Dear Friends,

In 2001 when I was inspired to write Eat Your Peas for Teens (formerly called Young Adults) for a teen I cherished named Maddy, I never imagined how many Eat Your Peas titles we would be asked to create or how many lives we would touch.

It has been a magnificent journey.

A few weeks ago, Maddy, came to vacation with me in the Florida Keys. Now in her mid-twenties, she has blossomed into a beautiful, gentle, gracious and a phenomenal woman with loads of common sense and practicality. If you ever doubt that a troubled teen will be suitable for human contact, Maddy is living proof to give hope to what can sometimes seem like a hopeless situation. 

Being a teen isn’t easy. Sometimes being an adult isn’t easy either.

Life.

It’s a puzzle. How come we can’t find all the pieces?.

Today I have several friends and colleagues who are dealing with aging parents, job and economic worries, health challenges, heartbreaks and heartaches, kid issues and more. And they’re looking for an encouraging word.   It is not often I give one of my own books to people I care about. I’ve always believed they would think it’s too easy or trite because all I had to do was pull the book from my shelves.

I don’t know what I was thinking.  Eat Your Peas for Tough Times is exactly the message of hope I want to give them.

I want to promise these individuals near and dear to my heart that I will always be there for them. I want them to know they are loved. I want them to know how much I appreciate and  admire them. I want them to know that “This too shall pass.” I want to remind them of the special place they have in my heart no matter how many miles between us. Most of all, I want to remind them of their own magnificence.

We are all magnificent, you know. Each and every one of us. This means YOU too! I see it in Maddy’s eyes and the unique gifts she brings to the world. I see it in the letters I receive and the amazing stories of love and hope you share with me. I see it in my neighbors, friends and family. I see it in the barista who serves me a cup of coffee and the road worker who safely waves me on.

Sometimes we forget how magnificent we are and how much we need one another.

It’s a New Year. Who do you need to remind of their magnificence? Who do you need to give the “peas” promise to, a promise you will be there for a loved one throughout life’s hilarities and heartaches? A friend, daughter, mother, father, a grandchild, a sister-in-law?

From Maddy and me, we wish you a peas-ful 2009 filled with hope, faith, prosperity, smiles, good health, laughter and love.  Anything is possible.  Believe.

Blessings,

Cheryl

Cheryl can be personally reached at T) 877-224-7886 or cherylkarpen@aol.com