Amy Newmark's Blog, page 7

Chicken Soup for the Soul Collection Explores That Special Bond We Have With Our Lovable Dogs and What They Teach Us Every Day

We learn so much from our canine companions, and along the way they keep us company, provide unconditional love, and share in the ups and downs of our lives.

What do we learn from them? Everything!

Ours dogs make us better people. If we rescued the, they rescue us back. If we're sad, they comfort us. If we need to have more fun, they show us how.

They are our best friends.

Here are two of my favorite examples from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog, on the ways our writers have learned from their dogs:

Embrace the opportunity to get some exercise.
Winter Desire Prosapio had never liked walking, saying she had a perfectly good car. But when she and her husband adopted a dog that had always lived outside, they had trouble housebreaking him. Winter determined that the best course of action was to walk little Archer frequently. It started with simple strolls down the block, but that puppy was so full of energy that before she knew it Winter had turned into a true walker. And so had Archer. She says, “If I try to skip the walk on any given morning, he looks at me like I’ve announced that all the bacon in the world has disappeared.” And now Winter finds herself walking three miles in a day. She says, “Every now and then, I look at this little dog and think, Who is walking who?”

Giving up control can have its own rewards.
Amanda Sue Creasey was visiting her parents in a beautiful part of Virginia and she knew exactly where she was taking her dogs Jack and Sadie on their morning walk. But halfway through, Jack stubbornly resisted, planting his feet. When Amanda gave in and let Jack lead the way, he happily took Amanda and Sadie down his chosen path. Amanda says, “When we got to where he was headed, I was so glad I had let him take the lead.” Jack had taken them to a beautiful deserted peninsula overlooking the Potomac River. Amanda commented, “I realized that sometimes letting go—letting someone else take the lead—is the wisest decision one can make.”

Chicken Soup for the Soul Collection Shows the Special Bond We Have with Grandparents

Whether an experienced grandparent, or a grand-parent-to-be, you'll love these 101 heartwarming, amusing and inspirational stories in our book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grandparents .

We've all witnessed that special bond between grandparents and their grandchildren— it's filled with unconditional love, understanding, admiration, and even a few secrets!

The bond comes about in so many different ways — here are two of my favorite examples from the book where grandparents have created that special connection:

Make magical things happen, because grandparents can do that.
Thalia Dunn lived across the street from her grandparents and spent a lot of time with her grandfather in his garden, where he grew flowers and vegetables and had beautiful flowering trees, including a magnificent magnolia. That magnolia tree was perfect for climbing, but Thalia couldn’t get over her fear. Finally, her grandfather came up with the perfect solution. One day, he waved her over to his house and showed her that the magnolia tree had magically bloomed with colorful lollipops instead of blossoms. Thalia forgot her fear and climbed right up that tree, gathering handfuls of lollipops.

Provide that unconditional, non-judgmental support.
Five-year-old Evan Purcell didn’t understand why he liked different things than other boys, but he enjoyed singing songs from The Little Mermaid and having tea parties with the neighborhood girls. Then he shocked his extended family when he chose what they considered to be a girl’s item as his prize with the tickets he won at the arcade. His cousins were laughing at him, so he quickly picked something else. That was when his Nana spoke up. She told the arcade girl to give him the prize he had picked first. Evan says, “I didn’t realize at the time what a big moment this was, both for me and my family.” Years later, he would understand the love and support that Nana Shirl provided that day.

Amy Newmark

Chicken Soup for the Soul with Amy Newmark

We’ve all experienced it — you lose a loved one and find yourself constantly looking for a connection with them, searching for reassurances that they are still “okay.”

The writers who have shared their stories in our book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Messages from Heaven and Other Miracles , have lost parents, friends, siblings, even children, and have been comforted by messages and signs from their loved ones. They opened their hearts… and so can you… here’s how:

Expect the impossible.
Linda Kinnamon, a nurse, loved her patient Julie, a young mother dying from lung cancer. She was so sad when she had to call her family one night to come and say goodbye. When Linda returned to work two days later she was astounded to find that Julie was being discharged. Julie explained that she had found herself in heaven that night, but had asked for a little more time because she needed to do something for her two young daughters. “I’m not going to be here for any of their special moments, so I’m going to write letters. Sixteenth birthdays, graduations, weddings, whatever—I need to write down what I would say to them.” Julie got her wish. She went home and wrote her letters, and then she said goodbye for real.

Look for special signs that only you would understand.
Julie Rine Holderbaum’s husband Mike had worked in a job where he encountered hundreds of rubber bands every day. He used to bring home piles of rubber bands every day, and Julie got tired of the bagfuls he stashed in their closets. Unfortunately, Mike died very young, of cancer, when their daughter was just a toddler. Julie started finding rubber bands everywhere—the unusual big, thick kind that he used to bring home. Those rubber bands started showing up in the strangest places: in the middle of Times Square, on Julie’s mother’s dining-room table, on the deck of a cruise ship. Now, Julie loves those rubber bands. She says, “To me, rubber bands are beautiful. They are magical. They held the pieces of my broken heart together until it was healed enough to love again. And now, rubber bands remind me that even though people die, love never does.”

Ask for the reassurance that you need.
Connie Kaseweter Pullen had met Nancy when they were nine years old. Little did they know they would remain great friends for five decades after that. When Nancy’s mother called Connie with the news that her friend had terminal cancer, Connie rushed to her side. They spent the next two weeks together, and Nancy promised that she would do everything possible to reach out and let Connie know that she was still there for her. At the funeral, Connie whispered through her tears, “Nancy, I really need a hug from you!” Minutes later, the kind, elderly priest made his way over to Connie, wrapped his arms around her, and whispered, “Here’s a hug from Nancy.”

Amy Newmark

Chicken Soup for the Soul Collection Shows Moms Just How Much They're Appreciated

Traci Langston viewed herself as shy and insecure, but her mother taught her a valuable lesson anyway: “The worst they can say is ‘no.’” Traci has learned to ask for what she wants, whether it’s something as simple as a better table in a restaurant, or as big as auditioning for a part in a play. This philosophy has led Traci to ask men out on dates, get prices lowered on things she’s buying, and even get a new job. Why? According to Tracy, “Because I asked. Because my mom was right.”

She was so frazzled she didn’t even know she was hungry, so when Abbie Dunlap’s mother swooped in to help her daughter with her newborn, that was one of the first problems she solved. She also sent her exhausted daughter to bed and stayed up all night with the baby. “Despite me being twenty-seven years old, my mom took care of me. I did not ask her to; she just did it. She didn’t sleep so that I could,” says a grateful Abbie.

Miranda Lamb was a difficult teenager, telling her mother that she hated her dozens of times. She didn’t think she needed her mother at all, and she moved out at age eighteen even though her mother told her she wasn’t ready. A few months later, Miranda called her mom late one night, crying and feeling helpless. Her mother merely said, “I’ll be right there.” Later that night, Miranda said “I love you” to her mother for the very first time.

These are but three of the 101 stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mom Knows Best , which we call a “gift to moms, grandmothers, stepmothers, mothers-in-law, or honorary mothers, with stories that will make them laugh, tear up, nod their heads in recognition, and most importantly—know they’re appreciated.” That appreciation is important, because mothers spend years imparting unsolicited advice and often don’t hear much gratitude until their children are grown. It is a wonderful way for children of all ages to let their mothers and grandmothers know how much they are loved, how important their influence has been, and how much their children rely on them for comfort, too. It’s also a terrific way to admit to Mom that no matter what, we always end up agreeing that she’s right… and that we’re going to emulate her!

Amy Newmark