Thursday, December 1, 2016

I'm A Radical Now

As a kid I followed the rules
Studied hard, got A’s in school.
Wanted to be good
Wanted to please my parents

Grew up with LOVE all around
Thought everyone did
And wanted to share it.

Lived a sheltered life in a small Michigan town
Now the world is upside down
LOVE 
is a radical idea.  

Look all around me
I’m surrounded by hate.
Look inside me, scared at the hate I find.

Hate intolerant people,
Hate fear mongers,
Hate ignorance.

That’s no better.

Can I change?
Have to change

Have to LOVE EVERYONE.
But can I
LOVE them simply for their humanity?
LOVE
The insanely slow driver in front of me,
The rude cashier,
The lady that despises me,
The man that despises you,

Can I LOVE them all?

Never thought I’d be a radical
Never thought LOVE was radical.

No longer following

I’M A RADICAL NOW

Not afraid
Not angry
Not judging

But loving
LOVING
LOVING.

LOVING EVERYONE.

Won’t change the world
But LOVE will change MINE.


Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!
With Love,

Kathy :)

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Wanderings

Plans are great but sometimes wandering is even better.

Don't get me wrong, thinking ahead and planning out life is a super important skill as I've desperately been trying to teach my teenaged daughters... often in vain, but there are times when it's refreshing to let go of all planning and allow the moment sweep you along.

I've always loved serendipity but when it comes to traveling, my husband and I have well planned routes and itineraries to make the most of our time away from home (my husband is always the mastermind behind the planning! :).

Enjoying Central Park
But this last week we did things a bit differently.  First of all, we left the kids at home with grandma and grandpa which we never do. I can't thank them enough for this!! Then we flew off to New York City for a week with basically no plan. We've been there before so we didn't feel the pressure to see all the touristy spots but I still kind of wondered if we could pull off a fun, relaxing trip in the Big Apple without advance reservations and plans for everyday.

So what did we do?

Well, we wandered.  And it was lovely.  We took a day and strolled through Central Park, sat on a rock near Gapstow Bridge and watched turtles sunning themselves and ducks swimming aimlessly.


We found a quiet spot elsewhere in the Park, stretched out, and looked up at the clouds and talked.

We walked 5th Avenue and wandered into Bergdorf Goodman.  It was fun to see what they had though I'm not really a $3000 pair-of-shoes-kinda-girl!

New York Library
We meandered through Bryant Park on 42nd Street, drank coffee at a little table in the sun, and decided to check out the New York Public Library's ornately beautiful Stephen A. Schwarzman Building built in 1911.  How I would love to sit at a table in there and write all day!

Breakfast at Jack's Wife Freda












On Thursday, we traipsed all the way from our hotel on 42nd street down to West Village finding adorable breakfast spots like Jack's Wife Freda, (one of my favorites) and little coffee shops.  All along the way we just talked and took in the
moments together.

Believe it or not even after 22 years of marriage there is still plenty to talk about!  Our kids, future retirement plans, future travel, where to eat dinner, and more heavy topics like:  why we can't seem to take better care of the mentally ill, as we passed an old man who slowly rose from his "home", a ratty old blanket in the corner, with urine and likely feces soaked pants, who even we'll forget about once we're back home in our cushy lives; and the sad state of our nation that seems to only care about hating everyone who is different and "my team/group against yours".

After wandering most of the morning, we found ourselves in the Chelsea Market area and we decided to go check out the ice rink at Chelsea Pier.  As pure luck would have it, one of my best friends from college, that I haven't seen in twenty years happened to be on the ice teaching a lesson. (I did know she taught there, but I had no idea what her schedule was.)  It was great to spend an hour with her catching up and it probably wouldn't have happened if we'd tried to plan it!

We made our way back uptown, with Stumptown Coffee in hand and decided we would hang out by Rockefeller Center, where the ice rink had just opened.  We sat and watched skaters go by, then the ice was cleared and a couple came out alone. We watched the guy very carefully and not too gracefully get down on one knee and propose.  Everyone around cheered for them as she seemingly said "yes", I held my breath as he attempted to get back up.  I envisioned him slipping as he rose pulling her down with him, not a good start to an engagement! But luckily he wobbled and then stood and they skated carefully off.

We sat and watched the city go from daylight to brilliant city lights.  Then we went up to the Top of the Rock, (a tour that takes you to the top of Rockefeller Center.  We decided to do this a couple hours earlier and purchased tickets online.)  There is nothing quite like New York City at night.  The weather was beautiful. Just a slight autumn breeze and crystal clear skies.


