Category Archives: single parent

SOAPBOX of the week: stand tall and cheer

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“Behind every successful man stands a surprised mother-in-law.”     – Hubert H. Humphrey, political leader

Now, I’m rather certain the brightest achievers of our times didn’t willingly surrounded themselves with critics, cynics, and judgmental busybodies. Heck – neither did your own little hometown hero.  No invitations were handed out to engage audiences to readily toss rotten remark and rotten tomato alike …for added mockery and witless banter.  Nope, the doubters and diggers simply showed up as a rule, for they’re the wishers and wasters who hate to love to watch the dreamers and doers…like moths to a flame.  And even as you yourself may strive for the lead role, the key lesson in irony is that you may have your own time in the sideline seat.  Either way, folks, your surge of opinions can prove supportive or sabotaging.  So be watchful of your own judging tongue, ‘cause there’s always an audience.  And no matter if it’s full of family, friend or foe…you want to be on their good side, just as you’ll want them on yours. 

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: back-handed band-aid therapy

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“If you give a man a fish, he will have a single meal.  If you teach him how to fish, he will eat all his life.”     – Kwan-Tzu, philosopher

Almost seems like a catch 22 …choose to swiftly take care of a situation for immediate relief or take the time to invest more energy, effort and resources to stave off the same darn predicament from resurfacing again and again.  Quick fixes always appear more attractive –because they’re easier and deliver the instant gratification we all presumably seek.  Ah, but that which you “nip in the bud” with band-aid therapy usually comes back to bite you in the end, with a bigger challenge.  The project of creating a teacher out of a student is wisdom in the making.  And whether you’re the giver or the receiver, the benefits of the experience will linger to sustain you indefinitely.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: the learning curves of life

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 “All things are difficult before they are easy.”     – Dr. Thomas Fuller, physician & preacher

Very few things in life come with an instruction manual, estimation of time to completion, or list of things you’ll have to weather to succeed.  Reminisce closing your first deal, raising a kiddo, heck, even learning how to tie your shoes.  But even if directions were available to us for the things we choose to undertake, a peculiar variable called “the learning curve” shows up.  It’s a mystery how our genetic makeup sets our level of intellect and how quickly we simply “get it”.  But the ultimate deciding factors of how swiftly you triumph over a challenge are your determination and your discipline.   Nothing is impossible, folks.  And when you don’t stand in your own way, everything can become a beautiful walk in the park.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: the dessert of life

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“Having a dream that you don’t pursue, is like buying an ice cream cone
and watching it melt all over your hand!”     – Anon

So, what’ll be, folks?  Chocolate or vanilla?  Or a stack of napkins?

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: new year, old wisdom

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“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”     – John Quincy Adams, US President

Gooooooood morning, race fans! How’s the ride so far? Let me guess. As soon as the second hand strikes and Dick Clark alarmclocks the world onto a clean slate, you set to full throttle and take off like a mid-life-crisis man in a new Corvette.

With heart pounding and champagne in your eyes, you decide that you will take the wheel and make things go your way this year, come hell or high water. Righting the wrongs. Shaking the systems. Cutting the fat. Testing the waters. Revolutionizing the resolutions. Painting a free-wheeling, forward thinking phantasmagoric mural of all that is, was, and ever will be the real future perfect you deserve. All in the name of an unyielding loyalty to the natural selection of self, at least until about mid-February.

I must confess, I too burn a rouge of rubber just as eagerly each year. Even ponder the thought that the heavens will magically open up and confetti my little field of dreams with all the blessing and adornments that I’ve kept cooped up for the past twelve months. Sound familiar? Well, I have both good and bad news for you.

Bad news first: A supercharged vehicle won’t get you through the roadblocks any faster. No matter how much shifting and strategizing you perform, the course will dictate your life’s journey. Not the other way around. And if you’re thinking you can brainstorm your agenda-ed TripTik into an immediate reality, think again. Enough with the red line, race fans, you’re libel to blow the whole engine again.

Now for the good news: You’ve already done the work. You’ve got the ride, the route, and reason for success in all pillars of your future. So, recline with the resonating truth that patience remains the worthwhile virtue that will never fail to fuel your expedition. Coast over your holographic horizon to discover another bountifully balanced year ahead, in body, mind, and spirit. And embrace the magical open road.

Copyright 2000-2008 by Kimberlie Dykeman. 
This vignette is an excerpt from Pure Soapbox… a cleansing jolt of perspective, motivation, and humor  (July 2008)
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: permission to pause

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 “All the animals excepting man know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.”     – Samuel Butler, author


Ain’t that the truth!  I’ll wager that you scarcely remember the last time you cashed in a handful of your jillion back-logged sick days for some blissful R&R.  And, when you hark back to those retreats filled with unadulterated fun, you wonder, under furled brow, why you needed to convince yourself that you’d “earned” this.  What are you saving up for anyway?  Perhaps you’ve forgotten the definition of the pleasurably promising word: Va·ca·tion.  If you find you qualify as one these vocab-deficient, self-neglecting workaholics, there’s no need to identify yourself…just get off your can and vacate the premises!  Be it for a week or a wink, allow yourself the time off and time out. Because you deserve it!  Don’t merely survive.  Thrive!  We are all in the business of living first. And business is goood!

Copyright 2008 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.