I love words. Well-chosen verbiage captures my attention and stirs me inside. You could say that great writing speaks to me. ;)

My love of words led me to a journalism degree in college and then to a job as an editor for 11 years. I did have to brush up on my grammar in order to edit. It often came naturally to me; I felt what was correct and incorrect, even when I couldn't recall the exact rules.

My strengths involved the main idea. When you first choose a manuscript to publish, you work with an author to develop a story. Make sure it stays focused. Ensure the true meaning is conveyed to the reader. Then you proofread the details.

One detail I occasionally had to fix was verb tense. Authors choose to use present tense ("he says") or past tense ("she said") in a story. Rarely an author might slip up and switch tenses.

Last January, a dear, dear friend switched tenses. Kathy had an amazing life story focused on one main idea: loving Jesus. Nothing could shake the joy and hope she conveyed to others. But I found it so hard to switch tenses in speaking of her. I still want to refer to her as with us, present tense rather than past. She still remains in my heart daily. And I know she remains a present tense with the Lord.

Today, just over a year after Kathy's passing, I am heartbroken to find out that another friend has switched tenses. The same foe is to blame: cancer.

Suzanne's focus has been fierce. The main idea of her story has been loving her family and making every effort and sacrifice to retain her health and strength. Her humor and wit has never been phased. She has regaled us with tales from the absurd to the painful but always with spirit and smiles. Book club has had many entertaining stories outside the bound pages we read—thanks to Suzanne!

Early this morning, Suzanne's details changed. And I now have to proofread my words to speak of her in the past tense. It remains the hardest editing I have to do.

Icy fingers numb
Out in the cold, awaiting
Dead volts giv'n new breath

(A haiku ode to my car's dead battery this frigid 7-degree morning; thankfully Steve was able to help!)

Hello, boys and girls, I'm glad you've stopped by.
I've a story to tell. Please give it a try.
For once in the mind of a wee little child
Lived a voracious reader—it was quite wild.
As she would sit down by a stream or a brook,
Clutching the pages of her new favorite book,
The words would take her to far away places
Describing to her brand-new creatures and faces.
For hours a time she would happily sit,
Reading and reading, never wanting to quit.
In a book she could visit castles with moats
Or find Narnia inside a wardrobe with coats,
Meet a mouse on a motorcycle, fast as could be,
See the love of a boy from his favorite tree,
Spy a spider who spun pretty words for a pig,
Meet a family, immortal with one thirsty swig, 
Help a baby bird lost and looking for mother,
Cheer a Grinch's heart grown with love for another.
Many wonders imagined, the tall and the small
But perhaps the most wondrous thing of it all
Is a secret discovered with the growing of age
That years don't diminish the joys of the page.
When becoming adults, as children often do,
They don't have to discard like a dirty old shoe
The imaginations stored deep in their heads;
They can still dream of mysteries nightly in beds.
For whatever the year, if you're young or you're old
Many stories at hand await to be told.
So please know, dear children, you must never quit
The reading of books, not one little bit.
For when you imagine and dream and ponder
Life is filled with all the ways you can wander.

—Kelly Carr
written on March 2, 2012
to honor Dr. Seuss's birthday
and to honor all the children's book authors
who captured my youth with their imaginations