African Violets and Writers

African violets weave in and out of my childhood memories. My mother is a huge fan and always had at least a couple of them in the house. Her enthusiasm has rubbed off on me. Someone gave me a beautiful specimen that is perched on a shelf above my desk at work.

I've learned a thing or two about these sometimes finicky plants:

1.  They must be watered from the bottom. Get moisture on their leaves, and you might as well   throw them on the compost heap.

2.  My African Violet sits under a fluorescent light and shows its happiness by abundant flowering.

3.  The plants also favor an eastern exposure. If they're in a spot that's too sunny, the leaves will burn.

For those of you who love a writer, we need a few things to keep us happy and productive:

1.  Encouraging words feed our creativity. Please be kind when critiquing or we'll shrivel up like a wet African Violet leaf. Oh, and a little chocolate wouldn't hurt either!

2.  Coax us out of our writing cave once in awhile to bask in the great outdoors. Our words will flourish and spill out onto the page.

3.  Too much play and not enough seat-in-chair time will have the opposite effect. We'll be tempted to leave the computer dark and gathering dust.

The key to both a healthy African Violet plant and a healthy writer revolves around a single word: balance.

Writers: How do you keep a balance between family and writing?

Readers: How do you juggle the many demands of your life?

Photo Credit:   Susan J. Reinhardt

The Blog Tour Stops Here:    Loree Huebner
                                               Paula Davis