A snowstorm dropped several inches of snow of overnight. An old friend was visiting and we decided to go cross-country skiing in a local park. It was beautiful, the trees were blanketed with white that was sparkling and shimmering in the bright sunlight. A true winter wonderland, it was the type of winter day I adore. I was happy to be out and about getting some exercise and enjoying the crisp air. I was hoping we might see some deer, there were tracks on the ground and we were following them through the woods. My friend got a little bit ahead of me and stopped for a moment distracted by something. Pine boughs were overhead, heavily laden with snow. Taking advantage of the situation I reached up with my pole and shook the limb. He was showered with it. He looked back at me quizzically, with a slight scowl. “Didn’t you see it? That was the chubbiest squirrel I have ever seen!” I said. “A squirrel?” “Yes, it jumped from that tree to this one. I can’t believe you missed it.” “Oh, I got it. When you least expect it, payback.” “I’m telling you it was a squirrel.” We continued on our way without any more interference from bushy-tailed rodents. We didn’t see any deer either as we meandered our way back to the parking area. I took off my skis and was headed back to the car when out of nowhere I was tackled into a snow bank. “Payback!” Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece.
2 Comments
A hallmark of Spring is when the weather finally warms up enough to leave the windows open at night. It’s very pleasant to sleep with a cool breeze and fresh air blowing through the room. At least until about 4am when one of those other hallmarks of Spring happens; Eau de Pepe le Pew. One moment you are pleasantly in dreamland and the next you are roused by the horrible stench of skunk. At first, having been rudely awakened, you’re a little disoriented, but the aroma grows; it won’t be denied. You stumble out of bed and rush to the window to shut it; but you are too late. Even closed the pungent smell is lurking in the air. It lingers, oh how it lingers, the wanderer long gone but not forgotten. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike the little critters. They are actually kind of cute. Heck my very first stuffed animal was a skunk, Flower from Bambi, my Dad gave it to me when I was just a baby. But that smell, that horrible smell. Hhhhhmmmmm, I wonder, what was my Dad actually saying with that gift? Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece. Late spring, early summer of 2015 I began working with an author team on the 5th edition of their textbook. This was the third edition I would be completing with them. I had been working with them for over 15 years. Judy had retired from teaching and this was to be the final edition she would complete. Donna planned to continue for at least another edition, with perhaps contributors or a new co-author. When you work with folks for this long you get to know them well. They both lived in the Pacific Northwest and I travelled there many times over the years to do photo shoots for the various projects we were working on. I met their families and their students, whom they treated like extended family. They were always warm and welcoming, and loved to show me around to various venues. On one of my visits Judy even had to take me to the emergency room because I sliced my thumb with a scalpel and needed stitches. We often had conversations about the things that were going on in our lives, comparing notes about the weather, recommending books, and chatting about the visiting wildlife. Donna was frequently visited by moose and would send me pictures of them in her yard. In early 2016, Donna was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer. It had gone undetected for quite some time. At the end of March, she passed away. She was only in her early 60s. My last correspondence with Donna was in late January. It was light and breezy. She mentioned being very ill but was hoping for a speedy recovery. She thought it was the flu. Judy told me of her diagnosis about two weeks later. It was shocking to say the least. We all kept hoping and praying for her recovery but it was not to be. Her passing hit me particularly hard. Perhaps because it was so unexpected. She had such a vibrant personality and was so full of life. It all progressed so fast. There really wasn’t even time to say goodbyes. It reminded me just how short life can be. Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece. My brother had our old family home movies converted to DVDs this Christmas as gifts. We had such fun watching them and reminiscing. They conjured up such warm memories. It was fun to see Christmas trees all decked out in tinsel - I don’t think you can even buy that these days. There were scenes with our long gone family pets, as well as just seeing my parents, aunts, and uncles when they were younger than I am now. It was hilarious just seeing the fashion trends back in the day. One of the things I will never tire of is sitting and talking with family about the past. I love the old stories about my grandparents and their parents (my great grandparents). They often have me rolling on the floor laughing. It’s also amazing to see how different family members