By the end of the week it was time to head back to Cleveland, the kids whom we missed dearly, and fine tuned schedules, but we'd had a wonderful time on our wanderings.  I loved not knowing exactly what was coming next and allowing the tide of time to move us along, relishing in each serendipitous moment.  

Kathy

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Timeless -Cover Reveal!

Today, I'm helping out a wonderful blogger friend, Crystal Collier!  I love Crystal's blog, she's always featuring other bloggers and her Two Truths and a Lie feature is wonderfully entertaining!  Not to mention Crystal is forever giving encouragement and kind words to the rest of us, and oh she loves cheese. 

This week Crystal is revealing the cover of her third book, Timeless, in her Maiden of Time series.  But before we get to her amazing cover, I wanted you to get to know Crystal just a bit better.  Did I mention she loves cheese? Well here are just a few questions I asked her so you can see just how awesome she is!  


What was the first cheese you remember eating? I grew up on cheddar. There was always a 5 lb block of it in the fridge, and if we didn’t watch it carefully, my special needs brother would steal it and stow it in the bathroom to eat later. Usually behind the toilet.

What is your favorite cheese? This is like asking who is my favorite child. You have to pick a flavor profile or pairing. For vanilla cheese (meaning to go with anything), muenster. For the Swiss family, Jarlsberg. For cheese with a bite, Feta. I’ll stop there lest I should ramble on for three days.

Is there a song you sing just to annoy people? My life is a musical. (And not just because I’m a composer. The hubs contributes just as much.) Every kid has their own theme song, every action has a soundtrack, and because we have 4 kids we love to annoy, we have a full roster of "annoying" to choose from. It's more a question of what's your brand of annoying?

Do you have a crazy nickname? My name is literally Chicken. Or was. C (first initial) + (maiden name) Hicken= C.Hicken. You’d better bet that made for some epic bullying in elementary school, but I embraced the crazy in middle school and it became a cool thing.

SO now you know a bit more about Crystal!  Love it that her brother would steal a block of cheese and hide it behind the toilet!  :)


And now for the main event....



TIMELESS (#3 Maiden of Time) by Crystal Collier #CoverReveal



Book Title: TIMELESS (Maiden of Time #3)
Author: Crystal Collier
Genre: YA Paranormal Historical
Release Date: November 1, 2016



TIME IS THE ENEMY

In 1771, Alexia had everything: the man of her dreams, reconciliation with her father, even a child on the way. But she was never meant to stay. It broke her heart, but Alexia heeded destiny and traveled five hundred years back to stop the Soulless from becoming.

In the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman Church has ordered the Knights Templar to exterminate the Passionate, her bloodline. As Alexia fights this new threat—along with an unfathomable evil and her own heart—the Soulless genesis nears. But none of her hard-won battles may matter if she dies in childbirth before completing her mission.

Can Alexia escape her own clock?



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Crystal Collier is an eclectic author who pens clean fantasy/sci-fi, historical, and romance stories with the occasional touch of humor, horror, or inspiration. She practices her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, four littles, and â€Å“friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese. You can find her on her Blog, FacebookGoodreads, or follow her on Twitter.

Want the first chapter free? Sign up HERE.


Wednesday, September 7, 2016

IWSG-- Treat it Like A Job

It's the first week of the month again so it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group!  It's a wonderful group where writers get together and talk about their fears, insecurities, and successes.  It was the brain child of Alex J Cavanaugh, created to give us a place of encouragement and support on this long and sometimes lonely journey of writing.  It has been truly inspiring to be a member.  Check us out and join here.  


The question of the month is: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?


Squeezing time out of my day to write has always been my biggest struggle.  Writing feels like a guilty pleasure sometimes when there is always something else that needs to be done.  From going to work, to housework, to simply having time to read and hang out with the kids and my husband days seem to slip away without much being written. Then on the days that I do take the time to sit and write, I often spend the time blogging or writing a quasi-journal of thoughts from the day instead of working on crafting stories or editing what I've already done.  

Maybe I'm hiding behind the idea that I'm still writing without having to actually dig into the hard and often frustrating work of perfecting my ideas and creations.  It's kind of a safety net I guess.

A safety net that I'm in the process of cutting away.  With both my daughters, Jess and Alyss, going to college this year and my son in middle school, I have no more excuses.  I now have a plethora of time during the day to work on writing.

Afraid that I might fall into the trap of spending lazy mornings drinking coffee on the deck and then getting stuck doing dishes and other housework, I decided to get out of the house as everyone else is leaving and head to the local libraries and coffee shops to spend the mornings writing.  I'm finally treating my writing like a job, a job that I love.     

