Why Use That Word?

Your children too old for picture books? Why?

Leah Porter on "Seeing Without Reading"

Take WHY? for an answer?

So tell me, do you get upset when someone answers your question with a question?

What do I mean? you ask.

See, right there! So was that second question asked because clarification is warranted? Or rather to ignore the first question?

The first question asked for a simple yes or no response. Or at least a declarative sentence!

Well, I guess if you've read this far, it's no secret how I feel about questions answered with questions.

But then, I just asked myself, do I do that?

The answer came at lightning speed.

Why, would it upset me if I did?

-- Diana "WhY me?" Black

www.DianaBlack.net

Why You Smilin'?

What makes you smile?

Food?

Friends?

Fun?

What about doing something nice for someone?

Heard Garrison Keillor say that what makes our

country great is not its angry people.

It's the kind people.

Guess that could be said of any nation.

So, at the end of the day, what makes you happy?

Why Knot?

June's quickly drawing to a close. The month everyone rhymes with moon. And the month when a lot of couples tie the knot.

My parents did. June 9, 1940.

A close friend married just a couple weeks ago. June 14th.

So why do we do it? Tie the knot that is. Living together is no longer, in most people's minds, a "sin."

So why make that life-long committment to another person? Why fight for the right to do so regardless of gender?

Oh, the picture? You'll have to guess if it's my friend or Charles & Mary Elizabeth Richert!

-- Diana

Why You're Off The Hook...

Okay, I get these daily email affirmations...every day...like every 24 hours...and there was this one that really blew me away.

It said...

"My happiness depends on me, so you're off the hook."

Now aren't you glad you stopped by the blog today? Puts things in a whole new perspective, doesn't it?

I can no longer blame anyone else for my mood, behavior, actions...anything!

It's totally up to me how I react to anything...

And guess what? I'm choosing to reactive very positively to this news! Not because of you...Though I still do appreciate everything you do that is good and kind...

My happiness doesn't depend on you doing something good and kind.

Just wanted you to know.

Here's Why...

I'm not worried about future generations...Well, okay, I am...

BUT not so much after today.

These first and second graders at Dorsett Shoals Elementary in Douglasville, GA, renewed my faith that children ARE our future.

First graders understood the concept and wanted to know about book publishing! Who knew?!?

And they asked detailed questions about how I illustrated Wendel Wordsworth: No Words for Wendel. So I told them. At times I was sure I'd lose 'em, that their big eyes would glaze over. But, hey, I had a hard time staying ahead of the curve with these kids.

So, let's give a big shout-out to parents and teachers who invest time and a whole lot of energy on children entrusted to their care and well-being.

Okay, my granddaughter is still, let's face it, the most exceptional child ever created. But I guess there are actually kids out there who run a very close second!

Why would a mother drive off?

We all know the story. The mother in White Plains, NY, sick to death of hearing her 10- and 12-year-old daughters fight, stops the car. Orders them out.

Drives off.

As much as all three may wish it so, there's no "do over." No rewind button or delete key when something like this makes national news. Time to accept and move on...but this time together.

Here's what I hope for them: taht the mother finds safer ways to relieve stress; that the young sisters appreciate each other a whole lot more; and that their entire family experiences a deeper and more meaningful relationship.

We all get pushed to the max. And every situation is different...even if all the components appear to be the same, nothing is ever exactly alike.

So trying to figure out what the mother should or should not have done is a non-issue for me.

Looking inside myself and asking hard questions, that's my job right now...

But still, when you think about it, at the end of the day, aren't we all just a heartbeat away from having to ask ourselves ...Why did I do that?

--Diana

No WHY in Earth Day...

Hi! I'm Wendel Wordsworth...

I'm going green today...(actually I'm green EVERY day, but well, today's special!).

It's Earth Day...and I'm stopping my some of my favorite blogs to pay a special tribute to our favorite planet.

In fact, I got a "speaking engagement" at Cynthia's Attic blog! Check it out by clicking right here...

See ya' 'round the recycle bin!

Your friend,

Wendel

Why 15?

15 women ran

Fortune 500

companies in

2008.

Does that shock you?

Did you think there were more or less?

Would you feel better if more women were running Fortune 500 companies?

Would the USA and/or the world be in better financial shape if more than 15 women held top corporate positions?

When is it you predict women will outnumber men running major companies?

WHY do you think it will or won't be in our lifetimes?

While you're thinking...check out Wendel Wordsworth here!

Why...You look so tired!

ACK! Will you tell me WHY anyone would say that to someone?!?!

Julia Roberts commented in an article that that is, in her opinion, the second worse thing anyone can say to a woman. (The first being, of course, the question, "Oh, when is your baby due?" Someone asked her that while she was standing there holding the child on her hip!)

I agree the tired comment is way out of line. Ask if I've gained a few pounds. (Which of course I'll deny and make the excuse it's the clothes I'm wearing that makes me look fat...Yeah, whatever.)

Ask me when was the last time I colored my hair. (I'll say, Funny you should mention it because I have an appointment in an hour -- Then I can run for the phone to schedule one with my hairdresser!)

But don't ask me why I look so tired. That stops most women in their tracks. Because that implies we have not hidden the fact we are so damn tired we can't see straight!

And that's our own fault... Because we're not taking better care of our own precious selves.

So, at the end of the day, WHY aren't we? Taking better care of ourselves, I mean?

Why Looky There!

The new books are here! The new books are here!

API Print Productions came to the rescue at the 11th house (okay, I'm excited...I mean HOUR!). And I could not be happier with the finished product.

Wendel Wordsworth is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. A few ...

This project is proof that:

1. A childhood reluctant reader can become an adult lover of words!

2. Doing what you love when you were eight is probably what you should be doing as a 60-year-old.

3. If you think you have no other options, then you have no other options.

Thanks to... Greg, Bev, Mary, Wendy (aka Wendel 1), Carol, JOYce, CCWC writers club, Jennifer & Caitlin... and everyone else who encouraged me as I labored giving "birth" to this lovable little worm and his sidekick, Big Buzz.

Holding these books in my hands, I wonder WHY I ever let doubts creep in...

At the end of the day, why is it so hard to trust the process?

--Diana

http://www.wendelwordsworth.com/

Why You Won't Be Hearing From Me...

No, not forever...Just till Monday.

Heading out tomorrow for the South Carolina Book Fest to stake my claim in the Echelon booth.

Mary Cunningham and I will be talking up WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty.

I'll also be introducing Wendel Wordsworth: No Words for Wendel.

These types of venues are fantastic opportunities to connect with readers... Well, people in general. People are themselves pretty fantastic when you get right down to it, aren't they?

That's one reason WHY I'm looking forward to this trip...That and the piece of Dove Dark Chocolate I award myself for every book sold!