Close to Famous

by Joan Bauer

“Let me tell you something about sad days. They’re just part of life, but the best thing you can do on the happy days or on the sad ones is to do what you do best with everything you’ve got.

Sometimes the best thing a person can do in an emergency is bake.

If you want people to stay with you, act like you know what you’re doing. There are lots of life lessons on the Food Network.

I felt safe around this small, determined boy who didn’t make fun of anything I told him. This is how best friends are made.

“When you’re going through a tough spell, it’s easy to think that’s all your life is about. You forget the good things, forget the quiet places. But they’re always inside of us and we can pull them up when we need to set ourselves right.

“Waiting,” he told me, “is a powerful thing. Most folks today just rush off to get something done. You learn to wait, my young friend. You learn to wait and listen and not be afraid of the quiet. Too much noise in this old world.

When you’ve got a big problem, just start somewhere. Do one little thing to make it better. Then do another little thing, and another.”

I looked down. “I don’t feel like I deserve it.” “That’s okay, honey,” she said. “You don’t have to right now. But bit by bit, start cleaning up whatever’s in your way.”

But you can’t just be doing easy things in life. That’s not what makes you smarter.”

I’ll tell you something about tough things. They just about kill you, but if you decide to keep working at them, you’ll find the way through.