Rebecca L Johnson

Sample 1: Blog Post Six Secrets to Living Intentionally: How this Editor works less and plays more When I became a mom, I swore that I wasn't going to be like the parents for whom I used to nanny. I wasn't going to work eight-hour days at an office one hour or more away from my home. I wasn't going to let someone else raise my daughter. Unfortunately, life had other plans. That year, my husband separated from the Navy and decided to go back to school, leaving me the breadwinner. Consequently, I left nannying and took a "real job." I worked first as a teacher and then as a lab tech, both requiring me to send my little angel off to daycare - where she was literally raised by someone else. I have all the respect in the world for mothers who can work outside the home and still have energy to create meaningful, quality relationships with their children (as well as cook, clean, and take care of themselves - because, honestly, ladies, we do it ALL.) Those women are superheroes! I am not one of those women. Don't get me wrong. I love my career. I have been a workaholic all my life, since I started working as a lifeguard at age fifteen (they hired me even though they couldn't let me work until I turned sixteen three weeks later) right up to now! I have never lost the desire to work. My desires just shifted somehow when I got pregnant, as if some switch in my head got flicked on as soon as my milk started to come in. Nearly four years after that, I decided enough was enough. I wanted out of the corporate game and I wanted to be home with my children. I wanted to work, and I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I wanted my cake, and I wanted it badly. Almost one year into being a successful entrepreneur has given me a little perspective and a lot to think about. Here's a little of what I've learned on this journey. Technology for Work, not for Play I am a typical millennial with regards to my cell phone usage. Whew! That was hard to admit. But it's true. I could (and sometimes do) spend hours and hours a day on my phone. But I've accidentally trained my four-year-old to recognize when I've been spending too much time on my phone and not enough time with her. She will start to whine about something, and I'll start to get angry with her, and then she will retort with, "But I just want your attention!" Of course, my laptop and phone and tablet are crucial to my job as an editor. But, as my mother used to say, there's a time for work and a time for play. And even though I love a good game of solitaire, (or an episode of Storage Wars) as I continue to be chastised by my daughter, I will continue to put down the technology in lieu of good old-fashioned play. Living on a Budget I know what you're thinking. "Not the dreaded 'B' word!" Don't worry; this isn't a post on how I paid $100,000 of debt off by selling all of my possessions and eating Ramen for two years. I just mean creating a logical expense and income statement and sticking to it. My husband and I don't make gobs of moolah, but we aren't scraping the bottom of the peanut butter jar either. We overspend and have to make up for it by not going out to eat for a while or working overtime. But we have a budget in place, and, most of the time, we follow it. That keeps us from missing bills and in the green most months. And when you're freelancing, every penny counts, literally! We are also constantly refocusing our priorities. Does the car need brakes this month? Do we need to start thinking about replacing that leaky window? Material purchases such as clothes and household items get pushed to a "want" list, instead of a "need" list, which has been surprisingly freeing. I don't therapy shop like I used to; instead I focus on doing more with the stuff we already have. Reducing Things, Increasing Time Which brings me to my next secret - reducing the amount of stuff you already have! My husband has a really hard time with this one. I don't know how many times I've asked him to reduce the number of hard copy books he has, only to be handed one outdated magazine and a twenty-five-page pamphlet on crested geckos. It's hard to let go of things you bought, or to which you have an emotional attachment, but if you can stomach the separation, you'll find that there are that fewer things to clean! I am constantly in a purging mood; I'm well on my way to a minimalist lifestyle. The fewer hours I'm spending scrubbing dishes we don't need or picking up clothes the children just wear once and discard, the more time I have to spend actually engaging my children, chatting with my husband or enjoying a stress-free, mostly tidied house. Choosing Quality over Quantity I'm a big fan of food. I love to look at it, smell it, cook it and eat it. And I particularly love to share it. My favorite recipe these days is one I gleaned from a low-GI cookbook: Hearty Vegetable Soup. I could eat that soup all day, every day. The main reason I think I love this soup so much is because it's made from fresh, real ingredients and it's filling as well as tasty. When I was first married, I didn't cook that much. When I worked away from the home, I came home exhausted and hungry, with little to no desire to cook anything that took longer than a frozen dinner. I was miserable, and my family suffered for it, nutritionally. We lived on take-out, frozen dinners and bread; the three of us could down an entire family sized lasagna in one night! I blame that on how nutritionally barren those meals were, not on their taste. Now, I choose to cook more often from scratch, and I shop with the intention of picking out quality, fresh produce and nutritionally dense food. It fills us up better, tastes more delicious and is a worthy drain on our pocketbook. Choosing Quantity as Often as Possible My husband reminds me sometimes that working from home is a blessing. It's true - I have never spent so much time around my children before. However, I often forget that being around my children is not nearly the same thing as being with my children. Being present in their lives is not the same thing as being present in the moment. I can't get away from my kids anymore (except for those rare two-hour blocks at the YMCA) but I also need to remember to put down whatever I am doing, look them in the eye and listen to what they have to say. Or play with whatever they are playing with. Or pay attention when the little voices shriek over the sound of playing, "Look, mom! Look at me! Look what I can do!" When I'm not actively working, I actively seek out time with my children and my husband so I can get as much quantity as possible doing things with the most important people in my life. Pursuing Interests One of my favorite things about working for myself is that I get to pick my own schedule. I can work alone in the wee hours of the morning when my girls are asleep, or I can work in the middle of the day when they are napping or playing outside. I can work during the times that are best for me, which basically means I can also pursue interests that before seemed like far-off dreams. Certainly, the big one is being home for my family, but, after all, I am not a one-woman show with no selfish desires of my own. I have found both peace and exhilaration in exercise, particularly running. I strap on my running shoes either late at night after the girls go to sleep or first thing in the morning, do some light stretching and hit the pavement! I find extreme joy in beating my previous times or hitting new records. I feel alive, and, for just forty-five minutes a day, I feel like a person - not a mom or a wife, not a career woman or a housekeeper - just a regular person. What Secrets have you found for living an intentional life? I'd love to hear them! Sample 2: Promotional Material Our Program July is a perfect time to enroll your child at Little Learners Home Daycare! July will be the first month of our new curriculum and school readiness program. Little Learners combines the comfort of home with the vibrance of a preschool with our eight separate learning stations scattered around our comfortable single-family home, and our double lot affords plenty of outside space for your angels to run and play. Indoor learning centers include fine and gross motor skills, cognitive learning, art, science and more! Outdoors we offer swing sets, playhouses, our mud kitchen and a variety of other toys. Coming soon: Tire swing and tire obstacle course! Tasty Food Nutritious meals served at Little Learners include a blend of finger foods kids already love and fresh fruits and vegetables that will broaden their horizons! Weekly field trips to farmers’ markets get kids involved in their food choices and give them a sense of accomplishment and pride. It’s also just lots of fun! More Field Trips Speaking of field trips, we also try to get out weekly to cool places like the local library, parks, nature centers and even coffee shops! We at Little Learners think it is important to involve our children in the community to foster independence, improve social skills, and promote neighborly kindness as we explore our town together. Also, who wants to be cooped up all day? Not us! Half Off Special If you’re still not sold, July is also a great time to enroll because we are offering half price tuition for one month! Yes, you read that right. The first whole month of enrollment will be half off for your first, second, third and even fourth child! Offer will expire September first so call today! During the call, you will be asked for your email address so we can send you our enrollment packet. Read this over carefully and if you agree with our policies and want to move forward, we will happily book an orientation. Your child’s spot is only reserved after all the paperwork has been signed and the half off tuition special will begin as soon as your child starts their first day. Thank you for your interest in Little Learners Home Daycare and we hope to hear from you