remember the same incident. “That’s not what happened,” which often launches yet another story. Some of my favorite holiday memories are when we are all together, aunts, uncles, cousins, and the talk turns to the distant past. Some of the things I treasure most are all the old photos I have. I have a photo of my grandmother that my grandfather carried with him when he was overseas in WWII. I have photos of my dad when he was a child that I can place side by side with photos of my brother - with the exception of the color (or lack thereof) in the photos you can’t tell who is who. I have a box of old photos from my great grandmother of relatives from back in Italy. Most have notes and messages on the back written in Italian. One of these days I’ll get them translated. Before my grandmother passed away she had prepared a box of photos for each of the grandkids. In addition to the photos - they had all of our old artwork we made for her. She saved everything. It was wonderful to go through. Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece. My grandparents had an amazing relationship. I always knew this growing up, but I was able to witness just how special it was first hand, at a time in my life when I needed to see it. The week before my grandfather died I went to visit with them one afternoon. I will be forever grateful for that private time with them. My grandfather’s health had been in decline for quite awhile and all signs were present that it was close to his time. He had moments when he was in and out. I happened to pick just the right time for the visit; he was very much present and joking with both my grandmother and myself. They both told me stories about when they first met. Grandpa teasing Grandma and singing to her. They had such an ease in their interactions. I remember her sitting in the chair in front of him, the beautiful smile and tender look on her face. I knew right then and there that I didn’t want to settle for less than this kind of relationship. I wanted to find someone to share my life with who would look at me like that. Someone whose face would light up at the mere mention of my name. Such caring, such tenderness, such charm, I was lucky to have them and to share in this with them. To learn this from them. They are both gone now and I often think back to this day, and I smile. As I was writing, this began playing, thank you Grandma and Grandpa for sending me a little prayer. When you're in the hands of angels Life is oh so sweet And you feel the love Down deep inside Even out there on the street Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece. I was feeling very uninspired by the “K” terms relating to emotions, so I am taking some liberties with this post. As luck would have it, I attended Beautiful, The Carole King Musical last night. So I got my “K” in there. I can also stay with the emotions theme because music inspires all sorts of emotions. It was a wonderful show, so if you haven’t seen it - put it on your “to do” list. I love 50s and 60s era music. Rock and roll in its infancy was light and bouncy and full of energy. It always puts a smile on my face. For me there is a purity and honesty in the songs of this generation. Many of these songs were wonderfully lyrical in their storytelling and so relatable. Some so sweet and tender, some fiery, some pure fun, but all make you feel something:
You've got to get up every morning With a smile on your face And show the world all the love in your heart Then people gonna treat you better You're gonna find, yes you will That you're beautiful, as you feel Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece. I could hear them before I could see them. The giggling and deep belly laughs were carrying through the park. I was out taking a long walk on a bright blue spring day. Some portions of the trail I was on skirt around a golf course - not yet open for the season. Out of the corner of my eye I caught the first flutter of activity ahead. A brother and sister were running and chasing each other on the greens. Smiles on their faces; not a care in the world. One chased the other up a hill, Jack and Jill style. When they got to the top they fell to the ground and rolled down to the bottom, laughing all the way. With boundless energy back up the hill they traipsed only to do it all over again. I couldn’t help but laugh myself just watching the scene. It took all the restraint I had not to charge up the hill with them and throw myself on the ground to roll down too. Why should the kiddos get to have all the fun! Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece. It was Derby Day and I was headed out to an event to root for the ponies. One needs to get glammed up for Derby Day. I was wearing a charming blue dress that matched my eyes and a fabulous pair of 5-inch heels. I felt great and was looking forward to a fun day with friends. When I arrived at the event, I headed to the bar to get a drink, and when in Rome, well Kentucky, ok, ok, I wasn’t in Rome or Kentucky but since it was a Derby Party the featured drink was the Mint Julep. I had never had one before so that’s what I ordered. I can’t say I loved it, but it wasn’t awful, so I sipped as I mingled. Standing and chatting in a cluster of people I suddenly got very, very dizzy. It was as though someone flipped a switch. I was fine and then I wasn’t. I started to break out into a cold sweat. My stomach started to churn and I felt like I was going to pass out. I whispered to the closest friend that I needed to sit down ASAP. The place was packed, not a table or chair in sight. There was however an open space on the patio wall. That was going to have to do. Now in front of this wall was an area that was nicely mulched, ready for flowers to be planted. It was a very thick layer of mulch. I didn’t pay much attention, as I was more concerned with the fact that I was feeling rather green. It was just one drink, what the heck. I stayed put perched on the wall until after the race. A band started playing and my friends and I decided to go check it out. I stood up, forgetting that I was standing in six inches of mulch in 5-inch heels. As soon as I stood, I started to sink, and down I went fluttering to the ground. I tried to get up as gracefully as possible, as quickly as possible, but the damn mulch! Derby Day parties have become a tradition, but now I skip the Mint Julep and stick to donning a fancy hat. Oh, and I steer clear of the mulch! Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece. We had been friends for over 30 years. We met in the 2nd grade. We grew up together and shared some of life’s biggest milestones. I had come to think of her more like a sister, rather than just a friend. As adults her husband and children became an extension of my own family. We shared our wins and losses. I would seek her out for advice, someone to vent to, someone to cry with, someone to laugh and have an amazing time with. I trusted her with every aspect of my life and thought she would always be there for me no matter what. And then she wasn’t. We never saw eye to eye on politics. She and her husband would sometimes like to get into debates with me. I tried to be respectful of their views, I listened to them, but I just didn’t always agree. I felt they were entitled to their opinions, and because of the strong friendship even when I was uncomfortable on the receiving end of the barbs, I just let it go. I never really felt it was a big issue, until it became one. At a party talk turned toward politics. She began poking fun and teasing but was taking it a bit too far. I felt she sensed I was getting uncomfortable and annoyed and thought that would be the end of it. But then she asked me a question, “Do you sometimes feel attacked by my husband and I on politics?” I replied honestly, “Yes.” It never occurred to me that I could be anything but honest with her. It never occurred to me that she would take offense at my response. Her reaction however was to tell me, “If you feel that way I want nothing more to do with you.” I was stunned; I couldn’t believe she took that stance. That was the end of our friendship. We never really spoke or saw each other again after that. I tried reaching out at one point to explain how upset I was. She never once tried to contact me to discuss it and address it. That just made me feel even worse. I always felt a true friend would have acknowledged my feelings and reacted by perhaps trying not to continue to interact with me in a way that made me feel like that. For me a line was crossed that day, I was devastated to discover that someone I felt so close to could discard the friendship so easily. You begin to question your judgment in a situation like this. I was so blindsided by the whole thing, how could I have trusted someone so implicitly that would treat me so coldly and turn her back on me simply because she didn’t like hearing the truth. I can honestly say I have never in my life felt so betrayed. Let’s Get Emotional
My goal with the challenge this year is to use it as an exercise to write something focused on a particular emotion. I hope to convey that mood or feeling through word choice in the story. I welcome your feedback on what worked or didn’t for you in each piece. I have reached the conclusion that more times than not I see the world through rose-colored glasses. I want to believe that people are genuinely good. I want to believe that people care about other people and will do the right thing more than not. More and more these days I am proven wrong, and it leaves me feeling utterly dejected and astonished. By now it shouldn’t surprise and shock me. The lack of humanity in the world is on display in the news everyday. I just allow myself to see that as the exception and not the rule. I guess I don’t want to admit just how much ugly there is out there. But then you see something that gives you a slap across the face. The glasses come off and you are blind-sided by the sheer disgust of reality. That which you believe to be the exception is actually the norm. I had one of those moments after watching this video. It left me in tears for more than one reason - the vileness I see in the folks who unashamed took something they clearly didn’t need and the compassion of one person who clearly had a need but was willing to only take what he felt was necessary so that others could also take what they needed.
|
AuthorOnce upon a time... Archives
December 2021
Categories
All
All content on this website is © Darcy Michele Scelsi
|