Inspiration

I am SO EXCITED to have a link from Susan Branch's website.....so I wanted to talk today about inspiration for just a moment.


This will be worth it....so stay with me....INSPIRATION: what is it?  For me, it's that light of fire, that spark, that nudge, that WOW, that's it....I KNEW IT ALL ALONG....that's ME!!!!!  That's inspiration.  (for me)

A L-O-N-G time ago, I came across one of Susan Branch's books....I read them over and over like old magazines; honestly there is so much inside each one, you don't get it all in one sitting.  It's not a recipe book...well, there's recipes in there, but there is so much more.  Her life is in those books....she lets out bits and pieces of it each time she writes....those pictures are all pieces of her life.  The old vintage stove, kitties, pottery, teacups.  You know what I mean, right? 

                                                                
Anyway, one thing led to another and soon I'm interesting my middle daughter in her calendars....and guess what?  She loved them and she's just like me....reading every bit of them like a story. 

Well anyway...ONE Christmas I was looking for an SB calendar for my daughter and I couldn't find it anywhere.  I drove from store to store, made phone calls and it was just a few days away; what was I going to do?  Finally, I found one, the last one and it was hers.  For years, I didn't get myself a calendar; they were expensive as I was a single mom raising three girls on my own.  I wanted them to know good things; I could get a free calendar somewhere.  They deserved their own favorite calendar and now this middle daughter was 'hooked.' 

                                                                 
Two years ago,  I got myself one for the first time.....they are pretty special....I know Susan inspires so many of us, each in our own special way.....but for me, she inspires me to be myself.  I LOVE to cook, clean, garden, make my house inviting for family and friends.  I LOVE to iron my pillowcases and my napkins. 

I'm an old-fashioned girl and for a lot of years, before I 'met' Susan in her books and calendars, I struggled with who I was, always trying to be 'more modern.'  But guess what?  That's not who I am......in fact, I WANT to own a b&b.  I want to decorate it and cook and clean and put handwritten notes on their pillows when they arrive....

The Girls Gets Real is about just that....being ME, no matter what.  That's what I'm best at....I've been a teacher pretty much all my life, so today's lesson is this:  Be YOURSELF.....and be darn good at it, too!!

This past Christmas, I also got my middle daughter a copy of Susan's first Willards that were hand-written.  Here she is on Christmas day opening it up....see that smile?  Inspiration in the making.

                                                                           
Thank you Susan Branch for being one of my greatest inspirations.....

I love you,

Joann....The REAL GIRL in Colorado xoxo