Monday, July 27, 2015

Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year

Available on Amazon.com

Kindle / Paperback / Hardcover


Sometimes while gazing at the night's sky, I imagine stars looking down making wishes on the brightest of us.

-Richelle E. Goodrich


A note: This book was written as a graduation gift, dedicated to the author's son.  Half the royalties are gifted to him for college and living expenses, so keep in mind that every purchase is also a kind donation to help put this boy through college!  


Click to sample monthly quotes from book.

MARCH




Copyright 2015 Richelle E. Goodrich

January


Determined, I rise
and face the dawn with resolve.
This time I will win.




January 1st 

Today is the day that good things come your way,
and then bad things to suck all the fun from your play. 

Today is the day that you stub every toe;
blow your nose on a sleeve thinking no one will know. 

Today is the day the sun bursts from the clouds,
and sunbeams rain down as you smile and sing loud. 

Today is the day that you meet someone new. 
You'll tickle his fancy―he'll tickle yours too. 

Today you spend beaming; you'll sigh with a frown. 
You'll buoy up all happy and cry when let down. 

Today is the day you will figure things out,
'cause today is called life and that's what life's about.


January 2nd  

A man once believed he could fly—and he did. 
Another believed he could walk on the moon—and he did. 
Why not believe your wildest dreams can come true? 
Why not see the stars as reachable?


January 3rd  

Sometimes the difference between success and failure is simply the degree to which you crave one over the other.


January 4th  

Doing nothing accomplishes nothing, gains nothing, changes nothing, and wins nothing.  You have to make a move.


January 5th  

No one is born a sprinter.  We all learn to push ourselves up from the floor and then balance before taking that first, wobbly step.  It is an individual choice where to go from there.


January 6th  

Today is a BRAND NEW day—a perfectly good reason to get up and start again.  Never give up.


January 7th  

You'll be hard-pressed to reach your goals if you don't map out where you're going.  Take time to navigate your life.


January 8th  

A little here and a little there will always accumulate, so why be surprised when steady, small steps take you to great places?


January 9th  

Small steps may appear unimpressive, but don't be deceived.  They are the means by which perspectives are subtly altered, mountains are gradually scaled, and lives are drastically changed.


January 10th

People will insist on building high and wide barriers directly in your path, often with the intent of closing you in.  If you treat these obstacles like fencing walls, they will prove mightily so.  I choose to see them as grand towers meant to be scaled and conquered, providing an added victory as well as a great view of the journey ahead.


January 11th   

If you plan to build walls around me, know this—I will walk through them.


January 12th

Raging fires grow from the tiniest spark; it is the same principle at work in life.  As long as there's a spark, tend to your fire.  Never give up.


January 13th

Achievers are those who have redefined impossible, changing what can't be done into a work in progress.


January 14th  

You stare at your dream from a distance, longing, sighing, seeing what you deem is a warning of IMPOSSIBLE.  But if you'd squint real hard you'd see the truth; the sign correctly reads, ‘I'M POSSIBLE.’


January 15th   

The sun shines every day without being told that it is brilliant.  The mountains stand tall and majestic though no one informs them of their grandeur.  The winds twirl and dance with clouds, minus cheers or compliments to inspire their moves.  Flowers bloom, showing off colors, long before passing smiles acknowledge any beauty.  The ocean claps at its own underwater chorus without topside ears listening.  What is the world trying to tell you? 
Be wonderful because you are. 
Quit waiting to be told so first.


Copyright 2015 Richelle E. Goodrich







February


A whiff of fresh mint
that tastes like strawberry pie.
Your kisses tempt me.



February 1st 

      Once upon a time there was a king and a queen though not of the same kingdom.  They were of different lands and ruled over very different subjects, possessing unique talents and single hearts.
      This valiant king and beautiful queen one day found themselves treading the same route which happened to meander through both their lands.  Upon this chance meeting they detected in one another distinctive, worthy qualities, both intriguing and impressive enough to cause them to want to cross paths again.
      Letters were exchanged from his kingdom to hers, delivered in haste.  For even the heralds could see what a marvelous thing it might be to join these two great empires.  And so, through written exchanges, it was agreed that this king would escort the queen in his grand, red carriage to view the celebrated, annual light festival in her land—an experience enjoyed after sunset.
      On the night of the event, they rode along for hours, talking, laughing and smiling frequently at one another.  Their hearts beat in rhythm, pattering with pleasure and tenderness, one toward the other.  Jolly tunes played over the air, enhancing their bliss.  The king shared pictures of his royal family and subjects, portraits that pleased the beautiful queen.  And upon this enchanted night, surrounded by twinkling lights, their hearts swelled and the two fell in love.
      It was not long before their kingdoms joined; a merger solidified through marriage.  It was a union that made them both forever good and rich.
      To say that they lived happily ever after would be in error, because their days consisted of continual and unnumbered trials.  There were some periods that sparkled and warmed their souls like the festive lights under which this king and queen fell spellbound in love.  Other times proved darker, but not without growth and gain.  The promise was that through enduring these trials together—remaining a forever united kingdom in laughter, sorrow, hardship, and love—their uniquely beating hearts would eventually, someday, meld as one. 
       The Valentine is one heart shared by two


February 2nd  

You need tell me nothing; I already know your heart.  Through your simplest choices you've given yourself away.


February 3rd  

I love you because you loved me first.
Yet you love me, saying I loved you first.
Funny, our love thrives believing the other person started it.


