Hello, There!

Photo of Cheryl Batavia by Joe Batavia

Hello there! My name is Cheryl Batavia, and I have always dreamed of publishing a book of poems. A United Methodist minister’s daughter, I spent my childhood in a series of small towns in Pennsylvania and Virginia during the fifties and sixties. My younger brother and sister and I shared many adventures, always found something interesting to do, and managed to keep our parents on their toes.

My life has been rich in experiences. I grew up exploring the Pennsylvania farm country, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Washington, D.C., Miami Beach, and the Gulf Coast of Florida are some of the other places I have called home. I am the mother of three grown-up children, two of them adopted from Russia.

The poem, “Childhood in Small Towns,” is the prequel to the book, Life in Inspiring Places, and shares some of my early experiences. Check out the poem and the many beautiful photos on the “Childhood in Small Towns” page of this website. You can also read poems from the book and see more beautiful photos on the “Excerpts, Life in Inspiring Places” page.

Cheryl Batavia at Manasota Beach by Stephanie Snow Photos

I worked at many jobs before completing a teaching degree at age forty. A school teacher for twenty years, I retired in 2011. Now that I am retired, I am enjoying doing things I always wanted to do but never found time for in my busy life.

It gives me great pleasure to share my experiences and perspectives in the poems I write. I hope you enjoy reading my poems as much as I have enjoyed writing them for you. I would love to hear from you.

35 Comments

    1. Thank you for your kind comments, Kate. Most of the photos are stock photos, either purchased from Adobe Stock or free. I give credit to the photographers in the captions. There are a few that are mine, but I would be the first to tell you that I am not much of a photographer!

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, Kavitha. I am sure it would be wonderful to visit Africa, but my traveling days are over. Are you interested in writing about African animals? That would be a great project! ❤
      All the best! 🙂

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  7. Cheryl, a beautiful about page and lovely to learn more about you! Congratulations on publishing your books! It is an amazing feeling! 😀 It’s wonderful you now have the time and opportunity to do the things you never had a chance before. What a wonderful, rich and varied life and you have seen and lived in so many lovely parts of America.

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    1. Thank you for your kind response, Annika. I feel very fortunate for all the experiences of life, including the challenges, which have been considerable, and the joys, which have been many! All are learning opportunities!
      I have been retired for over ten years, and have found many new opportunities and satisfactions. There is still a lot on my bucket list! ❤ I would like to hear more about your life. You seem to be surrounded by both history and natural beauty. All the best!

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      1. Cheryl, a life blessed with joys, challenges met and conquered, surrounded by love is a perfect and blessed life!

        I not only went to one but two universities, as well as a couple in Germany! Then I headed into journalism before severe illness forced me to take a break and later rejoined the working world within the timber trade! I loved my new job which also involved travel abroad and in the U.K. Along the way I met my husband and every summer seemed to be a new major event for a while, engagement, wedding, pregnant and finally our son was born. At that moment a new whole life began! My writing has involved the publication of two books, one short story collection and a children’s book! A novel awaits the final edits!I came to blogging via a writing course and never could have guessed the positive impact it would have on my life and the friends I would make along the way! Lovely to have met you here!

        Sorry for rambling on … a relaxing evening … and yes, I am blessed to be surrounded by nature (could never imagine living in a town!) and being England luckily surrounded by history at every turn!

        Enjoy your bucket list activities and keep adding to it! Xx

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  8. I loved reading your bio and finding out that in addition to single-parenthood, we also share being minister’s daughters. My dad was a Presbyterian pastor. Nice to meet you, Cheryl!

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    1. That is very kind of you to say, Yume. My books are self-published, and I have lost a lot of money on them. I think that is the experience of the majority of authors. I have enjoyed writing and blogging with other writers, and part of the reason I write is to leave something behind, especially for my family. You may be one of the lucky ones, but be careful how much you invest. Best of luck to you! ❤

      I am sorry you didn.t receive this message earlier. I had posted it incorrectly! I hope all is well with you. 🙂

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  14. Congratulations on realizing your publishing dream!! I’ve been writing all my life (have had numerous WP blogs since 2011)–but I’m still waiting for Courage to kick in, so I can commit to dream of publication. Blessings to you!!

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    1. Thank you, Leyde, for your kind comment. My books are self-published. If you ever decide to go that route, do carefully compare companies. It can become very costly, and not all companies are reputable. Please email me on my contact form if you want to discuss this. All the best!

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      1. Thanks much, Cheryl! I’ll keep you in mind for when/if I decide to self-publish–that’s a great help. A fabulous blog poet, who has since passed away–posted a guide to self-publishing, and he published a goodly number of his poetry volumes. If I recall correctly he used “Create Space”. Anyway, I’m bookmarking your site for future reference. Thanks again!!

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  15. Has anyone ever told you that you have a very becoming smile? Friendly and genuine. I love your smile.
    Thanks for being such a beautiful person and lovely friend to me, dear Cheryl.
    I will need to purchase one of your books. And I will. You have so many. Where to begin ?! Perhaps the one about love and relationships?! Mmmn. 👏

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    1. I promise you that all my books are non-scandalous, Selma, and all are available as ebooks on Amazon. Thank you for your beautiful comment. It is my pleasure getting to know you through your splendid work . ❤

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  16. Your rich life experience, travel and adventure is truly what brings richness and depth to your poetry and writing, Cheryl. Your passion for living, zest for life, love of your family and humanity make the world a better place with your wisdom and kind heart. I am honored and blessed to know you through your blog and consider you to be an astute teacher in living life to the fullest and taking life as it comes and standing in your power.

    Blessed are all of those that read and know you!

    ❤️
    Cindy

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    1. Thank you so much, Cindy, for your very generous response. I will have to work very hard to live up to those kind words! ❤ Knowing you, Cindy, enriches my life. One thing I especially like about WordPress is the opportunities bloggers have to learn from each other, and I have learned a lot from you! 🙂

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