Of course, she thought
Of course I can write emails
And articles
And stories
And reflections
And journal entries
Of course, she thought,
There’s something to be said
For prosaic expression:
Tamed thoughts
Herded words
In nice neat lines
In nice neat columns
Of nice neat paragraphs
And of course, she thought
There comes a point
When words need to spill
Into whatever shape
Or form
Or style
They demand
And it is only then, she thought
With an exhale
That she is
Most
At
Home.
A while back, I was looking for a word to describe the relationships that I have with the writers I’ve gotten to know online through the March story challenge. I wanted a word that accurately captured the synergy I feel with so many of you.
And when I’m looking for a word that fits exactly what I want to say, I go to the thesaurus with a word that doesn’t work, but will maybe lead me there. I’m very picky when it comes to using the thesaurus. It’s like, I can’t think of the exact word that escapes me, but I’ll know it when I see it. I’ll come across the word, and it will fit like that last piece in the jigsaw puzzle, the one I can place with a sigh of relief.
So I started just with the word people. Not surprisingly, I didn’t find the word that fit the shade of meaning I was going for, the sense of friendship and belonging.
Person, maybe? No, that was even worse than the first one.
Maybe comrade would do the job? Was that what I was searching for? Eh, in the right ballpark. So maybe I meant compadre, which then led me to two heads thinking as one another – which, when you think about it, is an interesting place to end up.
Two heads thinking as one another. Heads, hearts, souls, separate but traveling in similar directions.
How many times have I read a post and seen myself in someone else’s words? How many times do I read words and wish I had been the one to write them? How many times have I felt validated and affirmed through the experience of others?
Two heads thinking as one another. Compadres. Co-conspirators. Synergy. Whatever you call it, I’m grateful for all of you I’ve had the chance to get to know, or get to know better, through your writing this month.
As for me, you’ll catch me right back here tomorrow, forging ahead for poetry month. Hope to see you soon!
Interested in learning more about the March Slice of Life Challenge, or wanting to read more great posts? Head over to the Two Writing Teachers site!
Well, it finally happened.
After six years of wearing my absolute favorite shirt on the planet, I put it on for an afternoon workout, only to discover a giant hole right under the arm.
I don’t even know how it happened. I wore it last week. Was that hole there last week? I mean, I would have put it on groggy and in the dark at 5 am, but I think I would have noticed, or at least felt a breeze.
This shirt was there for me in my first fitness competition.
This shirt was there for me when I was learning how to do pull-ups.
This shirt came along strong for the Women’s March in Chicago.
I hung out with great people in this shirt.
This shirt helped me pay tribute to my dear departed niece.
The one bright spot in all of this is that the store I bought my t-shirt from still sells them, and I have already ordered a new one to replace it. Yes, my floor has dog hair dust bunnies on it. Yes, I’m overdue for a dental cleaning. Yes, it has been a horrifically long time since my last haircut. But this t-shirt is on its way.
Priorities, people.
Interested in learning more about the March Slice of Life Challenge, or wanting to read more great posts? Head over to the Two Writing Teachers site!
NOTE TO SELF: Lainie, when you come across someone’s post that you want to try out, remember to note whose blog you found it on so that you can easily give them credit and you don’t spend a random half hour looking for a link.
All right, friends. Ideally, I’d link you up with my inspiring author -here,- but seeing as I must have been too preoccupied at the time, I’m unable. Just know, whoever you are, that you challenged me and made me smile.
My post for today comes from a poetry prompt from none other than Naomi Shihab Nye. The original poster looked at them and wrote a poem in 5 minutes. I’ll attempt to do the same, and you’re invited to do so, as well!
1. What do you do first when you get home
2. How have you used your home differently (Covid years)
3. What would you ask your house?
4. What would you tell your house?
5. Look out a window from your home and write 5 things you see.
6. Make a comparison (any comparison)
Here I go…
I’m home! I’m home! I’m home!
I shout,
Shoes off, backpack to the side,
Arms full of dog ears
And butts
And tails
As they get their sniffs
And wags
Home now
Hasn’t much changed, it is
Still
Refuge, shelter,
The place I am
Most comfortable,
Happiest
House, what do you need?
What parts do you wish I’d
Spend more time on,
Spend more time in
Love on
Just a little more?
House,
I can feel my way around you
By heart
There’s so much I know of you
By heart
Just look out your window
Can you see it?
The black walnut tree,
The stacked firewood,
The aging deck,
The old watering can,
The herb garden, brown.
Maybe…maybe you need more love.
Maybe you’re just like
Those dogs,
Wanting, needing
Requiring, demanding
Attention as
Needed and necessary,
Asking me to take care of you,
So you can take care of me.
Well. There it is. I have a feeling I’m going to come back and work craft on this one, but the rules did say five minutes. So, I’ll go by that old chestnut: “Bless and release.”
Interested in learning more about the March Slice of Life Challenge, or wanting to read more great posts? Head over to the Two Writing Teachers site!
My One Little Word for this year was hard to come by. I went through a lot of thinking before I settled in on space: space to just be, space to figure out what exactly I wanted or needed for myself.
Well.
I’ve been taking space. I’ve had time on my couch with some flair pens and ideas batting back and forth.
