Quotes about life and...

Sharing some of the quotes I have written lately.
I'm sure you can relate to some of them.
Hope you'll enjoy them
Take care, Tere

Life gave me a second chance...

Almost a year ago, I lived a near-death experience. It was the morning of May and I decided to get hash browns for breakfast before I went to work. I stopped at a convenience store of a gas station. I was there along with other customers. We all were minding our own businesses when a man made an entrance to the store. He was holding a woman, who was his wife, by her arm while he was screaming at her. She looked horrified. She looked like she was trying to get out of his side. She was crying. Then, he grabbed a gun he had in his pants and was pointing it at her...
Long story short, all the customers, employees, and I were kept there for about 3 hours. We couldn't get out because the man will point at us with the gun and he was standing by the doors. One of the customers tried doing so and he was shot. He shot this man and his wife. Both of them ended dead.
Police came by the side door and shot the guy...

Me, while everything was happening... couldn't believe I was going through that experience, I only wanted hash browns. You know what people say about you having a mental movie in your head of all your life when you are experiencing something like this, yes, that happened to me. All my life went through my mind. My present life too. My future... I remember thinking that I wanted to do and experience a lot of things, I didn't want to die.
 I was there with children, young and older women, young and older men, people from different backgrounds and social status, with different ethnics and we all were feeling the same: terror. You could see the terror in their eyes, as I am sure they could see it in mine.
But life is generous and gave me a second chance to live. I came out of there alive. Alive and without a scratch. My heart was all shattered, but still alive. Every morning when I wake up, I give thanks for a new day and for my second chance to live. It hasn't been easy dealing with the aftermath of the experience but I'm a strong person and I have had good people beside me. There are days that I remember what happen and nightmares come at night, the day seems to be very heavy, and tears might come down but then I remember that I'm here alive, that life has given me a second chance... and intend to make the best of it.

Quotes about her...

Hi!

Here are some of the quotes I have written about her... that woman... that could be you, your sister, your friend, a co-worker, a stranger...

Hope you like them!

Take care, Tere

Review of the beautiful book: Teach Us Your Name

The book, Teach Us Your Name is a lovely, illustrated book who teaches, in a meaningful way, how kids can teach others how to say their names correctly. The main character of the story is a girl named Kareemalayaseenadeen. Kareemalayaseenadeen does not like her name. She does not like that others can't pronounce it correctly, thinks is too long. On a trip to see her grandma, the girl talked, with her grandma, about how she felt regarding her name. Her grandma told her that her name had a beautiful meaning and that she should be proud to have it, The grandma also told Kareemalayaseenadeen that most likely other persons couldn't say her name correctly because they didn't know how to pronounce it and encouraged her to teach others how to pronounce her name correctly. The girl loved the idea that her grandma told her and when she got back home, she did just that... teach others how to pronounce her name the right way. The girl grew up and became a teacher, and every year at the beginning of the school year, Kareemalayaseenadeen takes time and encourage her students to teach others how to pronounce their name correctly.
This book touched me personally. As a Latina, I have had trouble with people trying to pronounce my name in the correct way. Is sometimes frustrated to see how people mispronounce it. I like Kareemalayaseenadeen, also take the time to teach others how to pronounce Tere, my name, correctly.
This is a great book to help children understand that every name is beautiful and that is perfectly fine to teach others how to pronounce it right and that others will appreciate learning the correct way of saying it.

Huda Essa is the author of this book. She is a TED Speaker and Consultant. She focuses her work on building empathy and engaging in equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.
Diana Cojocaru is the illustrator of this beautiful book. She is a freelance illustrator.

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 Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents, and educators.

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Medallion Level Sponsors

• Honorary: Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org
• Super Platinum: Make A Way Media
• GOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV, Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press
• SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls,
• BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift, T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board

Honorary: Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini,

Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Claudia Schwam, Lori DeMonia, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLC

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup, Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media!

MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party. GO HERE for more details.

30 reasons I’m thankful for...

1. being alive. 
2. breathing every day. 
3. the chance to see the sun every morning. 
4. my two sons and all the experiences I have lived with them. 
5. my parents and their love and teachings
6. all the experiences I have lived (good and bad ones). 
7. those people that love me no matter what. 
8. being able to make some kind of difference in people through my work. 
9. listening to a beautiful song. 
10. admiring the immensity of the night sky. 
11. smelling the scent of the rain when it’s approaching. 
12. feeling my dog’s fur while I caressed her. 
13. having a new chance to live after having a nearly death experience. 
14. my friends who chose me to be part of their lives. 
15. my writing because it lets me express myself and share my feelings with the world. 
16. my life before my divorce because it taught me how to be strong. 
17. the special needs child I tutor because he taught me how simple is to love. 
18. special moments lived with special people
19. the music which I dance to. 
20. laughing every day, even in my sorrow. 
21. the tears I have shed. 
22. the strangers I see every day that share with me their smile. 
23. all those people that aren’t part of my life anymore because, from them, I have learned a lesson. 
24. getting safe back home every day
25. the day that isn’t going well because makes me appreciate the good ones. 
26. those moments I have failed because helped me grow as a person. 
27. the days I doubt myself a little because it made me believe in myself more. 
28. being loved, understood, and respected. 
29. loving with all my heart. 
30. just opening my eyes every morning because I have one more day to live. 

Take care and be thankful, Tere

Did you know...

To the man who said I couldn’t be or accomplished anything... on the Domestic Violence Awareness month

October is the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and I want to say some things to that man that told me many, many, many times that I was nothing and that I couldn’t or wouldn’t be or accomplished anything.
You, the one that thought I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t be someone. Even more, you, the one that made me believe I couldn’t achieve anything...
Here I am, almost 6 years later after I ended our relationship and I have achieved way more than you can imagine. I am a woman with multiple roles in my life. Roles that I embrace every single day:
    I am a mother, a single one, who for the past 6 years (without counting all the ones before) has been a mom and a dad, loving and caring my sons.
    I am a published author with 3 published books and an award. Ha, and you thought that no one will publish my books.
    I am a mental health therapist and to think that you told me that I will never graduate from my masters.
    I am a teacher who tutors kids and love interacting and teaching them. Funny, you said I was too shy to do that kind of thing.
    I am a daughter who loves and takes care of their parents even on the distance, and you said I was a bad daughter because I was leaving them.
    I am a good friend to my friends who appreciate having me in their life. Yes, I have friends who I see whenever I want.
    I am a woman in love with my body. I’m not too fat for the view of anyone.
    I am a woman confident of my sexuality, no despise involved or wondering if I am woman enough.
    I am a woman who can awaken beautiful feelings of a man towards her. Yes, is not like you said: "If it's not me, no one can."
    I am a smart woman who can handle different roles, who can have intelligent conversations, and who likes to learn every day. I'm not dumb or stupid.

    I am a woman with a good sense of humor who likes to see life from the bright side and love to laugh. (I’m thankful that even with the worst things I lived beside you; you never took my smile or laughter away).
Even more, I am a happy, amazing, confident, smart, funny, caring, good-hearted woman who tries to live her life to the fullest, wearing a smile on her face every day, and is thankful for all that she is today.

I am way more of what you thought I would be. And you know what? There’s way more to come.
Stay tuned...

Take care, Tere