when i said i'd write a book one day...

when i said i'd write a book one day...

i figured it'd be my autobiography. i have bits and pieces typed up in word documents and written down in journals for it. i have beginnings of chapters, middles and ends, but when i sit down to compile and write the missing parts i never can do it.

i think it's because my story isn't finished yet. but one day i will write it all down. i promise you that. and if i don't have the chance i hope one of the beautiful people i love here on this earth will do it for me. one of the ones who knows me well. but i plan on being here.

when i said i'd write a book one day...

this is not what i had in mind. in fact. i'm still shocked the idea even came to my mind. but i truly believe it was an idea from God.

i have begun to write a children's book series. fairy-tale like chronices of kids who are sick, have been sick, or are now in heaven because they couldn't beat the sickness.

this may sound morbid to some, or you might be confused. or you might, like mama t, think "she is a genius."

i'm okay with all of these. but hear me out.

this is needed. when i got the idea one night i knew it had to be from the Lord. and then i sat and wished they already existed. i think they would have helped me a whole lot growing up. as the ideas began to flood my mind i started brain storming. everything i wrote i thought "i wish someone had told me this."

i wish my brother and sister had books to read about their baby sister being sick when i was born. i think that would have helped them. i wish i would have had a book about a heart murmur and why my heart beat funny. i wish i had one about the eye doctor and why i needed eye surgery after eye surgery and why my eyes still weren't perfect. i wish i had a fairytale book that told beautiful stories about kids like me, so i didn't feel so different. i wish i had one about needing shots to grow or needing blood drawn. i wish i had one about a kid just like me who had bronchitiis, pneumonia, strep, the flu, and every other sickness that has haunted me multiple times every year because of my bad immune system. i wish i had a story about a little girl who had the same genetic disorder i do. i wish i could have opened a book to a world where a princess beat a brain tumor. i wish i could have been read a story about a mini warrior who fought for her life and won. i wish i could have had a book about a brave pirate who had a horrible monster grow in his head to give to our precious friend ian. i wish that when i got diagnosis after diagnosis and the doctors were sitting there using huge words that a nice lady would have sat down next to me and handed me a storybook about a little kid, just like me going through the same stuff.

but that never happened. none of it ever happened. i wish it would have. i think i would have coped differently.

i've only recently been dealing with the after effects of all my health problems. the emotional and psychological parts of everything have caught up with me. just within the last 6 months or so. the anxiety attacks have set in and i am trying to figure out why. why has it begun now. i'm not sure. but i think a book series like this could impact little ones. maybe they won't feel so alone. because "amazing alexander has an angry appendix." and if he can get through it so can anyone. and if "courageous callie conquers cystic fibrosis" then maybe another kid will fight harder.

my hope is that a series of books like this will help the little ones deal with the psychological and emotional parts of being sick alongside the physical. so that they aren't having flashbacks to test after test when they were 9, when they are about to turn 23. because believe me, it is not fun.

i have pages and pages of brainstorming. everything from chicken pox to cancer to check ups to getting your teeth cleaned. the stories will all feature a tiny hero facing an ordeal. my dream is to have pj's and blankets and anything else needed for the hospital to go with the books. my dream is that any kid going through something will have a storybook friend they can relate to. my dream is for a 5 year old to say to her mom "if tallulah is brave enough to get her tonsils out, i can do it too!!!" i dream of this being way more than stories. i dream of this changing peoples lives.

there will be realistic stories too. there won't always be a "and then he got all better" at the end, because that isn't always the outcome. i have to be real. there will be a story about losing a parent. stories about coping with the loss of a friend and much more. i have no idea how many will be in the series. my ideas keep coming. i have a color palate in my brain and ideas of what i want the characters to look like. i have pages of illnesses and children's names. other things i want to produce to go along with the stories and much more. i might be small, but i don't dream small people. i dream huge.

i have a lot of writing to do. this summer will be spent watching children, taking online classes and writing as much as i can. i hope to find a literary agent within the next few months to get the ball rolling.

if you know anyone holla at yo girl.

please be praying for this new journey of mine. above anything else, my dream is that these stories will be filled with hope and joy and that God would be glorified.

as you know if you follow this blog i have no problem writing. but my writing is so autobiographical. this will be a new journey. i have to be careful to not just express my own emotions the whole time. i hope i can do this well. i hope this idea can come to life.

well. thanks for reading.

also. if this is your first time visiting the blog. like always. please feel free to go back and read parts of my journey. and pass it on.