I’ve taken space on long walks in pretty spaces.
I’ve taken space while I move big things.
I’ve taken space with people who ground me.
And all of that time, all of that space, has allowed me to discover my next One Little Word. I hoped it would be a revelation, that this One Little Word would point the way to what I need, what I want, where I’m supposed to be going in this life.
Yeah, no such luck.
Still, my new One Little Word fills me with the hope that yes, I just might be inching closer to figuring a few things out here and there. Because I’ve felt a shift within myself.
Shift.
That feeling when I’ve done the work, done the thinking, and while there hasn’t really been much change to me on the outside, I can feel that things are somehow different on the inside.
Could it be that I’m staring eye-to-eye at midlife, getting antsy? Maybe.
Is it possible I’m on the edge of something big and important? Yep.
Might I still have a whole long way to go? Ab. So. Lute. Ly.
For now, though, I’m going to feel and explore this shift. That is, ’til the next One Little Word comes around to tap me on the shoulder.
Interested in learning more about the March Slice of Life Challenge, or wanting to read more great posts? Head over to the Two Writing Teachers site!
It all started at 5:45 am, when my Fitbit buzzed me awake. It was the first of two alarms I set so I’d be sure to get up to bring my mom to the airport. For the record, I’m not a person who snoozes alarms, but I am a person who gets anxious about things like making flights on time. So two alarms it was.
But I digress.
I fumbled for my phone as I woke up. I pressed it awake along with me, but something happened. I’m not sure how I put my phone in the “app editing mode.” I’m doubly not sure how I completely eliminated the first full page of apps – all the folders, all of the icons…GONE.
I stared at the empty home screen and panicked. What if I had just deleted all of those apps off of my phone? A wave of panic rolled through the lower portion of my belly and up through my throat.
Thankfully, everything was still on my phone, just…invisible. Then, I discovered how I could drag apps back onto my home screen one at a time.
Friends, I took that as a sign from the universe. It’s possible, quite possible, that I need to spend less time interacting with that shiny object.
So I pared down my home screen to only include the most essential things I use. Anything else I want, I’ll have to search for.
Am I on to something?
Will this strategy break the tethers that bind me to my phone?
Am I fooling myself?
Will I say “phooey!” and put everything back on?
THAT remains to be seen…
Interested in learning more about the March Slice of Life Challenge, or wanting to read more great posts? Head over to the Two Writing Teachers site!
Zoom-
tethered,
across the
miles gathered,
a group of writers –
we found one another
I finally came to see
voices behind the author’s voice
the people who make words that make me
remember how good it is to connect
What fun I had yesterday at the Slicer Meet-Up! I had a great time chatting with some amazing fellow writers. Go swing by and visit Alice, Celia, Elisa, Melanie, Ona, Raivenne, and Vivian
Yes, yes, yes, yes, no, NO!, yes, yes, YES, yes, no
Yes, I stayed in my pajamas for most of today.
Yes, I changed out of said pajamas to walk the dog and back in again.
Yes, I baked hamantaschen with the rest of the filling I had in the fridge.
Yes, they were absolutely delicious.
No, I haven’t eaten any vegetables yet today.
No!, I don’t feel a single pang of guilt.
Yes, I’m beyond grateful for the privilege of doing nothing.
Yes, I’ll be ready to get moving again by the time school starts next week.
YES, I’m excited for the slicer meet-up tonight!
Yes, I’m having fun with this Slice structure.
No, I have nothing else in my brain to write. =))
Interested in learning more about the March Slice of Life Challenge, or wanting to read more great posts? Head over to the Two Writing Teachers site!
Last night I woke up and song lyrics came into my mind:
I hear the drizzle of the rain
Like a memory it falls
Soft and warm, continuing,
Tapping on my roof and walls
“Kathy’s Song.” Simon and Garfunkel. It was, for a time, my very favorite song. I taught myself to play it on guitar.
And from the shelter of my mind
Through the window of my eyes
I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets
To England where my heart lies.
Question is, why? I mean, it was raining when I woke up last night. And rain, I see, can get that song going in my head. But it took over my sleep. I spent the rest of the night in and out of dreams, drafting a blog post around those words. The rest of the night (and much of my day today) was centered around those lines. I had no idea what I was going to write today, only that I was compelled to shape it around a song I loved and left behind.
My mind’s distracted and diffused
My thoughts are many miles away
They lie with you when you’re asleep
And kiss you when you start your day.
So today, I knew that the only thing I’d be able to do was to set Simon’s words to the screen and see what would happen. I didn’t have any other choice. It’s almost as though the muse I had called for decided she was going to show up, unannounced, for her first day at work, regardless of whether or not I hired her. (She may or may not have also missed the memo about not waking me up.)
And the song that I was writing is left undone
I don’t know why I spend my time
Writing songs I can’t believe
With words that tear and strain to rhyme.
Oh. So.
Now I see it.
There’s a certain amount of heart that goes into writing, a measurable chunk of myself that deserves to be placed into all I do. If not, it’s probably not worth the effort. I’m also going to go out on a limb and guess the same holds true for everything I do.
Oh.
And so, you see, I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
Muse, 1. Lainie, 0.
Soapbox: The Way I see Things