Tag Archive | Life Lessons

Newsletter – July 2025

Jul30

Hello, friends!

Hot, hot, hot!

I recently posted on Facebook about how hot it is, and how I enjoy spending my days indoors, writing. I had many comments from all over the U.S. where people remarked about the high temps in their areas, too. Of course, it is summer, but this year feels exceptionally hot. We’re all suffering together!

I am so grateful for air conditioning. I can’t imagine life without it, although I know many people in the world don’t have this luxury. We keep our thermostat set a bit high to help compensate for the energy being so widely used in this extreme weather, but without AC at all, it would be unbearable.

A swimming pool would be nice right about now–or a clear-running stream close to the house that I could dip my toes into. (Snake-free, of course!) Or what about this lovely fountain! This photo is from my visit to Mobile, AL, where my Southern Secrets Saga is set.

Since I don’t have any of those options, I’ll settle for sitting in my cool office, happily typing away this newsletter. Soon, I’ll be back to working on my newest book.

Ardent Adelia is creeping closer and closer to being done. Woo-hoo! Part of my storyline was inspired by an experience I had the first time I spent the night with a friend that I’d known nearly all my life. I was around twelve years old, and I considered her my best friend at the time. What I discovered on that overnighter was that she was different from what I expected. Going to school together put us in a familiar atmosphere, whereas her homelife introduced me to someone who felt like a stranger. No one in her family was at all mean, my friend just didn’t seem like the same person. I was so uncomfortable at her house, that I got sick to my stomach and called my mom because I wanted to go home. And I did.

Something very similar happens to my characters in Ardent Adelia. Of course, there’s a whole lot more to the plotline, but you’ll have to wait a little longer to find out what it is.

It has been a while since I shared the cover design for this book, so here it is again! Stay tuned to future newsletters for a release date. In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram: jeannehardtauthor

I hope you’re finding ways to stay cool, and maybe being inside will give you the opportunity to read a book or two! I appreciate your readership and will do my best to keep bringing you engaging stories.

With Love,

Jeanne

Use Both Hands

May1

I imagine that the title of my blog sparked your curiosity, and that’s why you’re reading this right now! I’m not sure what exactly prompted me to choose this for my subject, but it popped into my head, and I decided to follow the inspiration.

Many, many years ago, I worked at a fast-food restaurant. It wasn’t my first job, but it was one of them. I was only eighteen when I worked there, but boy did I learn a lot! I feel everyone should have the experience of being employed by one of those kinds of establishments. It’s not easy work–especially if you’re at a popular location. I learned how to manage my time, and even more importantly, how to multitask.

I’ll never forget when my manager looked at me one day and said, “You have two hands, use both of them.” Honestly, I don’t remember what I was doing at the time, but what she said sure made a lot of sense. Maybe I was restocking condiments. Who knows? Still, whatever it might have been, her words remained in my head. I need to point out that she didn’t say it with any kind of nastiness, she said it with sincerity. She was a great manager–exceedingly patient, kind, and organized. Like I said, I learned a lot at that job.

It might sound silly that up until that point I’d never given much thought to using both of my hands at the same time. Being right-handed, that hand did my school work. I also like to draw, paint, and color, so again, my right hand stayed busy. I didn’t play sports, and if I had gotten into basketball, I might have learned that two-hand-usage lesson a lot sooner. I was one of the tallest girls in the school and the coach wanted me on the team, but I wasn’t a ‘sporty’ girl. I might have had the height the coach wanted, but I wasn’t exactly coordinated.

At this point in my life, I’m extremely thankful that I have two capable hands. I use them every day to type my stories into my laptop computer. I never dreamed that the typing class I took in Junior High would be one of the most valuable courses in all my years in school. I confess that I haven’t learned to master the ‘two-hand’ system on my phone. I watch young people work their thumbs over their screens in lightning-fast precision, texting up a storm. I have large thumbs, and I can’t figure out how they manage to sent readable texts and not just a mishmash of nonsensical words.

So, I may not be a whiz at texting, but I can still type like there’s no tomorrow. As long as ideas keep popping into my head, my two hands will keep flying over the keyboard.

Aside from the ‘two-hand skill,’ something else lingered from the guidance I received working in the fast-food industry. The way I manage my time. It’s hard for me to sit still unless I’m doing something. I can sit and write for hours on end and not even realize how much time has passed, but if I have to sit and wait for a program to load on my computer, I get restless. So, I’ve found things to do whenever I have those brief moments of wait-time. I keep a set of weights on hand. (Yep, weights for the waits!) I do a series of lifts. Using both hands, of course. I do twenty reps of ‘over the head’ and two variations of curls. If the wait is really long, I’ll get out of my chair and do a few other variations. I’m hoping this repetitive activity will keep my arms strong–not to mention avoid having my grandson comment about the ‘jiggle’ under my arms. Thanks to the weights, that jiggle is gone. Woo-hoo!

A friend of mine who has a tax services business also beta reads for me. You might wonder how this fits into my ‘use both hands’ subject. Well…she’s a multitasker, too. I feel bad when I ask her to read for me during tax season, but she’s always willing. When I asked her how she finds the time, she said she keeps the book open on her computer, and when she has to wait for documents to print, she reads a little bit. Sometimes, if it’s a lengthy document, she can read quite a lot. She’s like me. She doesn’t like to be idle.

So, if you find that you’re having a hard time fitting everything that you need to accomplish into your day, ask yourself, “Am I using both hands?”

It’s good to enjoy everything you do, and if you can find ways to squeeze more tasks into the little spaces that can be overlooked, you might find that you’re getting even more out of your life.

I’d love to hear how you find ways to multitask. Please comment below!