soon! Sample 3: Story “Paper or plastic?” The question startled me out of my own thoughts. The young boy in a red flannel shirt was holding all four of my items in one of his oversized hands as I presumably pondered the choice. “Paper please,” I managed to say, flashing one of my best smiles. He did not return the smile, but carefully slid my groceries into a large brown paper bag sporting the name “Honest Goods” on the front in green letters. I accepted my items, paid with a credit card, and left. The parking lot of Honest Goods was surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoon. Usually, the place was crawling with people browsing the aisles for that one item they forgot last week to complete Sunday’s evening meal, and it was a fight getting to the checkout before the line serpentined all the way to the back of the store. That day, however, only a few cars were parked in the freshly painted lot, one of them my desperately-in-need-of-a-bath Toyota Camry. I opened the truck, deposited my under-stuffed paper bag, and closed the trunk a little too hard. I winced as the noise bounced off the brick wall of the store, a strange sound in the increasingly empty parking lot. As I was about to duck into the driver’s seat, inwardly groaning at the sight of a sticky handprint on the backseat window, something else caught my attention. “Alice?” The sound of my name being said aloud made me catch my breath. Although I knew most of my neighbors and had learned the names of most everyone else in my tiny town, very few of them knew mine. My first name, anyhow. The cashier greeted me with a “Hello, Mrs. Connors” after checking my credit card, the mailman tipped his hat to me and called me “Ma’am,” and anyone else who bothered to get to know me called me Rose, an adorably annoying name my husband had dubbed me after learning I blow up like a balloon at the smell of the little devils. I doubted anyone in this town besides my husband, Kurt, even knew my first name wasn’t Rose. So, naturally, I was shocked at the sound of my real name – a name I hadn’t even called myself in over two years. But it was more than just the name that made my blood turn to lava and the butterflies in my stomach suddenly feel the need to take flight. It was the voice. “Alice Connors?” that voice said again, almost convincing my knees not to work. I slowly turned, my mind trying to figure out what was happening here. “Justin Reeves?” I gawked. “I haven’t seen you in ages!” He approached me, and, without stopping, wrapped me in a hug. His neck smelled like a field of lush, green grass. He pulled away, leaving his hands on my shoulders. “I know, right?” he began. “What’s it been, like six years?” It had been seven, actually. Not that I’d been counting. “Yeah,” I said. Suddenly, my hair felt a little too out of place. I hadn’t put on lipstick that morning either and now I was really regretting that choice. “What brings you to my town?” I asked, putting too much emphasis on the possessive pronoun. He removed his hands, putting them on his hip like he used to do when he was trying to be cool. “Visiting a cousin. I didn’t know you lived up here.” His yellow hair was still not-quite-blonde, evidence that he continued to reject his natural color. A new tattoo peeked out from under his mid-length t-shirt sleeve, its color starkly bright against the older ones. I shrugged. “Been here for years,” I said, as if he was supposed to know that. In truth, there was probably no way he could have known. I didn’t have an online presence, opting out of such childish notions when I became a mother. We hadn’t spoken in seven years, and at that time, I still lived in my hometown. In his hometown. “You like it?” he asked coyly. “Sure.” I shrugged again. “It’s different,” I felt the need to say after his eyes told me I should elaborate. “Yeah, I noticed.” He didn’t take his eyes off me. “It’s really nice up here, you know? That old small-town feel. Cute.” I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he spoke. “Maybe, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll buy a house up here.” The suddenness of this statement rocked me. “But what about –“ I began, quickly realizing I knew nothing about this man’s recent commitments. Did he have kids? A wife? Girlfriend? Thinking back, I knew I met his mother once or twice, but I didn’t think their relationship was the close kind, but didn’t he have a brother somewhere? He seemed to realize my hesitation and laughed. “I know, I know, ridiculous concept, right? I mean, who picks up and leaves, just like that?” He didn’t admit to anything, but I got the feeling he was purposely withholding information. For what reason? Intrigue? I didn’t have time to ask, though, as he abruptly said, “But anyway, it’s been good seeing you, Alice.” My words dried up in my throat at the mention of my name again. “Maybe I’ll see you again, sometime.” He left me with that vague promise, walking back to a silver SUV parked across the lot.