OVERCOMER: Talya Boerner

So I met this gal for the first time over Chuy’s chip and dip. It was her first days in her new home and she was braving the NWA Blogger meet-up (we were most glad she came back!). She was moving here from Dallas right into my backyard. I knew when I heard her sweet southern draw through a beautiful, welcoming smile that I was going to like this lady! Later in the summer, we were assigned to work together at the Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference. We may or may not have gotten ourselves into a little mischief that included the street commissioner giving me a lesson in what is and is not appropriate signage that can be put out at a major section in Rogers, AR. I was grateful for my talk with him because the balloons worked and drew the attention intended and him bringing me my sign kept me from having to go back to said intersection to retrieve it. Hey, you’ve got to see the joy in everyday moments!

If Grace and Grits is not on your daily loop, why don’t you drop by her little cul-de-sac and hang for a minute. You won’t be disappointed! (seriously her post on her resignation letter from the bank was a moment of sheer genius!) She even made my granddad’s Milk Way Cake last week. And, I still think she could be a model.

What have you OVERCOME? Discontent.
What was your turning point?
Three years ago, my ninety-year-old father-in-law came to stay with us for six weeks. He lived in Fort Smith, we lived in Dallas, and I didn’t know him very well. I was able to rearrange my work schedule and take time off from the bank to care for him. The Dallas winter turned unusual with multiple snow and ice storms. Our afternoons were spent huddled inside by the fire working jigsaw puzzles and
playing dominoes.

“So what do you want to be when you grow up?” he asked me early one evening.

“A writer. I’ve always planned to write a book.”

“You better get on it. You aren’t getting any younger,” he said. Then he grinned in his mischievous way.

His words resonated. My career was solid. I worked among people who had become like family. Although I was a bit bored, it was easy to maintain status quo. After the conversation with my father-in-law, I took a serious look at myself, my career, my dreams. He faced the end of his life, and I was almost fifty years old. Those six weeks were life changing for me. I realized I had the power to change my future.
5 word life mantra – The world is a garden.
Quote you live by – You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut. – Dr. Seuss.