Tag: family

Categories
Day in a Life

A Day in My Life: Apr. ’14: Grief

dayNlife

You may or may not find this surprising, but as a writer I’ve never been much of a journaler (I like making up words). I’ve always kept writing, sketching, and poetry notebooks, but I’ve never really liked writing about myself. This monthly post is my attempt at rectifying that and is an opportunity for me to get a little personal, as I share a single event from my life.

*************************************************************************

April 2014 – Grief

When you get married or make some kind of commitment to spend the rest of your life with another person, you are welcoming them into your intimate space and making them part of your family. You also become part of their intimate space and become a part of their family. Family has always been important to me. I believe that friends can come and go in your lifetime at the times they are meant to have an impact on you, but those that stick around through it all become family.

I recently lost a loved one in this physical world and am still dealing with it, but I believe in an afterlife. I don’t except everyone to share my beliefs, but I’m not going to hide them either. I believe my sister is in a better place. Even though we were only sisters by marriage, that was more than enough for me.

My husband and I have done our best to spend time with his side of the family and offer as much comfort as we can. I’m glad that we were able to take some time to be there when it mattered most. I love Eric Thomas and the whole Thomas clan, through thick and think, good times and sad.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Books

Review: Martian Chronicles

Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

I give this book a 4.

 

When reading this book for the first time, one has to take into consideration the period in which it was written. Bradbury’s creativity and ingenuity for space travel politics, cultural qualms, and concerns of human adaptation to space travel more than make up for the lack of technical terms and factual depictions of Mars.

These are individual accounts of trips to Mars all pulled together and retold as one chronicle of the human experience on Mars. We are giving a chance to view the human effect on Mars from multiple points of views including: disgruntled Martians, welcoming Martians, eager exploratory humans, refugees, and so much more.

This isn’t just another fast paced invasion story. The Martian Chronicles deals with of the philosophical concerns of visiting other planets and the effects of encountering an alien race. As much as I adore this story and enjoy the kooky spin the Martians and their world bring to theses matters, this story could have been told using any number of indigenous tribes right here on earth, but then there wouldn’t be as grand a feeling of exploration or adventure.

Reading story after story of how the human and Martian worlds have collided, reminded me of how it felt to watch The Twilight Zone when I was a kid. Some of it is a bit scary, but mostly it’s mysterious and thought-provoking. This is one I’d definitely recommend to any sci-fi fan and maybe even a few fantasy readers.

While there is truly something here for everyone, I don’t know that everyone would be up for it. In any case, I’d say this is a family-friendly read that dad would thoroughly enjoy.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try these link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Day in a Life

A Day in My Life: Mar. ’14: Bling

dayNlife

You may or may not find this surprising, but as a writer I’ve never been much of a journaler (I like making up words). I’ve always kept writing, sketching, and poetry notebooks, but I’ve never really liked writing about myself. This monthly post is my attempt at rectifying that and is an opportunity for me to get a little personal, as I share a single event from my life.

*************************************************************************

March 2014 – Bling

There is so much going on, and not going on, in my life right now. I’m in a weird place. I’m struggling to promote a book no one seems to be interested in buying. Everyone just wants me to give it away. I’ve been overlooked and ignored by so many and yet I keep a smile on face and act as though all is well.

In spite of my feelings, I make a point not to hurt others with my sorrow.

I try to be loving and supportive to my family and friends whenever possible- in the end, I always feel better when I’ve done something good for someone else.

My sister and her friend, a new business partner, have started an online jewelry boutique with a unique twist. It’s called, December 10. I recently had the pleasure of going to a party in horror of this endeavor. The food was wonderful, the laughs were plentiful, and the jewelry was economically priced and dazzling. It was a good time!

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords