Grasping the Elusive Dream
Viewing comments for Chapter 11 "A Personality All Her Own"The Followup to Chasing the Elusive Dream
26 total reviews
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
I think raising children is one of the most difficult jobs in the world Beth. Having said that, it is the most joyous too. Not only do you have to think of each child as an individual and react differently to each of them, you also have to consider the reaction of your children with each of their siblings, as they become jealous of your attention. I enjoyed your Halloween story here, you have some memorable stories to share with us, love Dolly x x x
reply by the author on 17-Jul-2023
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I think raising children is one of the most difficult jobs in the world Beth. Having said that, it is the most joyous too. Not only do you have to think of each child as an individual and react differently to each of them, you also have to consider the reaction of your children with each of their siblings, as they become jealous of your attention. I enjoyed your Halloween story here, you have some memorable stories to share with us, love Dolly x x x
Comment Written 15-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 17-Jul-2023
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Thank you Dolly. I am very thankful for all of my children but I sure I make mistakes raising them. All those different personalities call for different solutions to problems. We do the best we can and hope everything will works out.
Comment from Spitfire
I always love to read about your family, Beth. The soundproof room is church is a great idea. I think it's good that siblings have different interests in order to avoid jealousy and competition.
Funny: the ape was retreating at a speed only impalas are supposed to be able to achieve..
Also a hoot about your dressing as a witch.. For me it cured Connie of a bad habit--being first to open the door.
reply by the author on 16-Jul-2023
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I always love to read about your family, Beth. The soundproof room is church is a great idea. I think it's good that siblings have different interests in order to avoid jealousy and competition.
Funny: the ape was retreating at a speed only impalas are supposed to be able to achieve..
Also a hoot about your dressing as a witch.. For me it cured Connie of a bad habit--being first to open the door.
Comment Written 15-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 16-Jul-2023
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Thank you again and I'm really please you gave this one six stars. Even though my family though my method was cruel, I did get Connie to quit answering to door so quickly.
Beth
Comment from Anne Johnston
I love this chapter about your daughter. I can sympathize with your experience taking her to church. When our third son was little, I spent most of my time in the nursery, because I could not keep him quiet. But he did turn out all right and is now a Pastor.
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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I love this chapter about your daughter. I can sympathize with your experience taking her to church. When our third son was little, I spent most of my time in the nursery, because I could not keep him quiet. But he did turn out all right and is now a Pastor.
Comment Written 14-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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Thank You Anne. I'm glad you liked this chapter. Raising children is an adventure and we sometime seem to learn more than they do.
Beth
Comment from Cindy Decker 2
Beth,
Your children's exploits that you write about are interesting, and sometimes humorous.
We have a creek by our house and we used to fish for crawdads. A neighbor once cooked some up for me and his kids; they were good but for two days I kept feeling pinching in my throat, as I imagined the crawdads were trying to crawl back out of me.
Great stories, Beth.
Good luck with this novel.
Blessings,
Cindy
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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Beth,
Your children's exploits that you write about are interesting, and sometimes humorous.
We have a creek by our house and we used to fish for crawdads. A neighbor once cooked some up for me and his kids; they were good but for two days I kept feeling pinching in my throat, as I imagined the crawdads were trying to crawl back out of me.
Great stories, Beth.
Good luck with this novel.
Blessings,
Cindy
Comment Written 14-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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Thank you Cindy, I got a good laugh from your comments about the crawdad and feeling the pinching in your throat. I would have imagined the trying to crawl back out too. Thanks for sharing.
Beth
Comment from Faith Williams
That line about the impalas made me laugh. As did Connie no longer interested in being the first to answer the door. (I know I shouldn't have laughed at this one, but it just struck me funny.)
One suggestion to consider:
'One Halloween, I'd taken Don and Christi to a haunted house and agreed to wait in the parking lot with Connie while they went inside. The parking lot was dark and no one noticed the tall guy dressed in a gorilla suit moving around in the parking lot.' You repeat 'parking lot' here. Maybe switch out the first one for 'outside'?
Every child is their own unique person. It's so weird how that works out. I have three sons, and I swear they are so different. Thanks for sharing, Beth.
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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That line about the impalas made me laugh. As did Connie no longer interested in being the first to answer the door. (I know I shouldn't have laughed at this one, but it just struck me funny.)
One suggestion to consider:
'One Halloween, I'd taken Don and Christi to a haunted house and agreed to wait in the parking lot with Connie while they went inside. The parking lot was dark and no one noticed the tall guy dressed in a gorilla suit moving around in the parking lot.' You repeat 'parking lot' here. Maybe switch out the first one for 'outside'?
Every child is their own unique person. It's so weird how that works out. I have three sons, and I swear they are so different. Thanks for sharing, Beth.