Blessed by a Heavenly Daddy

Shelby Elyse Taylor

laughter. life talk and lemon cheesecake.

i skipped blogging in april. it wasn't that awesome and there is no use in just writing to write. i hope that is okay with you guys.

may is here now. the weather was chilly until two days ago. now it's been hott as can be. but i promised myself i wouldn't complain about the heat this summer because winter lasted longer than it ever should have. so i will wear sundresses and bask in the warmth. the past 2 days it hit 80. i'm thankful for sunshine. also. if you have a 5. 10. or 20 dollar bill you'd like to donate so i can get more sundresses i wouldn't be opposed.

i finished exams a few days ago. now the anxiety of waiting to see my grades has started in. i'm not a very patient person. i never have been. i worked my butt off this semester. i keep running through "worst case scenarios" in my head. but then i think theres no way my grades could ever be worse than they were in highschool so i think i'll be okay.

honesty is something that i really admire in people. if you lie to me, or someone i love, it takes a long long time for me to trust you again. so people. i want to be honest with you.

it has been an interesting few months. people tell me i'm in a weird stage of life. i agree. i'm not sure if i like this stage. actually i'm sure i don't like it. i'm learning a lot though. the past few weeks, and months have been really hard for me. i can't put my finger on it. i've just not felt myself. i won't go into detail but it is not fun. i think it's just the season of life i'm in. i literally sleep with my bible in my bed because i know i need to read it when i wake up and before i go to bed just to get me through. in april and most of march i stuck to journaling instead of blogging. then one april day i literally wrote a whole blog explaining everything in detail and then realized if i posted it you all would think i was absolutely nuts. so it got deleted as soon as i typed the last word. i think it was just therapeutic for me to write it down. it's not the first time i've deleted a blog post. i catch myself writing things to everyone often and then realizing i don't want everyone to know. i think that's one of the hard things about suffering and going through health journeys publically. while i am so thankful to have people who love and pray for me. sometimes its hard to know what to tell everyone and what not to tell anyone. but i'm learning.

also. if anyone was wondering. the bible verse about "do not be anxious about anything" IS FREAKING HARD TO LISTEN TO WHEN YOU ARE ANXIOUS ABOUT EVERYTHING.

soo...back to may. currently it's may 10th and it's nearing 3am. i'm not even tired. last night i slept for 9 hours. it was the longest nights sleep i had in a few weeks. my "no nap rule" isn't working these days too well. but that's besides the point.

mama left for colorado thursday to spend time with uncle brad, aunt tracy, aunt kelly, grandma barb and grandpa joe. i was royally bummed out. i didn't want her to go. but i didn't tell her that. i just stayed in my room when she left. this season i'm in has me not wanting people i love far from me. it makes me anxious. i don't know why. i'm glad she gets to see them though. she called today and said she just had realized i could have gone becuase i'm done with school. i'm like "seriously though!" don't worry mom i'm over it. have fun! love you!

don't worry...it's about to get good. i'm really sorry if this has been a sad blog post. but hey this is real life people. i'm not gunna tell you i'm awesome if i'm not awesome. well. i mean i might have done that today a few times. but what am i gunna do tell the bag lady at giant eagle that i'm having a bad day? [who by the way has literally watched me grow up and she is so hilarious and today she said "oh sweetie your dress is so cute and you are such a beautiful young lady and i just remember when you were in overalls." hahahah i about died. THIS IS REAL LIFE ALSO PEOPLE! the bag lady at giant eagle remembers me at 5.]

so today i called dad and asked if he would go to dinner with me after i got done helping my lil sis eva get ready for prom and take pics. so i came home and we ventured out to kent. we knew it would take us forever to get parking. we decided it was worth it and we would go to ray's place. on the drive there we talked of days spent in kent. my old house. what my nursery looked like. he reminded me that it was his office and then i came along and kicked him out. he told me a wall was all books. i wasn't suprised. i have only seen pictures. i was 4 when we moved to stow so my memories don't exist in real life.

we finally found parking, and as we walked in daddy spoke of a day he remembered well. i was a freshman in college and had decided to go to dinner with my friend erin. i texted him to ask him where ray's place was and he said that in his mind he thought "oh no...she's going to ray's...she's growing up." i laughed and we walked in the doors. i remember that day too.

as we were seated in the booth we decided to turn off social media. unless mom texted of course. i flipped my phone over and our waitress showed up. dad still holding his doesn't say anything to her. i look at him and i'm like "dad seriously...put the phone down" at first he gave a mini speech about my generation and phones and how i was on mine in the car. to which i quickly defended with "i was instagramming" he just looked at me. within seconds he introduced us by name to her, asked her name and said sorry. her name was jessica.

we spent the next 2 hours laughing. and talking about life. he was pulling one liners out of no where like a magician pulls rabbits out of a hat. we talked about things that were bothing me, and things we wish were different but aren't. it was just really nice. he brings out a laugh in me that few other people do. it's like a giggle. but it's loud. well. i'm always loud. so maybe it's just my giggle.

