Sunday Scribblings – where you live

Assignment: Write the story of why you moved to the place where you currently live.

Once upon a time --- a v-e-r-y- l-o-n-g- time ago - I moved from a large house in the country to a small house in the city. The small house sat on a small yard next to many other small houses – In a BIG CITY. It had small rooms – which was good because I was very busy and did not have much time to spend in the little house. On the few days when I did have time to sit down and think, I missed my house in the country.

Time passed – as it always will. Many things happened – both good and ill.

Suddenly things happened - lots and lots of things happened - I could not stay in the little house in the BIG CITY – I had to move….

I needed clean air. Yes – clean air! No more pollution – no more mold, no more smog and most of all --- no more “Petro-chemicals.”

Where would I go? Where could I go?

I made a list: trees, flowers, birds, peace and quiet and of course – no more “petro-chemicals.” I worked on the list some more - I wanted a place where I could watch the animals as they passed by, where I could watch the birds build their nests and their babies hatch, a place where I could sit and watch the grass grow.

Well you know how these stories go-
The knights went out --- oops, guess not ----
We looked, friends looked, even strangers looked… and one day… a friend said “come and look.”

We looked – and we found a little house, high on a hill above a river. A little house in a BIG WOODS. Pine trees, hemlock trees, maple trees, oak trees, aspen trees --- trees and more trees. All around the house were tracks – turkey tracks, deer tracks, squirrel tracks and even bear tracks. The little house was sitting in the middle of the clearing, waiting for someone just like me.

And we lived happily ever after.
The end or at least until the next chapter

Participate in The Inspired Pen

Share your version of In Otter Space's creativity exercise "What Did you Want to Be When You Grew Up?" leave your link in the comments We'll publish the links here at The Inspired Pen for people to follow and read.

What Do I want to be when I grow up

What do you want to be when you grow up--- In response to Lisa's prompt

Wow – I keep telling myself that I have to get this figured out.

I used to say I would deal with choosing a career when my children got old enough to go to school. By the time they were all in school, I was busy working as a program director, teaching alternative dispute resolution and too busy to think about things such as --- What would I like to be …?

My children got older; they went away to college, even got married…. Now I was busier than ever… moved across the country and said “Now is the time to deal with my dreams.” Got a job offer that sounded interesting – working with an agency that provided services during disasters… soon my life was again so filled that there was little time except to fall into bed and dream of vacation or a boring office job :)

On the rarer occasions - when time allowed - I thought of going back to college. Perhaps I would get a degree in counseling, or a less stressful job in something like computer graphics….

Time kept passing … another move and suddenly I was directing another program…. Busier than I had dreamed was possible. Now my grandchildren were in school. My children were making career changes. Thoughts of retirement kept flashing through my head; I actually worked through some guidance material and …

Suddenly – I was retired. All the dreams had melted into the holes in the ozone layer.
I have time; I write, I sketch, I take photographs and I am learning computer graphics.
So – the dreams are becoming a reality at last.

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow-Up?

Try this...use the phrase "What did you want to be when you grew-up?" and sprint with pen and paper for ten minutes. Don't edit it, just let it flow, let it be.
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Here is In Otter Space's ten minute sprint.......
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Remember when you were little and the third question every new adult you were introduced to asked, "What do you want to be when you grow-up?"

I wanted to be a teacher. I thought maybe I'd teach during the day and write novels at night. It sounded like a great plan. Just to show how serious I was about writing I kept a spiral notebook handy and wrote stories all the time. Even when I should have been paying attention in Geometry class.

I'm grown-up and officially not a teacher or a writer. And I really stink at Geometry. I have three kids and through them I certainly have done my share of teaching. I'm a writer, but not the type I thought I'd be at this point in my life. I do write daily in my morning pages. I also keep another blog where I make a daily post about different people I have known in my life. Since I'm 43, the limit for me is 43 words each day. That is a challenge! Some days my words flow like a Spring river, then other days my words get choked like a trickle of water in the desert. I keep writing though, come rain or shine, writer's block or writer's feast.

I even had an article published in the little local paper a few weeks back. Hooray for me to finally make this late blooming transformation.

But where am I going with any of this? Is this it? Is this as good as it is going to get for me? At some point as adults we must learn to settle, realizing we aren't going to be the next Great Creative to hit the big time. Most of the time I'm content with where I am at, but once in a while I wish for more. I wish I could push my talent a bit further and shine like the bright star I thought I was going to be when I was little.

What do you want to be when you grow-up? What are you doing to keep your dreams alive?

Ready- Set- SPRINT!!!

Chocolate

Chocolate

There is something about the word
even the thought
that causes my eyes
to crinkle in a smile
and my lips to respond
with delight.

Actually ---
it in not the chocolate
that I love –
but the
sugar!
How well I remember
As a child,
reaching into the drawer
where mother kept
the chocolate.

Breaking off a small corner
with great anticipation
I slipped it into my mouth ---
Ah ---- UG!
Bitter!

So you see ---
while thoughts of
chocolate
fill me with anticipation
It is not
the chocolate
that I love
but the
Sugar
April 22, 2006

You will want to check out harmony's photos at flikr - be certain to read the photo descriptions.
Sunday Scribblings

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