Tell Me a Story

When I first began blogging, I just wanted a place to keep a scrapbook of sorts.
"Real" scrap booking wasn't working for me.  
I was hopelessly behind and frankly never that satisfied with the results.  
My scrapbook pages seemed more about cute paper and stickers, a few pictures and very little writing.
It was the pictures, and even more so, the writing that I was really after.
I wanted to tell stories.


I always have.
There is an old home movie of me--you know the reel to reel kind--standing in our driveway with a quiet neighbor boy a few years older than me. 
My dad asks him to say something and he stands there for a bit, holding the little microphone, searching for some words.
Impatiently, I grab the microphone out of his hand and say, "I know a tory."
I was 3.


How marvelous would it be if you had the stories of your grandmother's childhood, your mother's, your father's, your own?  
Wouldn't it be fun to know the things they loved to eat and the mischief they got into?
Like the stories in Farmer Boy, one of my favorite books.  (yes, still)


Storytelling is in my blood.
I grew up hearing these kind of stories from my dad.
He is a master story teller and the tales of his childhood are epic.
The bombs he made, the (stolen) corn he sold door to door, (hard to believe he's a pastor now) the time he got run off the road by a bus when he was riding his bike to kindergarten, and so many more that still bring a smile to my face.
Every night we begged, "tell us a story daddy."
He always did.  
And I remember them all.


I am not a story teller like that.
At least not verbally. 
I tell stories on the page.
And the more I do it, the more I love it.
The more I want to encourage you to write down your stories.
This is your family history.
You might not be riding in a wagon across the prairie, but to someone, your stories will matter.


The thing that has astonished me in the nearly 2 (i think it's 2 years, or maybe 3--i should check) years that I have been writing this blog, is that my stories matter to you too.  
I am blessed beyond measure to know that the real stuff of my life, the raw stuff, the funny stuff, and the sweet, simple stuff that connects us all speaks to you.
If my words make you think, make you smile, make you cry, or inspire you to celebrate the little moments of your life, then I am telling the best kind of stories.
And it makes me happy.


All this is leading up to some shameless begging on my part.
Will you vote for me?
I saw this contest a while ago.
I didn't bother entering.
I mean, the top contenders have published books and been on tv.
That's not really where I'm at.
But it's been on my mind.
So I decided, why not?
I entered today.


Will you vote for my blog?
If you do, I'll give you a cupcake.

Well, in spirit anyway.


Go here to vote for me. 


If you are so inclined, share my blog with someone else who might like it and they can vote for me too. (just hit the share button on Facebook.
(i told you, shameless.  i'll be putting in my bid for the presidential election next) 
After you vote,  look around a bit.  There are some pretty fantastic blogs out there.
Go read some stories and be inspired to write your own.
Oh, and you can vote every day until June 8th.  
I know you don't have anything else to do, or anything.  But if you think about it....

  

Thanks for being here with me.
Love from,
Greta