 i'll be the first to admit that sometimes i really take my dad for granted. i get angry with him and slam doors and scream like i'm some actress. but really it's like straight out of a taylor swift music video some days. and i'll also be the first to admit that i am not the easiest kid ever. i've caused that man a ton of stress and he still loves me. just like Jesus. i also think that when you are hurting, you hurt people. and sadly, sometimes dad gets the "SHUTUP!" or the back door slammed when i walk in the house before him so he has to open it again. yes i do that. HEY I NEVER SAID I WAS PERFECT PEOPLE. i've been telling you for years that i'm sassy. and i'm passionate. i cry and scream and if i love you i really love you and if i don't like you i really don't like you and that is just how i am.

but daddy kinda is the same way. he is just passionate. he cries when he prays. i swear his picture is next to all the best words in the dictionary. i love him. he loves to find the good in everything. he is total optimist. literally just last week i was in the living room with mom and we made some joke about my brain tumor (this is normal) and he yells from the kitchen "you don't have a tumor anymore!!!" and i said "dad yes i do!" and he said "well it's so small now so not really" some may call this denial. some dreaming. i just call it typical dad.

but anyways. just sitting with him for 2 hours today made me feel better. yes i'm still going to need to deal with things that have been bothering me. but just for a while dad made it better. he's good at that. sometimes i just need to step back and let him be my dad for a minute. be reminded of how blessed i am to have him.

as our time was ending the waitress came with our bill and said "do you want dessert" we looked at eachother. he smiled and i said "what do you have?" WE NEVER GET DESSERT AT RESTAURANTS. partically because i am allergic to it. secondly because i'm full after 4 buffalo wings even though i ordered 12. but tonight. we got dessert.

we settled on 1 piece of lemon cheesecake. with 2 forks of course.

and we drove home under a setting sun and talking about our life 18 years ago in kent.

i love you daddy.

Blessed by a Heavenly Daddy

(WHO KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING WHEN HE GAVE ME RT)


Shelby Elyse Taylor

it was one of those march days

[ it was one of those march days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold. when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade. ]
 - charles dickens

never again could this be so true. it is the last day of march and the ground below my window is snow covered. the sun is shining. but it is still winter. it is still cold. i feel as though the weather is mad and decided to play a joke on all of the north east and just make winter never ending. i'm not okay with this. i am meant for sunshine. winter weather makes me sad. i don't like being cold. i don't like it when the ground is iced and slushed and wet. i am just not made for ohio. but somehow i ended up here.

the good news is that despite the weather the past month has been really refreshing. march brings many memories and much greatfulness and reflection on God's promises and faithfulness. many of you know this if you follow the blog or my story. this march held great memories. i reflected a lot. spent time with people i loved. came up with a few amazing ideas. (one being a children's book series that i will have to tell you all about. if anyone knows a publisher or manager that could help me out HOLLA AT YO GURL! hahah but really.) i spent time studying Esther, reading Psalms everyday & filled pages in my journal of what to the outsider looks like i have a serious issue, but really i'm just A.D.D.

{ side note ... a few weeks ago my sister mom and i were up talking at her house. somehow a.d.d. and a.d.h.d. got brought up & jordyn is like "i never thought shelby was a.d.d." and mom and i are like "where have you been!?" sooo funny. also in my philosophy class we talked about how people without a.d.d. take medicine to help them focus and study and i'm like "excuse me but i'm the kid who needs the meds and i'm not on them and so all these kids taking it that don't need it are having a double advantage over me" and then the kid behind me literally showed up to the test buzzing from riddlin. i assure you, he did not need it. and i assure you, i wish i had it. hahah. his is real life people. welcome to akron. }

anyways. back to march. i'm sorry. i guess i didn't need to write that paragraph. but i did. and i'm not deleting it.

so the first day of March...guess what!!! I SAW MY BROTHER. because you know people he lives in OHIO now. YOU GUYS!!! say it with me!! O-H...I-O! so we went to a basketball game and then to dinner at none other than buffalo wild wings in kent. you know. the place we used to live. our favorite town. [ if you love kent too ... consider buying a "I Black Squirrel Kent" tee from my super awesome brother-friends chad and jake ... they are freaking awesome. just follow this link...well in july i guess you should follow the link. cause they are doing some adventurous things right now in another country. but really check it out. CLICK HERE! I BLACK SQUIRREL KENT! ] anyways. dinner with sethy was great.

then the third of march. well you all kind of know what that was. the 9 year anniversary of my diagnosis. if you missed the great blog post about it. you should CLICK THIS! MARCH 3 BLOGPOST ... i think you might want to get tissues first. because everyone who read it cried. just a warning. 