I've always loved writing, constantly filling scraps of paper with bits of poetry I've scribbled down or amazing thoughts that have popped into my head that I'll use someday.  

Today is that someday!  As proof, I'm actually writing this post 6 days in advance!  I've never done that before!! :)


Kathy 

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Nationals Update!

Last time I told you how the Theater on Ice team that I coach was headed to Nationals, here's what happened...


If you've never been in, or to a skating competition, you might think the skaters just show up when it's their time to skate, skate for 4 minutes and then sit back, relax, and wait for the scores.  That's not quite how it works.  In reality the whole day is nerve wracking.  The team arrives about two hours before the scheduled skate time, because you never know for sure until you step on the ice, exactly what time you'll be skating.  They could be running late or early and you have to be prepared.

I got there even earlier partly out of nerves, partly because I wanted to be first to arrive as their coach, and I had to go check the team in.  Once the kids arrived at the rink, it was time to do their hair and makeup.  I got right to work braiding hair and making sure it was glued together with enough hairspray and gel so it wouldn't come apart even if a tornado hit them.  The team was nervous as they saw other competitors preparing to take the ice but we kept our focus on getting ready.

When everyone had their hair done, we headed to find a more secluded spot todo some warm ups and run through the program off ice.  We played our music and ran through the steps a number of times.  Everybody looked great.  And it was time to head to the locker room to put on costumes and skates.

When we got to our assigned locker room, the officials had put up a notice saying our skate was going to be 30 minutes later than we had planned.  That meant 30 minutes of waiting.  We'd already run through the program enough and I didn't want to wear the kids out but they all decided they wanted to run through it one more time.  So we did.  They looked great but afterward, I was afraid I was losing them.  One girl was having severe back pain and wasn't sure if she could even skate, another was having a boyfriend crisis at the rink, one was worried about the jump they had to perform, and another was suffering from  such swollen mosquito bitten feet that she couldn't put her skates on until the last minute.  The rest of the team sensed their depleted energy and I thought if I didn't change the mood fast we could be in trouble.  So I gathered them all around in a circle and I talked to them.

I told them that no matter what happened on the ice, I was already proud of them.  Proud of them for working so well together as a team, proud of them for taking care of one another, proud of them for working through injuries and everything else that happened to them all year.  My goal for the day was  simply to have the entire team compete together which had not yet occurred because of injuries.

I wanted them to skate out on the ice, take their positions and look at each other and the crowd  and enjoy every single moment of the 4 minutes they had to skate with each other.

Their confidence grew and it was finally time to head to the locker room.

They skated out, took their positions, and waited for the music to start.  I held my breath!

If you'd like to watch, here is their program!





They did everything I had asked of them and more and it was a wonderful skate! There was one tiny little mishap but it didn't matter, they skated a beautiful program together and their faces lit up as they skated off the ice.

We didn't win. We didn't even medal.  But when we got our scores and saw that we had placed 9th out of a total of 16 teams, we all screamed and hollered like we'd won gold!  I'll never forget those moments and how proud I am of my team! :)


Kathy :)

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

IWSG- Enjoy the Moment

I had really wanted to post more this summer, but here it is already August and I've spent the whole summer having too much fun with my husband and kids!  But I figured with Jess and Alyss both starting college this fall, I'll have plenty of time to catch up on blogging when the house is empty.  :(

Today's IWSG though was the perfect day to take a moment and reflect on things ahead.



The Insecure Writer's Support Group is a wonderful place where writer's get together and talk about their fears, insecurities, and successes.  It was the brain child of Alex J Cavanaugh in order for us to give encouragement to one another on this long and sometimes lonely journey of writing.  It has been truly inspiring to be a member.  Check us out and join here.  


Today, while I have many insecurities as a writer like anxiously waiting to hear back from a publisher and slogging through the edits/rewrites of my novel, I also have some super exciting news in my real world job.  

Some of you may know that I've been a figure skating coach for over 26 years.  In that time I've enjoyed teaching many children and adults the intricacies of my sport.  I love nothing more than the time I spend on the ice with each student, learning about their lives and what makes them tick then guiding them to do things they never thought they could and seeing their eyes light up when they succeed.  

While I try to teach my students to strive for excellence and precision, I've never been a big fan of skating competitions.  Yes, it is fun to win and I guess sometimes students need the competition to push them to greater heights, but personally I think when we put the focus on "winning" we lose sight of all we have learned along the way.  It's the day to day practice where the learning really happens, where even after falling twenty times you still have to get back up, analyze the mistakes and try something different.  Winning on a particular day isn't really what makes the champion, it's the passion and determination that is brought each day to practice.  

