Today I want to share a post written by my dear friend Colette. She is a wonderful writer and an all-around creative person that I admire so much! Whenever I am struggling with my own self-expression, I always look to her as an example, because she embodies the true imaginative spirit. This post is a glimpse into the mind of this beautifully creative soul that I'm proud to call my friend. Without further ado here she is... :-)
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I was asked to be a guest on Dori’s award-winning blog and of course I’m honored. I didn’t know what to talk about so she said that I can talk about anything. I remember a writing instructor once saying to write about what you know, so I will share a little about myself.
If my memory serves me correctly, Dori and I go way back to the year of 2003 at the same workplace in Atlanta, Georgia. We worked in different divisions of a sales and marketing team, yet we became the best lunch buddies. Out of that came our weekly writing workshop. During that time, we came up with so many ideas, including sharing the stage to perform our respective one woman shows.
One day at lunch, Dori shared with me that she was to moving to Europe. I was in shock and didn’t want her to leave, but I couldn’t be selfish. As much as I didn’t want her to go, I knew she had to follow her heart. I told her I would miss her and our writing time together. We made a promise that we would keep in contact often and to this day we have kept that promise.
In our busy lives, we manage to email each other mostly every week and sometimes daily. We even got a chance to talk on Skype once and chatted for at least three hours.
Throughout the years, Dori and her husband have visited the States and we always have fun when she comes home. I've promised her that I will visit her and her husband in Europe and my promise still stands.
Now I will share with you what Dori hears me talk about all of the time...
I didn’t tell you my name! :) I am Colette Paul. Yes, I have a French name and I still haven’t traveled to France, but I am coming and you will feel my energy when I am there! My goal is to travel the world, spread love and write about the beautiful people that I encounter. We can use more love, smiles, respect and positive thoughts for each other, right?
A puzzling thing about me is that I suppressed my talents for so many years that I forgot about them. I focused on raising my son before my divorce. I didn’t even think about God’s path for my life. I was busy being a wife and mom of a young male child and I was busy trying to climb the corporate ladder. Many times I applied for the same outside sales position at work, but I never got the position. I prayed and asked God if the job was for me and to open doors for me to get it, yet it never happened.
I realized that I locked my talents away and I decided to brush them off and sharpen my craft as a poet and a writer. Shortly, after Dori crossed my path. She shared with me she was a writer and I was impressed that she was such an incredible storyteller.
Shortly after, we saw a writing contest in a local paper called
Creative Loafing and we submitted our work. I wrote "The Front Porch", a short story which came to life and ten years later it has evolved into
Zoe’s Summer Blues , a middle grades book manuscript. I’m getting ready to submit it for publication. Dori has been my cheerleader the entire time.
I’m developing as an artist. I’ve started singing again and I’m working on a one-woman show. I’ve been in my first short film called,
The Hem Line. The director asked me to write a poem for it also.
Recently, I’ve joined a business called It Works Global. It has an ultimate applicator wrap that tightens, tones and firms in 45 minutes, along with other amazing natural supplements, and skin care products. I feel this vehicle will help me become free with my time and financially independent so that I can complete my purpose with my God-given talents.
Soulful House Music and African Dance are my favorite forms of music and dance. I’m healing from knee issues so I have to sit until I heal, yet it doesn’t stop me from dancing while I sit in my chair working on a story.
Riding my bicycle for long distances is my favorite form of exercise. I haven’t been on my bike since 2010. My mother broke her hip in 2011. It was a downhill battle after that. She never fully recovered. She passed away March 1, 2012. I thought that she would go to rehab to get stronger and come home. She never made it out of the rehabilitation and long care center.
I’ve never felt so unsure, frightened, and lost. There were times the only thing I could say as a prayer was,
'God help me'! Out of all of the experiences of hardship I’ve come upon, I knew I couldn’t make it through this one.
I’m still numb that my mother isn’t here. I still have nightmares of her being ill in her death bed.
She suffered so long and her final months were horrific. The good thing is that during those dark days, I met my current boyfriend and he kept me laughing to cope through the terrifying times when I walked into my mother’s room, not knowing what she would look like. She’d physically changed from a robust, beautiful woman to a white- haired skeleton with fragile skin. I think the ancestors and Mom’s prayers brought my boyfriend and I together to help me through her transitioning.
During my mom’s final months I was in the process of purchasing a property, processing a break-up of five years, helping my son get through his expensive high school senior year and prepare for college. I don’t know how I made it.
I accepted that God called me to write, and eventually, I needed time alone to do so, but I didn’t know I would feel so bad going through the process to get to the other side. It was just too much for anyone to go through all at once.
My son is now in college. I am now an empty- nester. Other than being on the same job of sixteen years, (the only consistency in my life.), my life has completely changed. I know now more than ever that I have a calling on my life as an artist. It’s time to move towards it.
Visit Colette at her blog:
Coco Thoughts
You can also find her at:
http://cocowraps.myitworks.com
Email:
cocopoet1@yahoo.com
Facebook: Colette Paul
Twitter:
cocopoet1
YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, Skype:
cocopoet1
This is a picture of the beautiful blossoms that I left behind back home in Georgia. They were at the edge of a field that I had played in all of my life. So right before I left I took a picture of them so that I could freeze them in time and remember them just as they were right before I left. I guess it was my way of holding onto a bit of my roots as I was preparing to move so far away. Also, we had just lost my mom so it seemed like I was leaving everything behind and it was a tough time. When I saw these beautiful pink flowers I felt happy and calm because nature can always do its work on me in times of stress. It's hard for me to worry about anything when I see God's beautiful work right in front of my face :-)