then on the fifth of march i upset dad by posting a picture of myself to facebook where i wasn't smiling. all kinds of hilarity ensued. he did not like it at all. and spent the following 25 days begging me to change it. i finally caved yesterday. i think dad was happy. but hey i thought the picture was just artsy. i'm not sure. a few of my friends said something like "maybe he thinks you look naked" hahahah but i CLEARLY had a tanktop on. who knows. the man just loves my smile.  what do you guys think!? 

then on the 9th of march i had the 9 year anniversary of my brain surgery. i celebrated by twirling in my kitchen and writing an epically long blog post. if you have no life and want to read it... CLICK THIS! MARCH 9 BLOG POST! and if you do have a life but just happen to have some free time you should read it. 

i've used the line "is anyone reading except my mom" frequently the past few posts. well when my posts started getting over 100 views i've decided to stop using that line. i've been thinking of new ones. but nothing is clever enough. so how about lets do this. if you like what you read...pass it on to a friend. hey i don't want to be THAT GIRL who blogs her whole life and no one reads and so she is writing for no reason. but actually that'd be okay. because writing is therapy. anyways. pass it on. please. that'd be great. 

sooo moving along...

march 13th was mama t's birthday. she is a gem. i love her. not everyone can say that about thier mom's but i really do have a fantastic one. we just are both really sassy and spunky and sometimes that makes us argue but then we end up eating popcorn and watching grey's anatomy and all is well on the earth again. 

then on march 16 i went to andrea and oliver's wedding shower. oh i am so blessed to know them. the Lord is truly at the center of their relationship & it is truly beautiful to watch. they are also so cute together. andrea is such a beautiful person inside and out. and a wonderful example to me. ollie pie is just great also. he loves Jesus so much and is so kind. thankful that God had this planned for them all along! 

on march 20th i flew to texas to see one of my best friends chelsea. she moved there kinda suddenly our junior year of highschool and i haven't gotten the chance to visit until now. thankfully she has come to ohio every once in a while and i cherish those times.

anyways...so on march 20th i got to the cleveland airport and my flight had been delayed which meant my connection would be missed and basically it was a dibockle. well. the thing is. the whole way there i had a horrible stomach ache and just felt like i shouldnt get on the plane but didn't want to say and i just was nervous and not myself. so then i was super sassy with the guy and was trying to get him to get me to texas and he wasn't being too helpful. so i would say i was not at my best. hahah words that should not be mentioned were running through my head and i just was so hungry and just frustrated. finally i asked if there were any flights out of akron canton. and there were. so then i had to apologise for all my sassyness and rudeness and i told him that i'm normally not like this but i just was overwhelmed and just needed to get to texas. so anyways. as soon as i had my new flight i felt all better { YOU GUYS!!! theres a reason i wasn't supposed to be on that plane!! you ready for it!?!?!? } 

so me and mom ran errands all day. got food. and she dropped me off at akron-canton. so i get through everything fine and while i'm at my gate i call my brother and i'm like "dude. seth. so my flight got changed and now i have a layover in detroit. this is so stupid. who wants to go to detroit anyways." and he's like "i'm flying out of detroit a little after 8 tonight to go to this soccer conference" and i'm like " I GET THERE AT 6!!!" { YOU GUYS!!!! WHAT ARE THE FREAKING CHANCES THAT SETH WOULD BE IN THE SAME AIRPORT AS ME AND NOT AN AIRPORT IN OHIO AND OH MY LAMB IT WAS JUST JESUS I KNOW IT. THATS THE REASON I DIDN'T GET ON THE FIRST PLANE! I WAS SUPPOSED TO SEE MY BROTHER!!! } this is real life. i could barely believe it. SO THEN! just fasten your seat belts. theres more. so he gets there from toledo and through security and everything and then he calls me "my gate is A64 where are you!?" I look up and i say "MY GATE IS A63!" { YOU GUYS!!!! THIS IS REAL LIFE. WHAT IN THE WORLD!!!! THIS HAPPENED. BEST THING EVER. } 

Then i went to Texas for a few days to stay with my beautiful friend Chelsea & it was magical! We laughed & took a lot of naps. We ate great food & climbed on top of a building too. Life was really great there. And warm. I love this lady so much. The BEST thing is, that no distance has changed our friendship. I believe she will be my friend until I go to Heaven. 

 So a few days later i came back home. Like 6 I think. and then that night Elly & Erin came over and that was lovely. 

Then! on the 29th I went to a lovely dinner in little italy with some of my bests erin and jesska. then we went to a little bakery and had some treats. it was so fun. then we met up with elly, danny, ana & matt at the office for drinks. that was a good day. 

ana

jesska,erin,ana,elly

jesska

erin 

So...then a few more days in march happened but nothing was exciting...really not at all.

hopefully april brings lots of sunshine & family time. 

BLESSED by a Heavenly Daddy,

Shelby Elyse