My guest today is a Heartsong Presents Author Birdie Etchison and she has a story we can all identify with. Here’s Birdie:

“My mother was a heroine in many ways, but I tended to forget that as we fought like crazy during my growing up years. Determined to be right, we clashed visibly and often.

My little sister, always the peacemaker, disliked conflict and suggested ways to solve our differences. As I grew older, I realized I thrived on conflict. It was a way of getting attention.

So, even as I railed at my mother, I think back now to advice she gave me, which helped me to grow, to learn, to function in the role women find themselves. With me it was being a wife and the mother of six. And later a freelance writer.

One thing mom did was not let me give up the typing class. I would need these skills later – how ever did she know? When you find yourself at the bottom of a class of 40 students, it’s disarming. Because I stuck it out – had no alternative – I ended up being the fastest typist at the end of the first semester. “Stick to what you start,” was her motto.

Another thing – while still in high school, I complained that the popular girls didn’t like me. She asked, “Do you ever initiate a conversation?”

“Well, no,” I replied.

“Then do so – walk up to someone, smile and say ‘hello’.”

That’s what it took. I heard later that the girls not realizing I was shy, thought I was stuck up. Imagine.

Another habit she taught me was to be frugal. “Waste not, want not,” was one of her favorite sayings. I find myself saving scraps of paper, good sturdy boxes in various sizes. Oh, there’s more, but we’ll stop there.

Mom was not a practicing Christian, though I heard she gave her life to Jesus when she was a young girl. One of her most important decisions was to say “yes” when a friend asked to take me to Sunday school when I was eight. That one move altered my whole life.

Though gone now, my mother’s rules, her standards live on through me. Her negative ways created a positive spirit in me. Her lessons also taught me to instill love and independence in my four daughters. Yet the stick-to-itiveness is what caused me to continue writing after two years of rejection. And to date I have sold 21 books and countless short pieces. God is good!”–Birdie

I love this story, Birdie, and I love your name. Drop by http://www.heartsongpresents.com/ to learn more about Birdie’s books.–Lyn