Raquel Martina Martinez

Raquel Martina Martinez: Putting Me First – NY Resolutions 2019 : People who gripe about New Year Resolutions and refuse to make any don’t realize they just did.   Not making a resolution is just that –...

People who gripe about New Year Resolutions and refuse to make any don’t realize they just did.   Not making a resolution is just that – a resolution. As for me, I make resolutions all year long.   I start anew every day, readjusting my goals.   Being positive and productive keeps me active, alert, and alive. I look forward to 2019.   It’ll be the last year I spend in my sixties. Voicing my age aloud may not surprise others but it does surprise me.   I don’t feel old, but I can no longer claim myself as young.   On demographic questionnaires, I have to scroll to the bottom of the page when it asks my age. It’s like those of us who get to live this long are not allowed to be first anymore. Oh well, so what is new for 2019 for this vintage girl? Besides the usual – diet, exercise, lose weight – I’m going to walk a 5K, maybe a 10K, by next December. Might as well work toward a bigger goal than just fitting into the clothes in my closet. HoneyBunch and I have decided “to stay

  “. . . let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 (NIV) Every Christmas, I used to include myself in the purchase of gifts.   I’d often take advantage of the sales and bought myself a new car or the latest electronics. One Christmas, however, what I needed the most could not be bought.   I felt an emptiness that affected everything around me. Nothing I could buy would assuage the pain. I needed to forgive the person who hurt me, and I needed to forgive myself for my part in that failed relationship.   It wasn’t easy to let go of years of anger, so I started by verbally forgiving the person, and then, I forgave myself. My words became actions, and my actions transformed me.   Last Christmas, I chose another such gift. I gave myself permission to walk away from vitriolic “friendships.” We may not have parted how I would have liked, but I am much happier without the constant bickering.   We can choose to smile or frown, love or hate,

Raquel Martina Martinez: The Matriarch : Bossy, intrepid, little girl All skinned knees and unkempt pony tail More afraid of being afraid than getting things done A thin, ...

Bossy, intrepid, little girl All skinned knees and unkempt pony tail More afraid of being afraid than getting things done A thin, teenaged beauty A sweet siren smile and long, brown hair Afraid she won’t have time to do things, see things, go places A career woman, a wife, a mother Youth a fading flower but a full life spreads out before her Afraid of losing hold of her dreams A grandmother wearing a silver crown Gone are the days she conquered mountains and broke hearts Her only fear – that of being forgotten

Raquel Martina Martinez: The Chicken or the Egg/The Book or the Movie : Our book club chooses one book every four to six weeks to be discussed at a later date.   When we get together, the six of us enjoy a live...

Our book club chooses one book every four to six weeks to be discussed at a later date.   When we get together, the six of us enjoy a lively discussion even though we each have differing opinions. We are perfect examples of what is called reader-response theory. Reader-response theory suggests that the written word’s (author’s) intention and what the reader understands are two different things. The good news, these two different views do meet somewhere in the middle.   Regardless what the author intended, the reader adds to what is on the page based on his or her own past experiences. This happens with any created object. What the “artist” presents to the world is often seen and appreciated differently by the reader, the audience, or the consumer. This often happens with movies. The director creates a movie, but the movie critic sees one thing, and the movie goer sees another. We each respond to the film based on our past experiences, our likes and dislikes. Knowing this, w