Volume IV, Issue 51 December 21, 2015 Dear ,
I wish you the merriest of holidays and holy days! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the gift you are in my life, whether you WordPlay with me through this Word-zine every so often, or I have the privilege of playing with you in person through a consultation, class, workshop, and/or retreat. It is an honor to engage in the power and magic of the
written word with you.
Today I am delighted to share the gift of one of my most playful WordPlayers with you, one who spreads cheer throughout the room wherever she goes. Her name is Mary Struble Deery, and she takes Mr. Rogers's philosophy to heart, understanding that no matter how old we get, the child inside us still
has a need for play. You can read about (and even listen to!) her take on the gift of play below.
There's a reason I named my business WordPlay and trademarked the tagline "Take your dreams seriously. Play with them." I believe we
never outgrow the "work" of play. What better way to learn and grow?
My wish for you is that you give yourself the gift of play this holiday, whether it's through taking the time to respond to this week's prompt and share it with someone you love, building a block castle with a little person in your life,
dancing to the "Jingle Bell Rock," or whatever else suits your fancy.
Thanks again for the privilege of WordPlaying with you!
Upcoming WordPlay
THE GIFT OF MEMOIR
Four spots left!
(Preserving Family History; Writing for and about Your Family; The Art of
Memoir)
Our life stories are a precious legacy. Putting them in writing is a gift to all who know and love us—they can be treasured and enjoyed for generations to come. It is also a gift to ourselves. As best-selling author Rachel Naomi Remen says in her book Kitchen Table Wisdom, facts bring us to knowledge, but stories bring us to wisdom. If you are interested in writing family
and/or personal life stories—those significant tales of adventure, transition, love, loss, and triumph, as well as lovely everyday moments from times past or the present, come learn specific tools and techniques to retrieve and record them.
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, 28204. Click here for map.
WHEN: Thursday mornings, 10:00 a.m. – noon January 7 and 21
February 4 and 18
March 3 and 17
April 7 and 21
May 5
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AN UPCOMING OPPORTUNITY, TAUGHT BY WORDPLAY CREATIVE COMRADE WENDY GILL* THE ARTIST'S WAY: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (Expanding Our Creativity;
Creating Joy and Fulfillment in Our Lives)
Are you ready to discover the joy of creativity? Using the proven tools and structure of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, this course will spur your imagination and guide your journey toward creative
self-expression.
Our 2-hour sessions include weekly check-ins, hands-on activities, and creativity exercises. The encouragement and support of this small in-person community (what Julia Cameron calls a “creative cluster”) will help you fully experience the power of The Artist’s Way.
COST: $260 for 13 classes, if registered on or before
December
27, 2016 (Early Bird Special) $295 for 13 classes, if registered after December 27, 2016 WHERE: Downtown Matthews, NC WHEN: Session A: Thursday mornings, 10 AM – Noon, January 14 – April 7,
2016 Session B: Thursday evenings, 7 PM – 9 PM, January 14 – April 7, 2016
TO REGISTER: For
more information or to register, please email Wendy directly at Wendy@ProfessionalCommunications.com.
*Wendy H. Gill was a special education teacher for 22 years. One of her greatest joys as an educator was adapting stories, rhymes and songs to engage her students and instill a love of books. She left full-time teaching in 2000 to create a literacy enrichment program for young children. She is currently a writer, producer, and
the owner of Professional Communications, a creative video production agency. Her poems and essays have appeared in a variety of regional and national publications.
More WordPlay opportunities here. WordPlay Success Story
"[Maureen's] lessons and prodding have served me well.
They have been a gift."
Meet Mary Struble
Deery
Mary Struble Deery fancies herself to be an artist. Not a sculptor or painter, but a “Word Arranger.” She’d prefer playing Scrabble with words. Individual letters, even if they’re Z’s and Q’s worth a whopping
10 points each, don’t satisfy.
Mary worked in the media side of advertising, with numbers and dollars, so never had a chance to unleash her creative side. She’s now making up for lost time. If you want to find Mary, put her keyboard coordinates into your GPS. There you’ll find her fingers flying all
over.
What Mary says about WordPlay
"When my husband or children ask what I want as a gift, I request consumables. I just don’t need any more stuff.
One consumable gift I give myself is Maureen Ryan Griffin’s Under Construction class. The name of her business, Wordplay, is so apt. In that class (going on 12 years now) I do more than just learn the
craft of writing. I actually produce work. But, it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like play.
I wrote the piece highlighted here while on a weekend retreat at Sunset Beach with Maureen. It was my first of four WFAE radio commentaries. Her lessons and prodding have served me well. They have been a gift.
That’s what this commentary is about. How gifts can change a life."
Holiday lights and cooler nights mean only one thing – time to buy toys for the children we love. Toys are important. The one we buy today may be the one remembered fondly in adulthood and could set the stage for life
itself.
I recall the battered doll in a grungy red wool coat with a fading satin belt – the doll that my baby brother, Pete, lugged around with him everywhere.
I’m sure my mom had great fun suggesting the name of this doll, Heikki, which stuck. That weird name probably belonged to one of
her long-lost Finnish cousins.
We older siblings got in on the act of caring for Heikki. My sister, Ann, was more interested in dressing and washing him. Dan, our older brother, built him a house from a cardboard box.
My job was to set a place at the table for Heikki. I would descend to the
basement and dig through the jumble of toys hunting for the painted aluminum plate, plastic fork and spoon so he could join us for dinner.
Reflecting on Heikki, I have come to see that this doll was a true member of our family – something each of us, in our own way, could practice “life” on.
Toys ARE for practice. I now see that my son’s Lego passion and desire to sit at the keyboard for hours were the origins of his current career as a computer engineer. Dr. Seuss wrote the textbooks that turned my daughter into a flourishing writer. And maybe, partly because of Heikki, my brother Pete became a stupendous father.
Who doesn’t know the child who was
initially denied the toy gun until Mom spotted him using a stick to shoot his playmates? She would eventually give in and buy him one. Some of these children grew up to be our police and soldiers – pretty important people for all of us.
Before ever dreaming of shopping at the Gap or Talbots, girls wore plastic Cinderella high heels that snapped with every step and adorned their cardboard dolls
with vinyl dresses. It was treasures such as these and invisible Tinkerbell makeup that helped create these fashion giants. As adults we’ve bought jeans and coats from them and they have improved our stock profile.
The phony-baloney play kitchens with plastic hamburger patties and clickity on and off switches produced the great Iron Chefs. Mud pies in the backyard and Easy Bake Ovens have
been the inspiration for millions of moms.
Messy finger paints, smeared smocks, clay and crayons were the springboards for artists who so enrich our lives – from closet crafts lovers to the accomplished who display work at the Mint.
Toys are sacred. We need to be as careful about putting
together the holiday toy list as we are about buying a new flat screen TV. We should honor the toy box – say novenas while tossing playthings back where they belong. If adulthood is the pool, then toys are the diving boards, helping kids jump into life with a splash.
Mary's piece ran as a radio commentary on WFAE, The Charlotte NPR Station. To listen to it, please click here.
WordPlay Now! Writing
Prompt This is WordPlay—so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week, it's
"gift."
PROMPT:
Write about a memorable holiday gift you (or a character) received. It does not have to be a physical object.
MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You, and two collections of poetry, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."
Maureen also believes that serious "word
work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn—and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours! |
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