Category Archives: Erika Beebe
Why We Have To Begin Again
 |
| source |
Was there ever a moment in your life when you didn’t know something, you thought you could figure it out, so you tried and flopped, and felt so incredibly embarrassed you didn’t know what to do next?
This is a common feeling I have inside of me. Always wanting to figure out a problem on my own, thinking I can do it, stressing about it, and trying when all I had to do was ask.
It is kind of funny, because as I watch my kids, I see my daughter at three going through some of the same feelings. I give her a task, like putting on her shoes, or picking up her toys, and she runs off eager to do it, “all by myself.” Minutes later, I check in on her and I find her sitting on the floor, without her shoes, or her toys, looking up at me with big green eyes and a trembly lip. “Mommy, will you help me, please?” She asks.
Embarrassment. Pride. Afraid to ask that one simple question.
This past week, I flopped in the process of submitting my comments back to the publisher. So caught up in the content, and the grammar, and how to make the words perfect on the page, I didn’t focus on the method. I made my notes in the comments thinking it was the more respectful manner of submitting return edits, instead of directly editing my piece in track changes. Sigh. I tried. I honestly gave it my best effort in the moment and then I received the note back saying, I hadn’t done my edits correctly, and I felt terrible.
I took several longs breaths and I did what my mom always tells me to do when I make a mistake. Shake it off. Get back in the game and do it as quickly and respectfully as you possibly can. Next thing to always remember, feel good about yourself when it’s done. You learned something. You recognized a learning moment and you had and have, the opportunity to change.
I’m much wiser now, knowing I need to read everything out-loud to process, and above all things, ask questions.
So thank you to you, for taking time to explore this journey with me, and I hope you have a really lovely week.
Hugs!
 |
| http://www.pinterest.com |
When the Unexpected Happens
 |
| http://www.pinterest.com |
Brilliantly put by one of the best word smiths I know. A timely quote as today, I’m thinking about the unexpected and how we handle these moments and the choices we make.
Let’s say your car breaks down.
Now what if it’s your phone?
Is your phone still something personal to you? Do you have a special little case you picked out because it just fit your personality in color or design? Does your phone say something about who you are?
I bet you can guess what I did. :0)
So now, I’m without a phone for about a week, and the shocking news might be to you, I’m sort of okay with that. I miss checking in with all of my friends, but it’s also a good reminder to live firm in the moment and just be you without a whole lot of interference. I’ll adjust. There are ways people can reach me, if necessary.
Bottom line: Know who you are and what makes you happy, because no matter what comes your way down the road, well, you’ll also be happy with that too.
Hugs!
Erika
 |
| http://www.pinterest.com |
The Greatest Gift You Can Give…
 |
| FB/The-road-to-ME |
…is to believe in someone else.
Every once in a while, we all fall down.
Maybe a meeting didn’t go right. We said all the wrong words, someone got mad, left, or shook their heads at us with their arms crossed and their eyebrows pressed down in a mean looking frown. Maybe we misinterpreted something someone else said, and inserted foot, leading in a direction neither party wanted to go. Or maybe the day just spiraled out of control with unexpected hiccups, throwing off our carefully thought out routines, like traffic, or spilling something on your shirt as you walked out of the door, or a recipe that flopped in the kitchen. Maybe a sudden call from school saying your kid was sick and you had to pick them up—now.
Recently, I received line edits on my short story, Stage Fright from the copy editor. My first ever serious line edits, and I didn’t think I would get emotional about them. I do have a thick spine. I’ve worked in corporate training where I received daily evaluations from peers in the adult classrooms, and I’ll just say, some people can take their stresses out on anyone but the right person, and I became okay with that.
Line edits were a new sort of feedback, and it was difficult to see someone else remap pieces I created. I freaked. My stress went up. My heart rate went up a few notches and my worries took my head down all sorts of wrong paths.
Later that day, I received a sweet email from J Keller Ford, one of the other authors in One More Day. She pumped me up. She shared her own personal story, and then above all things, she offered to help me in any way possible, telling me to breathe. Relax. She reinforced my belief in my abilities and how I created something different and unique the audience would love. Jenny believed in me when I needed it the most.
My point today is to show you a moment in my life when I needed someone to take my hand and lift me up. We all fall down, and maybe you know someone who is still down. Reach out. Be curious. Take interest in another person’s life. And maybe if it’s you, take the risk and confide in someone you trust. Stress does bad things to our bodies, and sometimes it’s as simple as these words from someone else: “I believe you can do this.”
Because I do. No matter what’s going on in your life. You can do this.
Have You Chased A Sunset Lately?
 |
| Our Perfect Sunset |
Wednesday night, driving home from the YMCA after teaching my YoPi class, I hear my daughter’s sweet little voice pipe up, “Look mommy! The moon is beautiful!”
I glance out the window and chuckle. “It is beautiful sweetie, but that’s the sun. It’s about to go to sleep and make room for the moon.”
Then all three of us, my daughter, my son and me continue to sneak glances at the sunset and talk about the clouds building up tall, highlighted around the edges with oranges, reds, and yellows, and then I start to say, “We need to take a picture of it! But the camera is at home, we have to hurry!”
They both pipe up, “Yeah, we have to hurry!”
Finally we pull up to the driveway and the kids rushed around, my son in his summer school shirt, my daughter in her pull up and no pants or shoes because she’d had an accident at the Y and she’s trying to get her sandals on fast, “Let’s go mom! We have to take a picture!”
We grab the camera. We grab each other’s hands and run across the street to the school. My son and daughter plop down in the grass and watch the sun, not saying a word, a breathtaking moment full of wonder. Finally I feel my little girl’s arms wrap around my leg and we just stop and ponder the beauty. A perfect end to our day, because no matter what happened, the sun lit up our night and our dreams.
