Tales Left Behind (8/4/13)

We all grow up,

We all grow old.

We have stories to tell,

Until they're all told.

The places we've been,

The places we've gone.

The people we've met,

And the ones who pass on.

It goes by so fast,

You try to hold tight.

It slips through your fingers,

And slips out of sight.

So love while you can.

Remember, be kind!

And you'll always live on,

In tales left behind.

8/4/13 TLA

My comments, because comments don't work on my phone

Tam, I just want to say thanks for being such a great support. It means the world that someone reads my scribblings, misplaced commas and all. The words/theme of day ideas were thought up at the beginning of this year as a way to motivate me to write. My chief excuse is always lack of time, due to Riv and Z being so young. So, with that, this friend and I got the idea that every morning, she would send something, an idea or word or phrase, and by the end of the day, I'd produce something. It worked great for awhile. 

I never have the space to get on the home computer or even laptop. Many days, it's difficult enough to even use my own phone. BUT there's usually a moment or two, when I wear them out, usually in their car seats-when I can hit the drive through coffee, and create-and at that-almost always on my notes on the iPhone. So, the raw "scribblings" are almost always copied and pasted straight from notes to Blogsopt. Yeah, I know I should take time to develop and polish, but right now, I just don't have that time. I'm so grateful you guys put up with this.

Also, regarding Benny... Someone just brought up the vulgarity. On that I will say, sometimes I get a story in my head, and the characters just speak directly to me and they are sometimes vulgar. I'm grateful for that and I just go with it. I hope I don't offend anyone. Or maybe it's just me who's rowdy and vulgar. In the spirit of self acceptance-yay to being rowdy and vulgar.

It's my hope we get even more participants and that eventually we can speed up the flow to the point where we are throwing out themes daily again. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have friends reading and sometimes even liking my writing. This is all kicking my butt and motivating me to develop characters even more and who knows, maybe I'll even publish one day. Honestly, sometimes my life is so weird and whacky, I'm sure it shows, like a lot of people, I struggle with feelings of worthiness- suffer from poor time management, etc. Getting over THAT is why I started this blog.

I love what you write too and love that you are writing. 

The wedding today went well! If anything, I do write great wedding ceremonies. 

Like a child before their own birthday, I'm up late celebrating my beautiful River turning 2! Both my children are a gift and I'm thrilled with what amazing teachers they are, and how much joy they bring, even if I only have time to write with my poor tired thumbs on the phone. Huzzah!

Your Feet

Your precious

Little monkey feet

Tickle my ribs 

As we fall fast asleep

Your spun sugar

Baby hair

Caresses my cheek

Makes me aware

That life has

Many reasons why

Other plans we make

May go awry 

There's no greater love

Than from a mamas boy

No other path

Could have brought this joy

Happy 2 Years, my River

Fresh Scents

(This one was written on Feb. 6-again with the theme/word of the day theme. Forgive me for posting an older one. I hope, still to write at least something short on or by Sunday, but I'm crazy busy with a wedding and prepping for the big bday party...)

Fresh Scents

(Word/Theme of Day Feb. 6, 2013)

Lucy silently smiled to herself. Turning 88 in such a world, was a true feat, one she had never wanted. It would have been better for her to go with the others, all those years ago, when the sky went dark for a long, long time. Were it not for little Juliette, she would have purposely joined the others in the here after, the great nothing, or whatever happens when we die. The bond between the old woman, and her granddaughter was strong, and even stronger, when she was all the little girl had left. Her parents, killed instantly in the impact, had often left Juliette with her grandmother while they traveled for work.  When it was clear they were dead, Juliette did not weep. They wept more for the loss of the flowers, the animals, and the innocence of the life they once knew. They were grateful Grandpa Charley did not live to see the apocalypse. They remembered him, smiling, smoking cigars, working with leather goods in his tool shed. Those were truly good days. Lucy, always digging in her flower garden, while Juliette munched freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, asking questions about the newest exotic location of her parents travels.

Just 5 years before the explosions, Cancer took Grandpa Charley. Right before he passed away, he said to Juliette:

"Make sure you look after your Grandma. Know that I love you, and I'm always with you and she. One day, we will all be together again. Time is nothing on the other side. Believe."

