Everybody has a story

I LOVE to read.  I love to put myself in the setting or realm of some of the characters I read about. I'm more into mystery, detective romance stories.  I mean, really, what girl doesn't dream about the man that saves her from her kidnappers and they fall in love and live happily ever after?!  He searches the world over and knows what the villains are up to and even predicts their next move before THEY do!  Then suddenly, bam! He races in and saves the day!

The details fascinate me.  The authors usually have some sort of connection to the topic or field of knowledge they pursue in their writing.  I've read books by retired judges, police officers, military spouses, teachers and even plain, old everyday people that just have GREAT imaginations.  It never ceases to amaze me what these authors come up with.  I've read books (most are fictional) where a child has been abducted and some new, start up detective partners up with law enforcement and he, with little to no experience, solves the case, finds the child, single handedly takes down the bad guy and then ends up with the best looking cop on the planet and they sail off into the sunset together. Sigh....be still my heart.

But alas, eventually I have to step back into reality.  I have to put the book(s) down and be me - Debbie - wife - mom - friend - worker - daughter - sister - neighbor.  It's not so bad.  I rather enjoy my life.  As much as I would LOVE the adventure, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be a Kate Beckett with her hot Richard Castle sidekick, turned lover, turned husband.  My adventure would probably resemble more of Lucy and her sidekick, Ethel.  I can see me now in that chocolate factory wrapping candy and having that conveyor belt going crazy and me fighting with the chocolate and having to stuff some in my mouth.  Ok, let's be real here. That's probably more of a DREAM of mine than a "bad adventure".

Then there's the stories of others.  The stories we know nothing about.  The real life stories.....

I recently had a short term subbing position at an elementary school.  I was able to work with many students.  I recall one morning I was assisting a young boy that just did NOT want to do anything. He had a scowl on his face and was just giving me grief.  I remember sitting close enough to him to smell his body odor...and it wasn't a pleasant smell.  I wondered to myself, "Man! I wonder what kind of home-life he has."  I kind of felt bad for him and yet part of me was being judgmental thinking he should take better care of his hygiene and change his attitude, too.

Later that day I talked to an adult that knew his story.  She told me that his mom worked a hard job that took her out of the home a lot. The older siblings took care of him and she knew nothing about a dad in the mix.  He usually had a pop tart for breakfast and mac and cheese for dinner.  Then she told me, "His mom is awesome. She loves him and supports him in everything. She does her best with what she has."  I felt substantially chastised....not by this person, but rather chastised by myself!  I realized that EVERYBODY HAS A STORY.

Sometimes we are so busy judging a book by it's cover that we don't take the time to open it and read. It takes effort to read a book/story.  It takes time.  Sometimes it doesn't start getting good until you're in about 20-30 pages.  Can you imagine what YOUR life would be like if someone just looked at your cover and didn't take the time to "read" your story?

What I learned this short time I was subbing at this school is EVERYBODY has a story.  Every character in their story is REAL. There's no fiction.  It's real life.  I've learned that some books need to be opened and browsed a little before we decide to read it or discard it.

I hope we will each take the time to learn someone's story.  You may feel alone along the path of life as your story is being written.  You may feel like no one cares.  You may truly feel alone.  Just always remember, you're NEVER ALONE.  There really is someone out there writing their story, perhaps feeling alone. But I believe if you opened your book to someone and compared chapters, you would find that you share similar feelings. We are NEVER ALONE because someone, somewhere is writing a similar story to yours, feeling the same thing....just in a different part of the world.

Keep writing your story, friends.  We may not be able to change our past chapters but we can help each other along the way to writing a better, happier 'next' chapter and obtain our own "happily every after".

Love to you all!
Debbie