Quote Tuesday

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, 

anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”

– Carl Bard
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Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. 

-Theodore Roosevelt

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You will never win if you never begin. 

-Helen Rowland

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If all you can do is crawl, start crawling.

 -Rumi

Success Quotes

Hey kids! Today I have some success quotes to share with y'all! Enjoy!

"If you are willing to do more than you are paid to do, eventually you will be paid to do more than you do." Anonymous

"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Edison

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out." Robert Collier

Overcoming Fear - By Tara

Mama says I was three when I read my first book. It's not that I'm overly intelligent, I was just born with such a love for books I couldn't risk waiting until a normal age to begin reading. Who knows what I might have missed? 

My dream is to one day be a librarian. I can’t imagine anything better than being surrounded by books all the time.  

I go to our library a couple times each week. Mama says it’s good practice for me. 

“I declare, Tara, you’re so quiet I hardly even notice you’re around.” Mrs. Holden, our librarian said with a smile when she almost tripped over me. 

I looked up from my seat on the floor where I was reading a new mystery book. “Sorry.” 

“Oh, it’s not a bad thing. I wish more of our children would be as quiet as you are.” Mrs. Holden began to walk away, then turned back. “Tara, have you ever thought of helping out with the children’s story time? Or even reading to them sometimes?” 

My heart began beating faster. “No.” I like being in the shadows. Talking to one person is hard enough.

“You’re here a lot and we’d be delighted to have your help. You’d be a perfect fit.” Mrs. Holden’s smile got even bigger. “Besides, your mother said you want to be a librarian when you grow up. It would be a good experience for you.”

I sucked in a breath and tried to smile. “I’ll think about it.” I said it to make her stop trying to convince me. I couldn’t purposely make myself the center of attention. 

Mrs. Holden told Mama about the idea when Mama came to pick me up; Mama agreed that it was wonderful. 

“Mama, I can’t,” I told her when we were in the car.

“Tara, I know you’re quiet, but sometime you’re going to have to learn how to talk to other people if you want to be a librarian. This would be the perfect place to start.” 

What she said made sense, but it still scared me. 

* * *

“Come here, Tara.” Daddy patted the arm of his easy chair. 

Snuggling next to him I took a deep breath. Daddy always made me feel safe. 

“What do you think?” I asked in a whisper, knowing he would understand. During super Mama had told everyone about Mrs. Holden’s offer. 

“I think it’s a mighty fine chance. It won’t be easy, but it will be good and eventually you might even enjoy it.” 

“I need to conquer my fear?” 

“That’s right, little lady.” Daddy gave my shoulder a squeeze. 

I thought about it for a long time before nodding. “I’ll help Mrs. Holden.” As scary as it was, I felt a strange sense of excitement inside me. It felt good to step outside my fears. 

Responsibilities - By Ivy

Hey Everyone! Ivy here! 

I am an animal lover. Of course horses are the best, but really any animal is better than none at all. Sometimes people just don't know what to make of my obsession (that's what my mom calls it) with living creatures. Dad says it's because I'm an only child so I like to have the company.  

I love getting to visit Miss Aidyl because she's got a huge variety of critters. That's why I was so excited when Miss Aidyl offered to pay me to take care of her animals when she went to a cooking conference for a week. Like of course I wanted to!

"Are you sure that you'll be consistent?" Mom wanted to know. "Miss Aidyl is counting on you, that means you'll have to take care of the animals even when you'd rather be doing something else."

I sucked in an exasperated sigh. We were talking about animals here; there wasn't going to be anything I'd rather do. Or so I thought at the time.  

For two days before Miss Aidyl left I helped her while she did her animals so I would know just what to do and she also wrote down detailed instructions for me. I was feeling pretty good about myself by the time she finally left for her conference. I felt rather accomplished that Miss Aidyl had chosen me even though I was the youngest of all the Action Kids. 

Friday morning I walked into our kitchen to see Dad standing at the counter with a cup of coffee in one hand, looking out our big window over the sink. 

“Good morning, Dad!” I sang out cheerily. I was in a good mood because I was allowed to go down to the stables down the road every Friday and help out with the horses. 

“Ivy.” Dad gave me a fist bump. “Are you busy today? I mean other than the stables?” 

“Not really, why?” I got out a packet of instant oatmeal and then flipped the switch for the hot water pot. 

“I have this afternoon off so I was thinking it would be fun to go and visit Grandma and take her out for supper.” 

Nice! Grandma lived two hours away so we didn’t get to see her as often as I wished we could. “That would be super cool!” Before I was even done with my sentence I felt my surge of excitement plummeting. “What time do you think we’d get home?” 

“Not until late, but that’s ok because I have Saturday off, too. In fact, we might just stay at Grandma’s house over night.” 

I felt like crying. Staying at Grandma’s house was such a big treat, but there was no way I’d be able to go along. “Thanks, Dad, but I can’t go this time.” I ripped the packet of oatmeal open and dumped it into my bowl, blinking rapidly. 

“Why not?” 

“I’m taking care of Miss Aidyl’s animals this week.” 

“Oh. I had forgotten.” Dad was quiet for a moment, then he smiled at me. “I’m proud of you, Ivy, for being diligent with your job. You thought of your responsibilities right away, that shows that you’re maturing and growing up. We’ll just have to plan our visit to Grandma’s for another weekend.” 

I thought about Dad’s words as I ate my oatmeal. By the time I was done I had a big smile on my face. I wasn’t going to get to visit Grandma, but at least I knew my parents were proud of me and I was helping Miss Aidyl.