The Artsy Essay is back!

Judith Heartsong had brought back The Artsy Essay! I can't even tell you how happy this makes me. You MUST click on the link above and go to her Blog and check out all the wonderful people who are participating. And, while you are there, be sure to check out the rest of the blog. Judith is a very accomplished artist and often shares her artwork with us, along with her thoughts. She is one of the most generous and gentlest souls you will ever find.

The theme for this edition of the Artsy Essay is as follows:

What is your favorite and most inspiring possession? Tell us about it, and if you want an extra creative challenge... tell us about it without naming it until the very last sentence of your essay:):):)

So, Click on the link above, read the rules, and join us in the inaugural edition of The Artsy Essay!

Below is my entry:

When I first started considering what my favorite or most inspiring possession might be, frankly I was stumped. My first gut reaction was an entry about either Morgan or Boo, but the fact that I call them the furkids gives you the first clue as to why they wouldn't by appropriate. Morgan and Boo are not possessions, they are part of our family! My second knee-jerk thought was a toss-up between my camera and my laptop. But that was too easy, and I knew that I could get by perfectly well without either of them. I might not be happy about it, but neither of them were things that I couldn't do without. So, digging deep, and giving it a lot of thought, I finally came up with the perfect thing.

My most favorite, inspiring, irreplaceable, and loved possession was given to me by my Mother. I don't think she did it on purpose, in fact I'm pretty sure she didn't! See, my step-father worked an evening job when they were first married, and a 3 year old running around the small duplex early in the morning was not conducive to my new Daddy getting the rest he needed. My Mother figured that if I stayed up until they went to bed in the evening, I would sleep later the next day. Being the resourceful person she was, and noting my interest in one of her favorite things, she decided to gift me with something which I still love and value even to this day.

Taking my Christmas gift from my Grandparents and moving it from my bedroom into the living room, she sat me down and we took turns. She would draw something on my blackboard easel and tell me what it was. I would then carefully try to copy her movements and repeat her words back to her. Soon I was able to name what she drew on my little blackboard before she could tell me. Before long I was sitting down on the couch with her and paging thru the little board books that my Grandparents were always gifting me with, and sharing the stories I found there with her.

To this day, I prefer my Mother's gift over anything else I own. Because of her gift, I have ridden on the backs of dragons as they flew through the sky. I've joined Hobbits in their houses, and had tea with a stuffed animal or two. I've flown in spaceships to other planets and met people with ideas that are different than mine. As long as I can read, I will always have new places to visit, both real and imaginary, and friends to meet, both old and new. She gave me not just the gift of stories and entertainment, but the ability to learn anything I want to.

My Mother's Gift was the ability to read and understand the written word, but, more importantly, she gifted me with her love of books.