February 4th  

What's the point of changing who you are in order to impress a woman, when your intention is to return to who you were, a person she was never attracted to in the first place?


February 5th  

“When you do fall in love with me, I don’t want it to be because I gave in to your demands, but because your heart gave in to its desire to truly be loved.”


February 6th  

Love is many kind acts accumulated over time that leave us feeling wonderful.


February 7th  

If only you would kiss me. 
Press your lips to mine like a searing iron.  Wrap me in your arms as if you were a monarch claiming a kingdom.  Hold me close until I warm through to the core.  Do this, and I promise to melt into you, no longer a cold and frozen figure in your narrowed sight.  How devoted I would be if only your lips burned for mine! 
If only you would kiss me.


February 8th  

It is a sweet thing to have someone love you, but it is a far sweeter thing when his actions convince your heart, and his words persuade your soul.


February 9th  

The search only ends when you finally find the one who truly gets you.


February 10th

Life is a love story, with every character yearning for permanent refuge in someone's heart.


February 11th   

To a man, sex is the ultimate expression of love.  It is pure pleasure.  But to a woman there exists something greater than pleasure―gestures of adoration.  A gentle caress on the cheek, an attentive smile, a soft kiss while swept away in a slow dance, the whispered words, 'You're beautiful'―these are the tokens of love that women cherish.


February 12th

They tell me you're the best and the worst thing to have happened to me, but I do not see how it can be both.  For if my death resulted from your presence, an everlasting sleep would have me dreaming happily of us together.  I see no bad in that.  Therefore, you must be the best thing to have ever happened to me because you make the worst seem wonderful.


February 13th  

Love is an afternoon of fishing when I'd sooner be at the ballet.
Love is eating burnt toast and lumpy graving with a big smile.
Love is hearing the words, 'You're beautiful,' as I fail to squeeze into my fat jeans.
Love is refusing to bring up the past, even if doing so would be a slam dunk to prove your point.
Love is your hand wiping away my tears, trying to erase streaks of mascara.
Love is the warm hug that extinguishes an argument.
Love is a humbly-uttered apology, even if not at fault.
Love is easy to recognize but so hard to define; however, I think it boils down to this...
Love is caring so much about the feelings of someone else, you sacrifice whatever it takes to help him or her feel better.
In other words, love is my heart being sensitive to yours.


February 14th 

To the romantic soul, the rituals of Valentine's Day echo every day of the year.


February 15th  

Though I love you to the core of my being, so thoroughly that every cell comprising me aches to be near you, I must accept that we can never be together.  For our existence parallels the sun and the moon—a temptation in constant, beautiful view, yet if the sun were ever to kiss the moon it would devour the heavenly orb whole.  Oh, my darling, if only I were the moon!  Then I would dare taste your lips and be happy for my last and final joy!  But alas, I am the sun, and I will not venture to destroy the one I love.


Copyright 2015 Richelle E. Goodrich




March


Oh, mightiest wind,
wilt thou cease thy breathing in
and hold thy exhales?




March 1st 

I wished upon the moon one night, bewitched by how it shone so white.  While staring up with some excite my eyes beheld a wondrous sight!  The moon, so lustrous and white, transformed into an armored knight who caused me just a moments fright when he jumped down from such a height.  No more a soft celestial light, he was my lover, day and night. 

This caused the world a serious plight.  How harsh a sting and deep the bite inflicted on the world, alright, to lose their blackest-hour light. 

And so I've come to set things right, to offer up without a fight my lover wished for one clear night.  I hold him close.  He hugs me tight, then climbs again to heaven's height to glow a bluer shade of bright.  I stare at my beloved knight, not wanting to be impolite, and in my heart with all my might I wish a wish that isn't right. 

Now and then the world still spites a shadowless and moonless night when we steal softly out of sight to hold each other 'til daylight and share in lovers’ true delight.


March 2nd  

Sail through the good days, and on bad days pick a spot of blue sky to steer toward.


March 3rd  

Life is a voyage across troubled waters where our days are often spent clinging to the top of the highest mast, scouting for a comforting glimpse of shore.


March 4th  

The only ship you can truly steer in this ocean is the one you're sailing.  Quit trying to alter the winds; harness them.


March 5th  

It is a greater triumph for the fearful soul who tries and fails than for the fearless who succeed.


March 6th  

Win or lose, good or bad, the experience will change you.


March 7th  

I'm not asking you to walk in my shoes; I'd never wish my afflictions on anyone.  But could you walk beside me on secure ground and reach to hold my hand?


March 8th  

Obsessing over something that has jarred your world is called coping.


March 9th  

Don't judge too harshly, for if your weaknesses were to be placed under your footsteps, most likely you would stumble and fall as well.


March 10th

We are all guilty of sin, error, and moments of sheer stupidity; none of us should be casting stones.  The occasional arced pebble might be overlooked.


March 11th   

Don't be fool enough to think you can know a person's character after a few moments of observation.  You can't.  You have no idea where his life began or how his saga has unfolded thus far.  Only his present state can you witness.  To judge him at a glance is like reading one page in an open book, believing it's enough to confidently recite the story from beginning to end.  True, one page may tell you much, but not nearly enough to accurately critique a book or evaluate a life.  So, either become his friend and learn his entire story, or refrain from commenting on a tale you know nothing about.


Copyright 2015 Richelle E. Goodrich