This PROMPT is based on one I wrote in 2008. As I said then:
“I think this started as a meme. I’ve read several outstanding versions of it over the last year, and I thought I’d like to offer it as a PROMPTuesday, so…
I am.
This week, tell us who you are, what’s inside, where you’re from. Share your memory fragments, those visions in your head, those figments that make you, you. What bits and pieces formed your whole? Are you whole? Tell us.
The original meme asked for the basic “I am from” format below, so let’s keep it like that. And if you know the person who created this meme in the first place, tell them thanks for me. I think it’s powerful.
Here’s mine:
I am from fjords and potatoes.
I am from bunny cakes and Lay’s tuna casserole.
I am from wood-paneled station wagons and Helen Reddy 8-tracks.
I am from running in Wisconsin woods and climbing trees, from rolling in grass with sappy fingers.
I am from twilight in cul de sacs and marinas, from Ghosts in the Graveyard, from falling on glass.
I am from tended field and strawberry rhubarb picked for pie.
I am from airplanes and mountain roads, from asphalt and pine.
I am from backyard barbecues, rusty swingsets and August rain.
I am from plaid skirts, bowling trophies and wooden rulers.
I am from metal pie tins, lefse, and spritz.
I am from bawdy women, from rouge smeared by tears.
I am from pulling fingers for farts.
I am from squeaky bar stools, beer in cans, and Wurlitzer jukeboxes.
I am from a canopy bed in green chiffon.
I am from Styx’s Paradise Theater and Rick Springfield’s Working Class Dog.
I am from Doctor Demento and Svengali. From UHF and antennas.
I am from sailboat races, toboggans and haunted houses.
I am from onionskin Bibles in gold leaf, corniced Grandfather clocks, and silver dollars saved in shoeboxes, for when it rains.
Looking forward to this! Meanwhile, check out the PROMPTuesday archives here.”
That was THEN. For TODAY’S PROMPTuesday, I’d like to riff on this idea. Don’t write where you’ve been, write where you are. You can still use the “I am…” format but make it reflective of who you are TODAY.
If you would, post your submission in the comments OR post in your blog and leave a link to your blog in the comments.
First time to PROMPTuesday? Read a bit about it here. Want to see what’s been written in the past? Catch up on the PROMPTuesdays archive here.
Oh, I really wanted to just re-post my one from 2009. Damn, you’re gonna make me work again.
I am a new begninning.
I am a hard headed, no bars hold chick.
I am vitamins and organic vegatables.
I am pinks, reds and lavendar.
I am bubble baths and candles.
I am pest control and trucks.
I am loud but very quiet.
I am desert and artifical turf.
I am a mother who never gave birth.
I am a daughter and sister.
I am a wife to a patient man.
I am impatience at its worst.
I am books, libraries, writing and “alone time”.
I am a racer in a world of time slips and race fuel.
I am a cook when I feel like it and willing to starve when I don’t wanna.
I am gluten free.
I am a giver and a friend.
I am a bad forgiver.
I am bleach blonde, blue eyed and easy to burn.
I am a DIY’er.
I am happy.
I am fulfilled.
I am what I am.
But I’m from fjords too. I would start mine…
I am from fjords and fairy tales.
I must think. A strange concept!
Thank you for this prompt! I love this. I’ll post mine in the morning.
I am from changing diapers when all the poop runs up their back…
I am from trying daily to find the 7th and 8th hand that I just know I must have…doesn’t everybody….?…I actually keep hoping there’s a 9th and a 10th….
I am from loving them unconditionally to wanting to strangle them at a moments notice…
I am from Peter Pan DVDs on New Years Eve while we eat popcorn in our sleeping bags…and get this…IN the LIVING ROOM….!!!!!!!!!!!…NOT kidding here…!!!!!!
I am from relishing in their innocents as they NEVER FAIL to TOTALLY inspire me
Just by ‘being present’…
I am from giving them 80 time outs in one single day and they still cry when it’s time to go home…..
I am from the 30 at least RANDOM hugs to my back and/or front and kisses on my lips on a daily basis because they feel I have a clue as to ‘what may be fun to do next’…..and I am definitely from ALL of the random ‘I LOVE YOU’s” throughout the day…just because that’s what we like to tell each other….
I am from spaghetti sauce faces and snotty noses…
Screaming chairs and time outs…
I am from saying goodbye and letting them go…praying for them, always praying….
I am from moving on to the next challenge because there is always someone ready for what I have to share…
I am from the LOVE OF CHILDREN….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And…I’m NOT afraid…!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cool.
I am flat, comfortable shoes and rubber boots.
I am buried in boys, Legos, crumbs, laundry and paperwork.
I am a black belt with a green thumb.
I am grounded, earthy, silly and quiet.
I am wool yarn rolled in a ball.
I am half-written pages.
I am rich coffee, loud laughter, scraped knees, stewed tomatoes.
I am cleansed by grace.
I am soaked in love.
Thanks Deb!
I posted mine over on my blog:
http://notonmyownunderstanding.blogspot.com/
Loved this. Did it. Yay! http://www.mom-zombie.com/2011/02/i-am/
http://www.3kidsandabreakdown.com/2011/02/08/i-am/
This turned into a beautiful way to look at myself in the abstract. Thanks for posting this one!
Wow. That’s all I got.
So powerful, all.
Thanks for playing.
I am a jar that can be filled with glitter… or seashells… or wishing pennies.
I am a girl swinging higher and higher… toes touching the clouds… smelling the fresh cut grass.
I am climbing trees… dancing on beds… skating on sidewalks.
I am splashing… jumping… skipping… running.
I am too young to know.
I am too filled with joy to hurt.
I am happy.
Oh, this is hard work..
I am a girl with pigtails and red ribbons
I am a girl that loves to dream big and watch the clouds sail by
I am a girl that tells it like it is
I am the girl always smiling and laughing
I am a shopper of many things
I am the girl with way too many dresses and no parties to go to
I am the girl that has many friends but then none when I need them
I am the girl that loves to be the Mama to all
I am just a girl in the big, big world of many!
XOXO, Great prompt Deb!
oh, i love this. mine will be up tomorrow.
You are from awesome. I am from too tired to do this tonight but will put it on a list of memes to try – like a good apple pie, when my appetite is renewed!
I am all the pills on the countertop every morning
I am the phone calls to friends seeking advice and console
I am all at once proud and sad
I am on a never ending emotional rollercoaster
I am muscles
I am sweat
I am weights and mirrors, water and mats
I am a mother
I am guilt, I am a lover of laughter
I am better in the company of others
I am a coach
I am a the listener on the other end of the line hoping she is making a difference
I am a writer and a believer in my talents
I am stubborn and forgiving, a dreamer
I am a girl who just when she thinks she knows everything realizes she is just even more confused.