My mom’s side of the family had a reunion planned for this weekend; then, one of my uncles died unexpectedly from a heart attack, 😦  so they arranged the funeral for the same weekend. It was a doubly joyful and sad occasion, but it was so nice to see cousins I haven’t seen since my brother’s funeral more than two years ago … and some even longer than that. I could have hugged them for hours! I thought that I would write this week’s poem about family reunions:

Gotta hug your neck —
Never enough time to chat!
Don’t be a stranger.

I dropped off the three little youngest boys at day camp today. No. 3 went last year, so he is the leader of the pack and has been telling Nos. 4 & 5 all about it for weeks. They were SO excited to get out of bed this morning and were ready to walk out the door a full 15 minutes before we needed to leave.

They are looking forward to a summer of swimming, field trips and plenty of play time. I’m looking forward to them being tuckered out when they get home! :p  In honor of their first morning at day camp, here is this week’s poem:

Hugs but no kisses –
You are big kids now; I know!
Growing up so fast

I waited for you
in the breeze of the shadows –
Even still, I wait.

I needed to clear my head today, so I found a bench in the shade and read a novel during lunch. Things feel like I’m at a crossroads right now – changes, uncertainty, all up in the air. I’m waiting to hear from God – to receive direction – yet, I also know that he gave me common sense. Sometimes I’m unsure whether to trust my gut or wait for clarity. For now, I wait.

I couldn’t think of a category to file a post about my recent weekend get-away with two girlfriends, so I thought I’d write a nonet about it. What a wonderful, refreshing time of laughter and relaxation we had together. Everyone needs a little downtime now & then.

Sometimes, the real world overwhelms me:

I need time to rejuvenate!

On and off the job, I have

responsibilities–

endless; no time for

relaxation,

quietness,

just for

me

I haven’t had much time to write for fun lately, but I do have a few projects on the backburner that I want to get back to eventually. Character development is an important part of any story, and one seemingly minor detail that is especially difficult for me is name selection.

 

When I think of the antagonist role in my tales, several names pop into my mind almost immediately. Is the “bad guy” a jock who acts like he is all that and a bag of chips? Perhaps I should call him Kenny and add a scene where he pops rubber bands across the classroom at the protagonist. Or, is it a pretentious female who makes everyone around her feel miserable and inferior? Ooh, Erica would be a good name, especially if she walks with a bounce and flips her ponytail! These are just two examples of real-life antagonists in my own experience that would be so tempting to incorporate into my works of fiction. (I would say that the names were changed to protect the innocent, but they aren’t exactly innocent, and I doubt there’s a snowball’s chance in Hades that either of them will ever stumble across my humble blog.)

 

Fiction, while often sparked by true stories, has to be different enough that the plot takes on a life of its own. The same holds true the other way around: the protagonist, the hunk, the hero(ine) … can’t be too closely related to any real person. Perhaps one of my tales will have a character similar to people I have encountered in my own life, but I shouldn’t be writing a memoir; it’s supposed to be a make-believe story.

 

I thought about this today when I wrote a haiku based on the first line prompt: “My message to X:” (I’ve mentioned before about one of my favorite bloggers who hosts Haiku Fridays; today’s prompt was a message to someone.) I chose to write about the inspirations behind the characters in my stories:

 

My message to X:
Pen to paper; dreams in ink –
Yes, you are my muse.

My little Groundhog Day baby turns 10 today. (I guess I can’t call him “little” anymore!) In honor of his birthday, I thought I would share a piece that I wrote several years ago in his honor. One of these days, I hope to have it published. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy it.

 

Little to Middle

 

Aidan started school this week

with recess every day;

Jeremy stayed behind at home

wishing he, too, could play.

 

Soccer season begins next month,

and Aidan is on the team,

but Jeremy will sit in the stands

with parents who cheer and scream.

 

Why can’t I go to class?
Why can’t I run the ball?

Jeremy pouted and thought:

Being little is no fun at all!

 

Then one night before bed,

Jeremy’s Mommy pulled him aside

and said, “Put your hand on my tummy,

and you’ll feel a surprise!”

 

Mommy’s tummy was round

and somewhat bumpy,

and when he touched it,

something inside was jumpy!

 

Jeremy wondered

what in the world could it be,

So Mommy explained

it was boy number three!

 

Another brother? Jeremy thought,

One who is younger than me?

I won’t be the littlest anymore!

Hooray! Yippee!

 

Mommy said, “Being the middle brother

is special, indeed,

Because you’re both younger and older—

a unique breed!

 

There still will be things the oldest can do

that younger ones cannot,

but with a new little brother on the way,

You’ll get to teach him a lot!”

 

Then Jeremy hugged his Mommy,

and the baby inside, too.

He said, “Night-night little brother,

I can’t wait to meet you!”

I heard about this website called Wordle that will create word clouds from text that you input. I made one for my blog and thought the result was pretty neato.