Millennials have been called entitled, lazy, and self-absorbed.

They’ve also been tagged as liberal, self-expressive, upbeat, and open-minded.

As a boomer with my own millennial offspring, I’d say it’s a bit of both.

As of 2020, there were 1.8 billion people worldwide who are snuggling together inside the millennial group — born between early 1980 and 1999 (depending on who defines the term).

That’s a lot of self-absorbed, open-minded people!

If this is the case, then perhaps there are lessons to be learned for my boomer writing life. So I started by asking myself ... …

Skywatchers and moon lovers prepare!

The next full moon of 2021 is on Thursday, June 24th and we will be able to see June’s full moon, also called the strawberry moon.

According to NASA, the term “strawberry moon” was first used by the Algonquin tribes of North America. Since the June full moon is considered the last full moon of spring, the name “strawberry moon” comes from the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries in the north-eastern US.

What better moon to make your first batch of Full Moon Water.

Full Moon Water

Ingredients

One clear glass jar/container with lid

Water from the tap…

Before we figure out if you’re a person someone else could want, ask yourself this:

How do YOU finally come to believe that you’re a person someone could want?

All relationships with other people start with . . . your relationship with yourself.

Self Relationships

It’s challenging — to say the least — to enjoy a healthy relationship with another person when you don’t have a healthy relationship with yourself.

If you are not connected to yourself and understand your own emotions and desires, then how can you successfully connect with another person? …

Let’s return to the basics. Children’s books are (most likely) where we all started reading. For many, it’s where the love affair with words and stories first began.

Here are two writing tips and writing exercises to improve your craft.

Mind Pictures

Children’s books are full of pictures. Well, most of them are. And for good reason. Pictures help us understand what we’re reading and inspire visual thinking. If you want your readers hooked on your writing, you’ve got to give them at least a few mind pictures along the way.

I’m not suggesting that all adult writing should shift and include…

Everybody wants passion.

We crave passionate relationships. We desire passionate and meaningful careers. We become passionate about protecting animal rights or saving rainforests.

Passion has its place. But do we really need it for writing?

Here are three quick tips for not following your passion when it comes to writing.

1. STOP letting passion be the enthusiasm that propels you forward in your writing career. Passion is not sustainable.

There’s not enough fuel inside the passion furnace to keep you going for the rest of your writing life. There will be days you feel like writing and days you will not…

Dreaming of a literary life

Ever had a dream become a reality? Maybe you dreamed of being a writer some day and finally one day you published a story or a poem or an article and BAM!! You were a writer!

After the adrenaline dipped, you probably realized that to remain a writer, you’d have to do it again. And again. And . . . again.

And even when you do write again and again and again — even though you never tire of reading your byline — you may feel like something is missing from this scenario. …

It’s Spring Cleaning time! As you organize closets and scrub baseboards, be sure to clear out your medicine cabinet. Collect all those outdated and unused prescription medications and take them back.

The Diversion Drug Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is spreading the word: the 19th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is almost here!

Why Should You Bother?

Ideally, unused medications should be disposed of as soon as they’re no longer needed.

Potential risks of keeping unused medications around include:

— accidentally grabbing the wrong medication bottle when you go to take your medications

— being used…

This is the sixth part of a 6-part series chronicling my journey away from religion. If it offends you, I’m sorry, but you really shouldn’t let other people’s experiences trouble you. This is my experience and isn’t intended to discredit your experiences or beliefs in any way. My journey is mine and your journey is yours. I respect them equally.

Part 6: The Final Slice

Although my childhood was irrationally acceptable— I felt included, part of a hand-picked delegation — it left me without a proper education and without a solid sense of self. …