Jane Goodall

(Chip watching Jane Goodall's Famous Last Words)

Last week on October 1st, the world said goodbye to Jane Goodall, one of the best human beings to exist.In my social media, I posted a picture of Daughter#2 when she was in third of fourth grade dressed as Jane and presenting to her class about manatees, her favorite animal at the time. I'm grateful for Jane's life of example, for her love to the natural world, and for message. 

Last night I saw the Netflix documentary, Famous Last Words, which Jane recorded back In March to be aired only after her death. I wasn't impressed with the interviewer, but Jane was fantastic, as always. Funny, composed, direct, so herself. There were several sections that really moved me, but I especially loved when she said that to reach the heart of people, we do it with stories. Also, I was impressed by how she knew who she was and what she was supposed to do when she was ten years old. 

When I was ten years old I wanted to be a mom one day (I'm an eldest daughter, please don't judge :P) and become a writer. I'm grateful I get to do both things. To be both things. For this last year I've been thinking and trying to understand how to be more than how much or what to do. It seems so simple, but I've been confused on who I am without what I do. Can you separate the two? Is it possible? Don't we show who we are by our actions? I don't know. I want to know who I am when I'm not mothering or writing. But I've always known I came to this world to give love and create. I love to connect with others through stories. I love to put myself in the shoes of another through the pages of a book I read or one I write, and I'm grateful for the privilege of being part of this beautiful natural world. 

Jane's last words inspired me to stay connected to my Mother (Nature) and to remember that we take nothing with us when we die, but we leave so much behind. What do I want to leave behind? How will people remember me? I strive to leave a better world, to leave at least a glimmer of hope for our future children, to show them that this world is beautiful and we're all in this journey together. This is why I write, especially for young readers. There's a ten year old out there dreaming such dreams we can't even fathom, and if my words help them on their quest, I'll be forever grateful.  

PS1: Ahhh... my blogging muscles are rusty. It took me more than a week to update, but I'm here and I'm grateful for those reading my rambling words. I decided to name my children by their order of birth, not preference because they're all my favorite 🥰

PS2: I'm in the midst of a giant revision, which is just a re-write of my YA for 2027. I'm struggling because it's a second draft and it's not perfect. LOLsobLOL. Really. I'm paralyzed by how bad it is sometimes and I want it to be good from the get go, but I don't have much time, and this anxiety creates a terrible loop that I know I can only get out by writing, that's it. So I'm going to change my schedule a little. I'll have easy mornings, with exercise and walking the dogs, and after an early lunch, I'll head to my working space to work on this story I love (My writing space is at home now but in a couple of weeks it will be an actual office where my husband works. He offered me a space that was available and I couldn't resist saying yes! I want it!). I think I'll start blogging about my creative process so I can have an outlet to express the ups and downs and also to see if anyone has better tools than the ones I'm using :P 

PS3: Thank you for your comments and views last week.