For about six years I wrote a weekly column for our local paper, The Fairfield Echo. Before that I wrote for another paper, the Pulse Journal. My column, Pat’s Wit and Wisdom, appeared each week and I was given editorial freedom to write about my life, my feelings, the state of the country, basically, it was a blog site before blogs became popular–only in print! I loved it. So for the last few weeks I have been collecting and editing the columns and I am putting them into a book format to post on Amazon.The book, A Look at Life With Wit and Wisdom, will hopefully be available by early summer.
I love re-reading the stories, mostly around 550-600 words, and each of them share a piece of what is happening in life at that time. Weddings, illnesses, joys, holidays, marriage, vacations, our Amazing God, friendship, family events, and much more are detailed in print. At the time, many people would stop me on the streets around town, or see me in the grocery store to say how much they enjoyed last weeks column, or how they agreed with what I had to say.
But I am so enjoying reading them now, some are 10 years old, and I haven’t found the box from the three years prior to that, dating back to 1999. It is almost like a journal–52 weekly reviews each year. I read about the wedding of our youngest son, the details of my mother’s diagnosis of liver cancer, the celebration of my now deceased mother-in-laws 80th birthday, and so much more. I realize that the words are timeless. I still feel the same joy when I see my grandchildren as I did the minutes after their birth; I still love my husband, now almost 43 years married, as much as I did when we celebrated our 30 anniversary. My friendships with the BRATS (Beautiful Radiant Angel Team) are still solid and my Sunday School Class (now going on 15 years) is still filled with remarkable Christian women that I am honored to lead in Bible study each week.
My children are now older, and Rick and I are definitely wiser; but the world in general is still the same. I bemoan the battle of bulge, and still do; I celebrate the joys that our family shares and the time we spend together. I love my relationships and value my friends–time has not changed my outlook of life: It is well with my soul.
As I put this book together, I hope that it will bring the same smiles to the readers as it does to me and my family now, as when the columns were written. Circumstances change, but life goes on. Happiness is external, but true Joy comes from the Lord.
Here’s hoping you find the Joy in your life today, tomorrow and for many years to come!
Pat's Wit and Wisdom 