Looking for a Good Read? Try, The Help

This hilarious little book was actually rejected 45 times before it was finally accepted for publication. Then, in a short period of time, it had shot to the top of the New Youk Times best seller list. Amazon posted more than4000 ratings--mostly of 5 which is the top rating allowed there.

The book describes the daily lives of 3 women; 2 black maids living in the American south during the 1960's who were often mistreated by their wealthy employers, and a young white woman, who, through her writing, hoped to make a difference in the lives of all black people in her community.

The author, Kathryn Stockett uses humor to make the sad situations faced daily by the black maids faced daily. You'll laugh out loud at how the neighborhood maids decide to handle the "separate toilets for black household help" incident.

Read this attention getting paperback, and see if you don't agree. (The book is also available in a deluxe hardback edition ideal for gift-giving and the story has also been made into a very popular movie.)

"Abandon" Doesn't Have To Be A Dirty Word

I have never cared for the word, abandon. In my mind, it always conjured up only negative visions.

However, just recently, I have come to the conclusion that there are many things in my life that actually need to be abandoned. There is not enough time left in my life to accomplish even a small fraction of the projects I have started and bogged down in over the years.

My sewing room is full of half-done garments; my spare bedroom bookshelf contains more books than I could read if I read from daylight til dark for the next ten years; three drawers of my desk overflow with partially written articles and even a novel or two; and there is a huge box in the family room filled with brochures from all the places I truly intended to visit. I even have an idle keyboard with half a dozen music books and a guitar tucked safely away in its case in hopes that, someday, I will find time to learn to play one or both of them. And that isn't counting the dreams I have of coming up with a way to make a fortune online, etc., etc.

I can't describe the stress all these unfinished projects have placed upon me. Every Monday, I make a new, "to do" list for the week and include at least one long term unfinished project, only to find on Friday, that another week has ended with most of my "to do" items still undone.
Sound familiar?

But tell me this. Is there any law, written or unwritten, that says we have to finish every project we ever start?

So, after spending some time this afternoon contemplating the meaning of "abandon" I have come to the conclusion that discarding most of the projects I described above would be a very liberating experience. I'm going to do it! I am going to commit abandonment......

Will I feel guilty? Probably--at least for a little while, but I suspect the guilt will pass. Anyone care to join me?