Why am I telling you this?

Because despite my feelings about competitions, next Saturday August 13, I'm taking my team of Theater on Ice skaters to compete in the National Showcase Championships for Theatrical Skating!  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!  We'll be competing against 15 other teams from all around the country and a Canadian team.

My fabulous team of kids!

I'm already super proud of the kids on my team.  They have really come together and gelled as a team.  In fact, they have so much fun together that sometimes it looks like we're having more of a party on the ice than working hard.  Through it all, they've learned to support one another, forget differences, work together artistically, and deal with injuries.  

It's been a great year! 

I'd like to say (and really mean it) that I don't care at all what place we get, but when I search myself I know that of course I would prefer winning.  But whatever happens next Saturday, I'll be proud of these fabulous kids and the passion and determination they bring with them every practice.  

My biggest hope is that they all take the time to look around and enjoy the moment.  I know I'll be enjoying having the privilege to share this experience with them as much as I've enjoyed the whole year as their coach.  


I hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Kathy

Friday, July 15, 2016

College Bound

My world is changing.  

Not because Cleveland finally won a championship, not because the election, not because of the threat of terrorism in the world.  My world is changing because this fall both our daughters are starting college.  Jessica is going to commute to a local college and Alyssa is going to live at a different school about 45 minutes away.


This week I spent two days with Alyssa at her new school’s “welcome week” program.  It was so nice to have extended time with only her.  Of course as she grew up we spent a lot of time together just the two of us, but this seemed different.  We weren’t in the car headed off to some errand or even a skating competition.  This was me being there for her as she headed off to become a woman.  This was her finding her path through life.  


We found her dorm building.  She led me from her dorm to the ice rink, to prove to herself she could find it on her own.  The whole time we talked.  For the most part it wasn’t about super important things, we just talked about whatever came up; a cute guy that passed, being nervous and excited about scheduling classes the next day, decorating her dorm room.


At different points throughout the two days, they separated all the parents from the in-coming students to talk about specific ways to support your child’s journey, to help them be successful. They led the kids away to have meetings with their new advisors, schedule classes and get to know one another through ice-breaking and team building games.  


I sat there listening to all the speakers, surrounded by other parents.  Some who’d already sent several kids to college, some new parents like me.  Many were nervous, asking all sorts of questions.  One lady asked, “How can I make my son not procrastinate?”  Lots of heads bobbed as if the same question was running through their minds.  Another said, “I was told that even though we only live 20 minutes away, I’m not to visit or let her come home until Thanksgiving so she can get the Real College Experience.”  It was like they were asking for the prescription for a perfect college life.   


I sat there listening.  I didn’t ask any questions.  It’s not that I’m not nervous.  There are plenty of little worries that I have like, will she be safe?  Will she eat enough?  How will we pay for all of this?  


But I thought back to when I was starting college.  I was a lot like Alyssa, a little shy at first but outgoing once I got to know people.  I had a great time in college, sure there were bumps along the way but I figured it out.  I lived at home for my first 3 years of college.  My mom and I made dinners together, she’d often pick me up for lunch between classes, I still went to all my brother’s hockey games, I just had a lot more homework. I still made new friends, got involved with the ice rink and hockey team on campus, and found my husband to be.   I loved every minute of it.  I don’t think anyone can say I didn’t have the Real College Experience.

There is no prescription to the perfect college experience or perfect parenthood.  If there is anything that I have learned from being a parent for 19 1/2 years, it’s that every kid is so beautifully unique that even if you know what “works” for one, it may totally backfire for another. You make plenty of mistakes and figure it out as you go.  Maybe your kid will benefit from not seeing you until Thanksgiving and maybe not.  And if they are still procrastinating at 18 there is nothing you can do to make them otherwise, they have to figure it out.  And guess what.  They will.

I know both Alyssa and Jess will do great in college!  I’m more concerned with what I’m going to do all day.  For the first time in 15 years, I’ll be home alone!  I guess I’ll just figure it out.   



Me and Alys at Welcome Week



Sunday, June 12, 2016

In the Room Where it Happens

Since February, my husband Jesse and my 11 year old son Ryan, have been obsessed with the Broadway smash hit Hamilton: An American Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  They listened to the music non-stop, until they knew every word in the over two hour long recording. At first my daughters (19 and 17) and I were slightly annoyed hearing it 24/7 until we stopped to listen to the story being told, then we were blown away.  


