R's rue

 Pink stripes  Diamonds Hugging  The collarbone  As the sun Sets on  Another day  As I praise For worth Is not In adornment  It is In  Beauty That eclipses Those precious  Stones Refined From Earth  To the  Finished product  That makes Most women  Squeal  In delight  Once the Gift Is opened From that  Red box from R's rue https://ift.tt/vfVcsYm

Sylvie I first posted this story in October 2012 though the events  covered within it actually  happened between 1972 and 1974. In the early summer of 1972, I had to spend a week at Southlands College in Wimbledon, London - learning how to teach before jetting off to be a V.S.O. volunteer teacher in the Fiji Islands. At Southlands, we had small classes of international guinea pig students upon whom we could test out our little lesson plans. One of these students was a young French woman called Sylvie from Paris. On a couple of evenings, she was in the college group that descended on a local pub to drink and chat. She asked if she could write to me while I was away and I agreed. She could be my French penfriend. I hadn't touched her, kissed her or shown any love interest. She was just a French girl who wanted to write to me. As far as I was concerned, that was all. Besides, I already had a girlfriend back in Yorkshire. After a couple of months in my island paradise, an...

 Thank you Lord For doing  What  I couldn’t do And giving me  Hope I never wanted to write like this. I never found myself that interesting. I’m just me. I’m someone so flawed. I felt that my shame was beyond sharing. I’m no celebrity. I wield no power. No billions to my name. Could a poor sinner with a list of daily grievances do it. Make it writing each day with no idea what to say each day?  I know now it’s possible. In those early days, I was a lost little girl with no faith in much of anything, yet alone myself. I’ve lost count of the years, but this place has given me something I can’t pay back in dollars. Has writing cured me?  No, but I’m different because each day you humble me. Humble me with your love.  I still need therapy and medication. Cerebral Palsy is unrelenting on my body and mind. As I’m privileged to age, I recognize what I need versus what I want. All this to say is that this community has helped save me from my own negat...