The darkness fell unexpectedly. Thanks to their connections, they didn't have to fight as hard as others to survive. An ugliness fell upon the world. Fear, death and desperation threatened everything.  Thanks to elaborate tunnels and shelters, meant only for the elite, they made it through two decades underground.  Eventually it was time to rebuild the surface. 

Juliette thrived in the gray, lifeless world, while Lucy looked after her. Eventually Juliette married a well connected scientist, much like the father she had hardly known. It pained her to know she was the reason her Grandmother didn't take the death pills, like so many others.  At the same time, she was grateful her grandmother had sacrificed quick entry into a better world out of love for her.  Eventually, it also pained Juliette to see her proud grandmother, a woman who had seen her through the horrors of the end of world, decline in health because of age. Memories and functions faded as the thought of Lucy's dementia terrified them both.

Lucy did, in fact, decline suicide in order to look after Juliette. She also believed it would be better to wait for other reasons. It was Juliette, herself who invented Fresh Scents. And the two decided, once the process was perfected, Lucy should be the first to try it. 

The secret laboratory looked the same as every other hanger in the government compound. As she walked inside, dressed in her finest clothes, she marveled at the recreation of her old garden. She was so proud Juliette had discovered how to make things grow once more, even if they only survived for a short time. Juliette opened a bottle of 1929  Chateau Margaux, in honor of the occasion. Lucy took a sip, set down the glass, and held Juliette in a tight embrace.

"Thank you for my birthday present."

Juliette's eyes filled. "I love you, Grandma."

As Lucy laid down in the chamber, the Fresh Scents mask was placed over her face. First the smell of dirt and cotton growing in the fields; running in the sunshine. The smell of her mother's freshly laundered aprons, warm lazy days in a beautiful world. Freshly baked cookies. The smell of sweat, a distinct smell, the smell of her first and only love: Charles. Aroma of Champagne and wedding cake, the smell of hospital - Avery's birth. The smell of hospital, Avery's daughter, Juliette's birth. The smell of babies, of love, pure love. Lilacs and Daffodils in her own garden. The smell of her precious Juliette's long hair shining in the long forgotten sun. All beautiful smells, wafted in and out, restoring all that was lost. Finally, the smell of leather and tobacco. The mask filled the chamber. 

"Charley! Charley my love! I'm finally here!"

Charley pushed through the light, grabbed Lucy and pulled her to his center. She smiled once again as he whispered, "Time and space, are nothing to Lovers. Welcome home."

The Shadows 8/1/13 (Birthday Theme)

Add a candle every year.

With each candle comes the fear,

Waiting for the shadows to appear,

Holding on to all that is dear.

The shadows start dancing upon the wall.

Every year you can hear their call,

Now so big; they once were so small,

Too many now to count them all.

When you notice the first it's already begun.

The shadows, they come at you, one by one.

Once they're there they can't be undone,

Eventually you'll find that the shadows have won.

But until that time the candles you light,

Trying to make it through another night,

Telling yourself it will all be alright,

Fighting the shadows with all of your might.

Then the shadows whisper in your ear,

Telling you all that you've longed to hear,

So many candles and so many years,

You know now you're ready for the end to be near.

You hold out your hand; you'll do this with grace,

And with everything you muster a smile for your face,

You realize you're finally done with this place,

Then you lay forever in the shadow's sweet embrace.

8/1/13 TLA

This week theme: birthdays!

Thinking about birthdays! On Sunday, our River will be 2! So let's write anything and everything about birthdays. I'm floored its already been 2 years. I'm thinking a lot about life and mine, the precious lives I've brought into this world, and birthdays in general. Be creative with BIRTHDAYS!

Lost (7/31/13)

Just because they never grew,

Because they were lost when they were new,

Almost before you even knew,

Doesn't less the pain you had to go through.

It doesn't take the pain away,

And your heart will never be okay,

Although you hide it away each day,

It's the pain that will always stay.

You always wonder what could have been,

If it had not ended so quickly within,

Really before it could even begin,

You lost it all to your chagrin.

So you keep it hidden away inside,

With time the pain only slightly subsides,

Buried deep, it lives where it hides,

Close to your heart where it forever resides.

7/31/13 TLA