Fast-forward to last Saturday, June 4th.  The day after my son’s 12th birthday.  The last day of our wonderful week-long kick off to summer exploring New York City.  The next day we were heading home to Cleveland.  My husband told us to dress nicely for a fancy lunch to celebrate Ryan’s birthday.  After a delicious sushi meal we walked back toward our hotel.


We headed up 46th street.  Jesse, holding Ryan’s hand, weaved his way through the gathering crowd and stopped at the line forming in front of the Richard Rodgers Theater.  The kids were a little confused.  Wondering why we’d stopped.  


Jesse with his adorable, mischievous smile looked at the kids and exclaimed, “Confession time, here’s what I got...we’re seeing Hamilton.”  


“What?!”


A smile spread across Ryan’s face.


The kids could hardly contain themselves.  It took all their strength to stay composed in line and not freak out.  They knew tickets to Hamilton were hard to get.  It’s not impossible to get tickets, but right now it’s ridiculously expensive- you can either see Hamilton or you can be financially responsible- not both.

From Box A
Our seats in Box A! :)


There are 10 Things You Need to Know

Number 1.  The girls and I were seated in Box A.  Literally right beside the stage.   Ryan and Jesse were seated below us in the orchestra.  I sat closest to the stage because the view is blocked ever so slightly by the huge stage lights and I wanted the girls to have the full view.  But being able to see the actual tears drip down Alexander Hamilton’s face far and away made up for any missed view.    

Number 2.  As soon as Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.) steps onto the stage, the entire theater explodes into applause and cheers, and the applause continues as each actor appears on stage for the first time.  I look at my girls who look as if they might faint from the anticipation.  We’re really doing this.  


Number 3.  I wish I could slow down time.  To take in every detail.  I’m staring at the spotlighted actor in each scene.  But there is so much more.  My eyes are drawn away.  The ensemble dancers lift up young Alexander’s dead mother, not like a deceased body but like a pairs skater in an overhead pose.  I’m captivated.   


Number 4. Almost close enough for us to touch, Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda), George Washington (Christopher Jackson), and the Marquis de Lafayette (Daveed Diggs) touch us by staring our way on numerous occasions.  


As narrator of the story, Aaron Burr maintains an orchestrated distance.  


Somewhere in the middle of the first act, Hamilton points his Revolutionary era musket directly at the three of us.  The emotion in Lin’s eyes is almost too much to hold his gaze.  We girls grab each other’s hands in awe.  We do the same when Lafayette interacts with us, and when George Washington looks our way, I know this is crazy but... it’s not Christopher Jackson looking at us, somehow it is George Washington.  We are no longer bystanders in the theater. We are transported 240 years and we, all of us in the theater, cry and laugh as one, we are now a part of the story too.  


Number 5.  The Schuyler sisters were a favorite for the three of us, especially Angelica’s (Renee Elise Goldsberry) Satisfied.  Seeing the entire cast “rewind” for her flashback was like something out of a dream.  


Number 6.   I almost feel like I’m on the field of battle when the canons reverberate right near us.  And when Lafayette leaps off the table during Guns and Ships and begins his rap... there are no words for this, the visual effect is more powerful than my words are capable of describing.


Number 7.  The crowd erupts at the end of Non Stop and from my vantage point, I turn to see the audience. For just a moment I feel as if I’m on stage too, and a chill runs through me.


Number 8.  I’m astonished by Lin-Manuel’s transformation into Hamilton.  He doesn’t seem like he’s acting when he breaks down and cries as Eliza hands him a letter telling him of his friend’s death.  He’s still crying as the scene changes and his next song begins.  He doesn’t have time to compose himself and he’s still wiping tears and trying to regroup halfway through the song.  Is he that amazing an actor, drawing on his own life experiences to make himself repeatedly break down, or is he becoming Alexander Hamilton? How does he do this 7 times a week?  


Number 9.   The end is no secret but the power of seeing it dramatized is too much.  The theater goes black.  The girls and I are sobbing.  The crowd bursts into a standing ovation as the lights return.  The actors bow as one and walk off stage.  Daveed Diggs and Christopher Jackson look into our box for one final time and smile.  Thrilled, the girls wipe their tears, I leave mine.  I look down at Jesse and Ryan.  Lin points directly at Ryan as he walks off stage.  Ryan looks up at my husband, smiles and puts his small arm around him.  


Number 10. I won’t ever forget the story of tonight.  


Jesse and Ryan in front of the stage


Kathy :)