The Love of Cotton Candy

May3

Isn’t it amazing how a simple smell or taste can take you back to your childhood? Of course, some of those reminders might be bad, like the flavor of nasty-tasting medicine, or the odor that lingered when you accidentally stepped in a pile of doggy doo while out trick-or-treating. Yep, that happened to me!

However, I want to talk about a good memory!

When I was a child, my parents would take me to one of those home-town carnivals that came through town every year around the Fourth of July. The carnival was part of a community festival called Frontier Days. In addition to the carnival rides and games, there was also a parade. I’ve seen photos of me and my siblings dressed up as pioneers in a make-shift covered wagon. I was very young then, but it was memorable enough that I recall thinking we were pretty awesome.

Now, back to the whole smell and taste thing. The simple thought of that particular event immediately sparks memories of an assortment of smells: Popcorn, the sawdust spread on the ground beneath some of the stomach-churning rides, mud from the rain that always seemed to dampen the celebration every year, beer, and cotton candy.

Cotton candy.

My first memory of popping some of that fluffy confection into my mouth comes from one of those Frontier Day’s celebrations. I clearly remember my aunt, Judy, telling me the proper way to eat cotton candy. She said that in order to avoid getting completely sticky, you needed to pull off a small amount and literally pop it into your mouth, doing all you could to avoid touching your fingers to your lips and getting them wet. Putting your mouth directly on the spool of fluff was a no-no. Especially if you planned to share your treat!

I didn’t do such a good job instructing my grandson.

The photo is a little blurry, but you get the idea! I tried to teach him to ‘pop,’ but he dove right in!

Now that I’m older, I like getting sticky even less, but I still love cotton candy. Recently, I discovered a new kind of ice cream that has rocked my world! Kroger brand has cotton candy flavored ice cream called Mermaid Sparkle. It’s to die for. Best of all, you can eat it with a spoon and you won’t get sticky.

Sure, there are many foods I enjoy, but I can’t think of any others that produce so many wonderful memories. Our lives are a patchwork of memories, and I feel it’s important to cherish all of them. I’ve learned a lot from my past. Not only how to properly eat cotton candy, but after my other experience, I know to watch where I walk on Halloween.

Life is a journey, and I want to thank you for sharing these memories with me!

God bless!

Becoming Our Parents

Apr2

I’m sure you’ve seen the great commercials on TV about people who are becoming their parents. I laugh at the ads because I can completely relate to them.

I don’t know when the transition takes place, but it definitely happens. Not only in the things we do, but for me, I see the transformation in the mirror. So often, my mom smiles back at me. I have many of her mannerisms, and when we talk on the phone, we frequently sound alike. We have the same vocal tones, and we oftentimes sigh or laugh at the same time and sound identical.

So, there’s the physical transformation, but what about the mental transformation? When do we start behaving like “old fogies.” Even that dated term validates what I’m saying. When I was young, I felt so up-to-date and “in-the-now.” When my parents did something silly or forgetful, I’d just chalk it up to their age. Now I’m the one doing ridiculous things and forgetting what day of the week it is.

I suppose it has everything to do with the brain. As we age, we process things differently. And, we considerably slow down. We wake with aches in our bodies that we can’t explain and groan with that first step we take out of bed.

I guess what surprises me the most is my change in attitude. Things I used to think were funny or entertaining on TV, I see now as dumb. I get frustrated when I drive down the road and have to listen to the loud thumping of the music coming from the car next to me. As a youth, I likely would’ve thought it was cool. So, yes, I’m becoming an old person. Sigh . . .

On the bright side, I have so many stories to tell. With all the years I’ve lived, (boy, I’m really sounding ancient!), I’ve accumulated massive amounts of life experiences. I feel I’m capable of giving my children and grand-children advice from all that life-lived knowledge. The same kind of advice my parents gave me. I may have thought some of the things they told me were foolish, but I’ve come to realize that they were usually right. (And if you’re reading this now, Mom and Dad, don’t gloat!)

I’m blessed that my parents are still living. I can go to them when I need to talk, and I continue to listen to their advice. They’ve inspired me time and again! I pray that I can do the same for my children, and that they’ll always turn to this “old person” whenever they need me. Besides, I count on them to help me manage all the difficulties I face with every new-fangled gadget that’s released. I’m still learning new ways to fully use my phone. It took me until about three years ago to part with my flip-phone. (Should I be hiding my head in embarrassment?)

The photo above is me and my dad at the zoo in 2019, and the one to the right is my Mom at her 80th birthday celebration in 2018. Unfortunately, they live a great distance from me, but in that respect, I’m grateful for my new-fangled phone. We can talk as long as we want and we don’t have to incur hefty long-distance charges! If you’re as old as I am, you’ll remember the days when it was cheaper to call after 7:00 p.m. It’s nice not to have to worry about the time of day when making a call.

Going back even farther in time, do you recall the days of party lines? No, they had nothing to do with politics! Households had shared telephone lines, and you could pick up your phone and hear your neighbor talking to someone. Of course, if they knew you were on the line interrupting their call, you’d get fussed at. Rightfully so!

I appreciate the advancement in technology, but I often miss the good ol’ days. The new phones have great benefits, but it makes me sad to see so many people with their faces glued to their phones. They’re missing out on the real world before them. So, please, take it from this old fogey. Put your phone down and look at what’s around you, and if you’re in a restaurant, talk to the person you’re there with, not the one on your screen.

From someone who loves to write historical fiction, take the time to enjoy the simplicities in life. A walk in the woods, a picnic by a lake, watching the sun set (or rise), or enjoying a board game with your family. (The old-fashioned, non-electronic type).

We’ve seen our share of frustrating times this past year, but never lose hope! Life is good!

God bless you all!