Just Plain Margaret

Happy Monday, my Friends!

So this is my first Blog of the New Year. I’ll use it as I have in the past, as an introduction to me, Margaret McBride, aka, “The Great Pretender”. Many of you know all about me; however, newcomers to my Blog arrive almost daily, so indulge me when I repeat myself. By the way, it gives me great pleasure to be here in this very moment sharing my heart and thoughts with all of you, as we begin our sixth year together. May we all be blessed in the ways only He can in this New Year!

Who is Margaret McBride, anyway?

The “Great Pretender”, that’s who! At least that’s what I’ve finally come up with to describe myself in my book, after seventy+ years of walking this Earth; however, a couple of years ago I changed that to my new handle—”Just Plain Margaret”. Since “That Melvin Bray” was published in 2014, I no longer pretend. OK, I admit it, I still pretend or dream at least, that I’m going to win the biggest Lottery Jackpot ever. I just can’t help myself…who knows, maybe I will.

While writing my book though, I made-up with myself and put the past where it belongs. I’m comfortable in my own skin now. I’ve been happy and I’ve been sad, but happy is so much better!! Ya know, we can actually choose to be happy – It’s up to us.

After High School I moved from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., where I got my first real JOB and I loved it. It was a huge camera shop with a photo finishing lab which serviced the Pentagon. I met a lot of influential people and made a lot of friends in high places. Gosh, I was only nineteen years old, but I was short ‘n cute and blessed with the gift-of-gab, which was a God-given tool that worked in my favor. Then one of those “high-places” friends hooked me up with a big ad agency in DC  for an audition for a leading part in a national TV ad campaign. Well, wouldn’t you know I got the part and married the director. We left DC and moved to Atlanta.

Fast forward: I was “married for over ten years with two kids”, then that changed to “divorced with two kids”—not my favorite description of myself, but necessary—for everyone. Life goes on.

Then I met husband #2 and we’ve been just plain happy together for over thirty years now and live twenty miles outside Atlanta. We have five grandchildren ages 10 to 29 and I have two words which describe those kids just perfectly: Totally Awesome!! Seriously, aren’t ALL grandchildren “totally awesome”?!

I’ve had a wonderful time these past thirty years in a variety of personally rewarding situations. I spent several years working in the country music industry managing artists and concert-touring all over—in and out of the country; quite an experience on many levels of life. It was both demanding and rewarding at the same time; shoot, I loved it but thankfully I  knew when it was time to get outta’ Dodge and just go home, lie down and get eight-straight for once in a decade! It sure was fun, but quite an adjustment getting back into the real world. Trust me, show business is NOT the real world!

I took a couple of years off, then jumped into the world of commercial real estate in a booming town. Worlds apart from the unreal world or celebrity-isim, but still an exciting and challenging change for me. After several years, I retired from the “outside” world and entered the “Inside/Me” world and began writing my first novel, “That Melvin Bray.”

Along the way on my professional journey, I’ve had to let go of many loved ones.
This too, is part of the “life goes on” in one’s life. In my case, in each passing, I said “I sure am going to miss You, but until we see each other again, look after me, will ya’? … to my incredible Mother, Father, two crazy-funny brothers, two really-cool sisters, best aunts, favorite uncles, sweetest niece, wonderful in-laws, awesome sister-in-law, my very special brother-in-law (who was the minister who baptized me), and several dear friends. The grief and pain from these separations were so great at times, and my heart so full of sorrow and loss, that I felt lost myself. But life goes on and if we choose to move forward and embrace what we still have here and are yet to receive, we may find that God bestows us with numerous incredible gifts! So it really does matter how we choose to “see” our own unique situation. The glass is definitely not always “half empty”, ya know?

Since wrestling with my own broken heart and personal dreams, I’ve learned to cherish and honor as much of every day as I possibly can. I’m human though, and sadly there are many times I fail miserably, but He always picks me up and points me back in the right direction…His glorious path to righteousness.

“Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. – Psalm 25:4

Pray this each morning and you’ll see your way through all kinds of challenges! Trust me…no, TRUST Him!!

Have a great week and a fabulous New Year, my dears!

I love you,

❤️Just Plain Margaret

PS I’m working on my second novel; however, if you haven’t read my first book, check it out on Amazon – “That Melvin Bray”, a spiritual thriller –