Comment Written 14-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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Thank you Faith. I appreciate the review. I appreciate the suggestion. I did repeat the parking lot too many times.
Beth
Comment from Realist101
LMAO! I LOVE to scare people. Or used to. I could actually see these events happening Beth. I once scared my poor brother so bad when he had loud music on and couldn't hear me knock, so I went on in and tapped him on the arm. He liked to jumped clean outta his skin! Did this to the husband once too. On purpose! Now, too old and tired, but loved this post too!
reply by the author on 14-Jul-2023
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LMAO! I LOVE to scare people. Or used to. I could actually see these events happening Beth. I once scared my poor brother so bad when he had loud music on and couldn't hear me knock, so I went on in and tapped him on the arm. He liked to jumped clean outta his skin! Did this to the husband once too. On purpose! Now, too old and tired, but loved this post too!
Comment Written 14-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 14-Jul-2023
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Thank you for a great review. I miss hearing from you more often like a few years back. I used to try to scare people to. I almost gave my poor grandmother a heart attack a few time. I liked pranks.
Beth
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A lady of my own heart!
Comment from davisr (Rhonda)
What a warm story about Connie, Beth. She sounds like quite a strong willed child. I love the stories about the things that scared her. How funny, yet traumatizing at the same time. I think my favorite is about the crawfish, though the one with the witches outfit was hilarious as well.
Sorry she developed a negative outlook on church, though I know that happens!
Take care,
Rhonda
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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What a warm story about Connie, Beth. She sounds like quite a strong willed child. I love the stories about the things that scared her. How funny, yet traumatizing at the same time. I think my favorite is about the crawfish, though the one with the witches outfit was hilarious as well.
Sorry she developed a negative outlook on church, though I know that happens!
Take care,
Rhonda
Comment Written 14-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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Thanks for another great review. I glad you found some humor in some of what frightened Connie.
Beth
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Sometimes, you?ve just got to laugh.
Comment from Pam Lonsdale
A rowboat with a skeleton - now, there's a new one! My daughter had a monster living in her closet.
That's one way of keeping her from opening the front door. I'm pretty sure all we mothers have done things that we look back on and say, "Geez, that was stupid."
This is like reading your diary, Beth. And you have such an entertaining life story to tell!
Thanks for sharing this one.
Pam
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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A rowboat with a skeleton - now, there's a new one! My daughter had a monster living in her closet.
That's one way of keeping her from opening the front door. I'm pretty sure all we mothers have done things that we look back on and say, "Geez, that was stupid."
This is like reading your diary, Beth. And you have such an entertaining life story to tell!
Thanks for sharing this one.
Pam
Comment Written 14-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 15-Jul-2023
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Thank you, Pam. It is fun remembering the things about the kids as they grew up. I wish I kept a diary because I sure there is much I've forgotten.
Comment from lyenochka
Lol. Thanks for sharing about Connie. I can imagine how hard it was to have your youngest be so much younger than your older three. (I only had two with ten years in between.)
I thought it was interesting that Connie who had such fears could overcome those fears to enjoy Halloween. And honestly, that witch costume event was quite the cure for that problem with opening the door without checking!
I loved:
"When I looked the ape was retreating at a speed only impalas are supposed to be able to achieve."
Comment:
It took most of the night to quieten her down. (I liked "quieten" but that is an archaic form and we just use "quiet" now.)
reply by the author on 14-Jul-2023
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Lol. Thanks for sharing about Connie. I can imagine how hard it was to have your youngest be so much younger than your older three. (I only had two with ten years in between.)
I thought it was interesting that Connie who had such fears could overcome those fears to enjoy Halloween. And honestly, that witch costume event was quite the cure for that problem with opening the door without checking!
I loved:
"When I looked the ape was retreating at a speed only impalas are supposed to be able to achieve."
Comment:
It took most of the night to quieten her down. (I liked "quieten" but that is an archaic form and we just use "quiet" now.)
Comment Written 14-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 14-Jul-2023
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Thank you Helen. I"m so glad you like my story.
I had guiet but one of the other reviews said it should be quieten so I complied.
Beth
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That's funny! My hubby said that wasn't used since Chaucer's time. 😊
Comment from Bill Schott
Connie sounds like me, who was the last one to appear. She may or may not have gotten sibling support back then, as we never realize our impact on each other until a few decades later.
reply by the author on 14-Jul-2023
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Connie sounds like me, who was the last one to appear. She may or may not have gotten sibling support back then, as we never realize our impact on each other until a few decades later.
Comment Written 14-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 14-Jul-2023
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Maybe you and your sister eventually resolved your problem but just knowing why it happened doesn't always undo the all the damage. Thanks for a nice review.
Beth