Wordstew entry; 11/14/11

Challenge: STEW ON THIS for Tuesday, November 14, 2011: “On a bad day, I have mood swings - but on a good day, I have the whole mood playground.” Charles Rosenblum. Write up to 50 words about moods.

A contagion
Bad moods spread
(has the mood struck you?)

Sharp words cut
Another day shattered
(has the mood struck you?)

One child laughs
Day looks brighter
(has the mood struck you?)

Strangers exchange smiles
Good moods spread
(has the mood struck you?)

Wordstew entry; 11/18/11

Challenge: “At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing where we all keep our distance and pretend not to care about each other, it's usually a load of bull. So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to, and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stick close by. No matter how much we hurt them.” --Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy
Finish your own “At the end of the day” short paragraph…

Entry #1:  At the end of the day, I want to know that: I loved with all my heart, meant everything I said, tried my best, helped those that I could and prayed for those that I couldn't, laughed at least once, cherished every moment, spent only what I could afford, thought before I spoke, hugged the ones I loved - and that I have no regrets.

Entry #2: At the end of the day, he would come home smelling like cows and trailing hay chaff all over the kitchen floor. He would sit down with us at the table to eat dinner, and then sometimes leave again to milk cows or to plant/harvest as many crops as he could while the nice weather held. During the autumn, there were many times that he went out to chop and stack wood so that we would stay warm during the winter. Sometimes after dinner he would hijack the television to watch sports; I would get SO angry if I was watching something! I didn’t understand then how hard he worked to support our family and that he had earned that TV time. He missed some of my plays, talent shows, volleyball games, and parent - teacher conferences. But, at the end of the day, he taught me that hard work is rewarding, and that love sometimes means sacrificing some things because there are other things that need to be done. He taught me that unconditional love is important, and so is a sense of humor. My dad taught me many things; some of which I didn’t fully appreciate at the time. At the end of the day, I thank God for giving me such a wonderful, intelligent, funny, kind, and generous dad.

Wordstew entry; 11/21/11

Challenge: "Most of us feel uncomfortable thinking of ourselves as artists, but we are. We think artists write novels, paint pictures, choreograph ballets, act on Broadway, throw pots, shoot feature films, dress in black, and line their eyes with kohl. But each of us is an artist. An artist is merely someone with good listening skills who accesses the creative energy of the Universe to bring forth something in the material plane that wasn't here before." Sarah Ban Breathnach. How are your listening skills?

Entry #1:  Listening to words is easy. It is listening to the silence between the words that is difficult. If you are listening to that silence, you may find that the co-worker who always seems happy and carefree is actually putting on a front to mask their pain. Your mother or father, who tells you that it’s just a little pain, nothing to worry about, may need to see a doctor. The friend that is laughing about the trials of parenting may need your shoulder to cry on. People don’t always say what really needs to be said. That is why the best listeners are the ones who listen to the silence, to the pause, to the tone of the voice, to the facial expressions; not only to the words being spoken.

Entry #2:  Sitting on the beach, the writer and the pianist were arguing about where inspiration comes from. The writer said inspiration has to come from years of life experiences. The pianist said that inspiration comes only with hard work and a lot of concentration. Their conversation was interrupted by their 8 year old son, who was sitting a few feet away from them. They went over to see what he wanted, and he proudly pointed to what he had created in the sand with a large stick. It was a picture of three stick figures, and they were labeled “Mom”, “Dad”, and “Tyler”.

“I was listening to the waves and the birds,” he said, “and it made me happy, so I drew this for you.”

Just listen – inspiration is everywhere around you.

Wordstew entry; 11/22/11

Challenge: Just in time for family gatherings: Give us a practical tip for successful negotiating.

To resolve an argument:

Between you and your religious grandparents: Threaten to join a cult.

With your husband: Block the sports channels when he is not looking. If this doesn’t work, withhold sex.

With your wife: Make a romantic dinner and then do the dishes.

With your child under the age of 8: Remind them that Santa is watching.

With your child age 9 – 13: Threaten to walk them to school and to their first class dressed in your bathrobe.

With your child age 14 – 16: Threaten to make them wait an extra 6 months before letting them try for their driver’s license.

With your child age 17 – 18: If it’s not illegal and they have a good chance of leaving for college soon, just let it go.

Between cats: Water gun.

Between your parents and your in-laws (if you have children): Threaten to not let them see the grandchildren. (Especially useful if you have an infant)

Between your parents and your in-laws (if you have no children): Threaten to never have children.

Between miscellaneous annoying relatives who are staying at your home for the holidays: Put the litter box in their bedroom. If this doesn’t work, plug up your toilet and tell them they might be more comfortable at a hotel. If this doesn’t work, wait until they leave and move. Do not give a forwarding address.

Wordstew entry; 11/23/11

Challenge: Share a memory of the holidays (any holiday).

My dad’s parents live on the farm just up the road from my parents; my grandfather and my father farmed together. When we were kids, we all went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house on Christmas Eve to eat and open gifts, and to listen in on the adults gossiping. Like most children, we were anxious to start opening the gifts, and there was always a large pile of them under Grandma’s tree – very large. They looked so beautiful under that tree, with their shiny bows and ribbons! We would try to get in there and peek at the tags, but there was usually an adult passing by to remind us to wait.

After playing with the pool table in the basement, and eating as much as we could get away with, we would begin to get bored - but we couldn’t open the gifts until Dad and Grandpa were done milking the cows. Hearing Grandpa coming down the cellar stairs into the basement was the first sign that gift opening would be starting soon – but we still had to wait for my dad. All of us kids would crowd around the bay window that looked straight over to my parent’s house. It seemed to take forever before the light in our house went off, and Dad, FINALLY done with his shower, would head back. We grew more excited as the headlights on my dad’s truck grew bigger, and we would start dragging the adults into the sitting room. That was no easy task either! Then the arguments about who got to hand out the gifts would begin, until Grandma would finally assign someone to that cherished position. We would start out opening gifts one at a time, but it inevitably became a free for all.

Wrapping paper flying, parents reminding kids to read the cards first and to say thank you, the tree all lit up, the smell of my mom’s famous meatballs stirring the air; I loved it all. Grandma and Grandpa would open their gifts last, and then it was time to help clean up and get ready to go home. Our family still gets together on Christmas Eve, but we now go to my cousin’s house, and it’s just not the same. I miss Christmas Eve at “the farm”, and I always will.

Wordstew entry; 12/1/11

Challenge: Finish this sentence: “It was truly unfortunate that Beauregard…”.

It was truly unfortunate that Beauregard was born into a family that had a tradition of giving the name Beauregard to the first born child; she was teased relentlessly throughout her childhood.

Wordstew entry; 12/2/11

Challenge: Write a FOUR-LINE poem about something simple- even obscure – that you take for granted every day. Something that, in truth, adds much to your life…

Only seen on cold winter days
As frost from my lips, fog on my glasses
Air keeps me breathing
Inhale deeply and slowly to calm frayed nerves