Upon looking back on one’s life, one might marvel at how he (or she) survived certain events. For instance, one’s 46-year-old self may wonder why his (or her) 18-year-old version got into a Tijuana stranger’s car at 2AM in a drunken bid to get back to the U.S. before curfew. Or a person may rethink…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesdays
PROMPTuesday #237: Regretful
In 2008 I “launched” PROMPTuesday, a series of weekly creative writing prompts designed to stoke the writing fire. The whole idea was to get me – and whoever read my blog – writing without the mind weight of perfection, judgment, or inner criticism. As I wrote back then, my intention was to encourage…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #236: Back to Spooky
It’s my favorite time of year: spooky movie season. I troll the Lifetime network and the Chiller channel obsessively from October 1 through Halloween, hoping to happen upon a cheesy, ghosty, scary show I can tuck into with full abandon. Even better is when I’m in bed, the lights are off, and everyone…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #235: The Songs
We’d been waiting for the new parish center for years. Father Duffy brought its construction up at every mass and the fundraising was epic, as were the sales pitches: the auditorium would double as a roller skating rink, the young adult groups would have a place to meet, offices would be expanded allowing St. Mary’s…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #234: The Road
I wrote this before, but am including it now – again – because I’m on a road. Slowly, inexorably putting one foot in front of the other, but there it is: a a foot and then another. For the on and on. And so today’s writing prompt is: write about your road. What stretch…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #233: Tell Your Story
“I don’t think you love me!” She twisted and turned and flailed in her bed. She was tired, I knew that much, and a touch sensitive that day, but here it was again: questioning our devotion. Many times I respond with irritation as if it should be obvious – of course we love you,…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #232: Facing the Fear
I’ve done an informal observation of the first few weeks of 2014, and have noticed many people moving past their old beliefs of themselves and pushing the boundaries. This might mean returning to the core of who they are, or fighting beyond self-imposed restrictions and self-limiting perceptions that keep them tied to the same old…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #231: My Weird Quirks
It occurred to me the other day as I was triple-checking the locked status of every door in my house, that I have a series of mild OCD routines that may or may not be big-time OCD routines. I don’t particularly get freaky if I can’t perform these little “quirks,” but I just thought about…Continue Reading
PromptTuesday #230: The Surprise
I’d always been the youngest person in my grade, which didn’t particularly bother me until I made it to college. I transferred to a four-year liberal arts university halfway through my sophomore year, and by then everyone was well on their way to 21 (or had a fake ID). Most of the time, I…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #229: Slow it Down
I spent some time over Thanksgiving in dark rooms with candles trying to calm my head. There’s something about the flickering light that my brain waves try to emulate, which ends up slowing us both down. Overall, I find myself withdrawing more to the quiet to shut out all sound and time demands. I…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #228: The Job Interview
The human resources manager tried to warn me in a roundabout, politically correct fashion that the woman who was about to interview me for a public relations position was structured and by the book. I took the news with a grain of salt because by that time, I’d been interviewing for two months and…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #227: Fall Favorites
My guilty pleasure is reading what other people use and love, pretending I can buy everything they recommend, adding it all to my virtual shopping cart, leaving it there, and then suffering through endless reminder emails like, “San Diego Momma! We noticed that everything Sephora sells is still waiting for checkout” and “This is Anthropologie.…Continue Reading
