slip into our thoughts. It affects not only our reactions to stressful times, but it also affects us physically, causing anxiety and even some unwanted aches and pains. So, this was a timely reminder for me, even though I’m not truly living in fear. However, I am inviting Optimism for a long stay, and if you’re dealing with stress in any form, will you join me in this attitude adjustment? I hope you will, and Thanks, Debby! 💕

hope

And lastly, I’d like to wish you all a Fabulous Friday, and a Wonderful Weekend ahead. With love, Lauren ❤❤❤

Photos: Google