Time's Fun When You're Having Flies!

Hello Hello Hello!

I've been busy learning calligraphy. I've always wanted to learn and have a drawer full of calligraphy markers and calligraphy lined sheets of practice papers and have tried and tried to teach myself calligraphy but I am my own worst enemy!

After a few attempts, I convince myself that it's much too disciplined of an art form for my type of personality. I am MORE free and love to NOT stay within the lines. I scoff at rules. See my rationalization as to why I CAN'T do calligraphy?
Well, I think I'm ready to give up that way of thinking!

I REALLY REALLY want to write "pretty." And I know I can do but I just have to follow some rules!!!! Yuck! That is such a four-letter word to me. . . R U L E S. Oh!!! There's five letters in that word--oh well. I hate that word no matter how many letters it has.

The friend who is teaching us calligraphy is a long-time friend. She comes to my house and we sit in the sunroom around our old dining room table and as she said, "it's a nice and cozy group"! There's three of us--me, Zip (my hubby), and friend Rhodeen.

There are soooooooo many rules that it's hard to remember them all while trying to write "pretty."

In anything I do, I want to excel. I was never like that in high school though. I was an average student. I struggled with all my classes. I HAD to do my homework and study study study and even then, it was hard for me to understand some subjects.

I NEVER got Geometry. Too many rules!!!!

Biology was gross to me. I couldn't take dissecting that poor little dead frog.

History bored me! This is the way I viewed history--it's over, gone, bye bye, let's move on!!!! Why dwell on the past?

In all my classes, I was never viewed as anybody special. And I wasn't.
I was never "special" until I met Zip. Maybe he saw something in me that nobody ever took the time to see OR maybe it wasn't there--who knows!

But. . . he was the first person who ever told me that I was smart. A person is as dumb as they feel, right? And up to that point in my life, I was feelin' pretty dumb. I was 16 years old when I met Zip, so I was feelin' pretty dumb for a long long time!

After years of being married to Zip, I felt like a different person! A more confident person. I felt smarter! Whether I really was or wasn't, didn't matter to me. I FELT smarter! A person is as smart as they feel, right?

So I started to demand MORE of myself. I now felt as though I could be better in whatever I do. I wanted to excel in whatever I did. Deciding to learn calligraphy now--I want to excel in it.

I told my teacher friend that I wanted an "A" on my homework. Yes . . . we had calligraphy homework. She said that she wouldn't be giving us a grade on our homework. Oh my gosh, I was kinda bummed. I WANTED AN "A"!!!!!!
Well, I didn't get an "A" but I did get a "good work" on my paper. I was happy!

She left many calligraphy books with me and I looked at them all but one particular book really grabbed me. The author thought just like me!!!!! Is that possible? I was amazed and mesmerized by her thinking. I HAD TO ORDER THAT BOOK! So I did.

In her book, she wrote, "Life is too short to write nonsense." Oh my gosh, is that so true!!!! Up to that point in our classes, we wrote and practiced letters mainly. How to write the i, l, o, r, etc.

I wanted MORE. I wanted to write "stuff." So I did. I will share some of what I wrote later. And please . . . don't think that these first attempts are "all that" because they're not. . .BUT I had fun doing them!

I know that with each piece I write, I'll get better. It's all about the rules and practice. Once I learn the rules, I can then make up my own rules. I can deal with that!!!!

If you feel as though you can't do something. . . that anything you do is never good enough. . . that you are not smart . . . that trying your best is a waste of time. . . STOP!!!!!

Next time, instead of thinking all those negatives, I want you to think of this instead--

"You are what you say you are!"

If you say, "I suck"! Then you will.

If you say, "I CAN do that" then you will.

If you are lucky enough to have a "Zip" in your life--someone who can see your potential and loves you enough to have the patience to reassure you time and time again--hang on to that person!!!!!

I did and now the sky's my limit. I know I can do whatever I set my mind to doing.

And now, as I struggle with calligraphy, I do it with a sense of fun, embracing the rules.

As with anything worth doing, it will take time, practice, and perseverance. I may never do all the letters in perfect Italic form but that's okay; I'll keep trying.

I want to eventually add "Scribe" to who I am. Can you just see it? "Yuki, Scribe"
How fun will that be?????