Christmas in July with Susan Hornbach

Writing From Your Heart

I love Christmas in July.  Actually, I’m one of those people who could probably live Christmas every day, I think.  One year when my daughter was about ten years old, we had a Christmas in July birthday party for her in our yard.  Everyone had to come dressed as their version of a Yankee Doodle Dandy. That year was one of our great summer time birthday parties.  All of the birthday parties in the yard ended up with a tug of war over the Jello pit.  The kids loved that one aspect of the birthday parties the best I think.

 Those parties were a great deal of work, but in my opinion, the joy they brought were well worth it.  Bringing joy to my family as I suspect for each of you, was the happiness in my own heart.  As my children grew, they of course grew out of those fun, but silly birthday parties, and the gifts I gave to them became more and more challenging.  The time came when the material was not as appreciated as the spiritual, and the emotional.  I began to write poems for them, for birthdays , graduations, special achievements, and also I decided that before I passed from this Earth, I wanted to reach out to the special people in my life who had touched me with kindness and honor; people who had been there for me in times of trouble, need, and joy.

My passion is to write children’s literature.  I prefer nonfiction if I can put a creative spin on it.  In 2008 I had two books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing. Unfortunately my Social Security Disability told me if I publish a book and make $900, then they would consider me in business and that would end my disability.  With a heavy heart I made the choice to cancel my contracts.  Since then I have written I think, twelve finished books, both fiction and nonfiction, among many poems and stories not finished as of yet.  Actually, silly me, who in the writing world is ever finished writing?  Of course I have poems and stories not yet finished; don’t we all?

I did however, after the loss of my contracts, turn my interest to writing from my heart, to those I wanted to reach out to and say I love you, or say how much I appreciate you. I wanted to give the people who moved far away; those who were memories, and in touch maybe only once or twice a year now, to know how much I still appreciated them.  There were those who literally changed my life in positive ways that could never be compensated with material things for their selflessness.  One of those people was a doctor who saved my life and later was responsible for me being able to have my children.  Over the years she became my best friend, and we shared most everything; our tears, our joys, our children’s accomplishments.  For her 60^th birthday, I wrote a poem expressing our thirty years of friendship spent together, and framed it for her.  She was so pleased with the words that treasured her as a beautiful friend; it filled my heart with joy to have been able to bring her such warm wishes.  She died last year with unexpected pancreatic cancer that had spread to her liver, and my heart is broken, but I am so thankful for the chance I had to tell her how I felt about our friendship.  When I attended her funeral, there amongst the many pictures, was my framed poem her family included, for all to read and know how much she meant to me.  My poem was a tribute to her, to live on now that she is gone. I feel when we put our words to paper; they live on indefinitely for all those who wish to read them.

My children have received poems from me for different occasions.  For their birthdays one year I wrote a poem for each of them; the times in their lives from birth to that place in time when I framed the poem for them.  Graduations were a time they both appreciated kind words for love and admiration for their achievements. Of course our children want to know we are proud of them, no matter what age they are.  I feel the poems will have a much greater impact on them when I am gone and my words are what they have left to hold on to.  All of us feel deeply about others in our lives who touch our souls and our hearts.  Giving them a script that is written from your heart, in which they can read when times are tough or lonely, or just plain having a bad day, is a treasure for sure; for them to hold on to and to cherish.

I hope my writings here will inspire many of you to reach out to all who have earned your admiration.  Sharing our grateful feelings with those who have touched our lives will cause others to reach out with feelings they may never have shared.  Reaching out is infectious, and causes compassion, love, and appreciation to flourish throughout the ripples of time.  Thank you all for taking your precious time to read my post today.  Write someone you love, admire, or appreciate a verse today.  What could be more in keeping with the spirit of Christmas, than the gift of loving words to soothe the soul?

Happy writing to all of you,

Hugs from, Sue Hornbach    



AN AFFIRMATION OF LOVE

By

Susan Hornbach

  A special day in January, the angels brought you here.

Your mother’s heart was filled with joy, she held you oh so near.

I came to see you on that day; your Gram And Pop were there.

A little baby in Mom’s arms, God’s angels danced with care.

And then you grew a little more.  You came to visit me.

We readied for the holidays. You helped me trim the tree.

You dyed the eggs for Easter. You helped roll out the dough,

You shook your head in laughter, with curls, that fell to and fro.

And now a grown young woman, you have a special glow,

There is goodness, and there’s kindness,

From within you they doth Flow.

Your mother is so proud of you, and I can always tell,

Your beauty on the outside is in your heart as well.

Susan Hornbach writes creative nonfiction, fiction, poems, and stories that relate to her childhood in the 1950’s.  She is a graduate of The Institute for Children’s Literature (Writing for Children and Teenagers). She is a member of the MuseConferenceBoard@yahoo.com  and subscribes to a number of writing related news letters. Ms. Hornbach finds the fun of research, and the challenge of putting it all together in an exciting informational package, to always be her passion. 

Quote:    Stories are an author’s canvas, for which they create paintings, brush stroked with words.

 

Today's daily giveaway is being provided by Susan Hornbach.  It is a poem she wrote.  It is titled "The Office Angel."  Everyone who comments, asking for a copy of this poem will be a winner!

This giveaway is available for U.S., Canada, and International emailing