Mary's January writing prompts
Fiction: Draw an imaginary constellation; write a story such as ancient people might have told about it.
To be added in the near future (haven't drawn my constellation yet!)
Non-Fiction (Memoir): Buying, selling, thrifting, donating. Thrift stores. Yard sales. Estate sales. Craig's List. Newspaper listings. Write about how you shop. How you donate. Treasures you've found. Things you've sold. Money you've made. Money you've lost.
I feel like I have tried to find so many things to buy in my life from all of these formats, but my favorite thing was a free cat from a newspaper listing. I lived in a tiny old house in a small, quiet town that was so still you could see nearly every star in the sky on a clear night, and you felt like the warm darkness of summer would just swallow you up. It was summer, I worked a few miles away and either rode a bus or drove an old car that only chose to work every once and awhile. I wanted a cat but didn't think about the fact that I would soon be moving back to an apartment near campus where I went to school, leaving the cat in the only place it was allowed to live with me: in a house, once owned by my great-grandmother, alone, miles away. In November I finally picked up a newspaper and seriously looked and FOUND. There it was: a listing of two free cats that needed an immediate home or they would be taken to the pound. One was Siamese, the only a simply grey. I called, wanting the Siamese because that sounded exotic and totally unlike me (though taking in cats that needed homes was EXACTLY like me, I'd done it my whole life, much to my mother's chagrin). The Siamese had been quickly claimed but the other needed a home. I said yes and that night drove with my boyfirend—who thought I was insane—to pick up the poor thing that lived with two large dogs and two small children. We drove it in a box to the house it would occupy. I visited every day, whenever I could, but it just wasn't going to work to put so much time into a cat that slowly grew accustomed to me, but wasn't very friendly (most likely due to its unfortunate living situation previously). I called my grandmother, the one who taught me taking in animals as a way of life, and she agreed to take a cat that wouldn't give her babies since she had just recently lost her last cat. That cat became one of my Grama's greatest friends in the last few years of her life. That cat watched as my Grama left her house for the last time to go to the hospital, knowing something was different. That cat only let my Grama touch her, feed her, snuggle her. They drove each other crazy sometimes, but that cat slept on the pillow next to my Grama's pillow and still does, even with my Grama gone. That cat mourned my Grama being gone and walked around the empty house crying and looking for affection from others where she had never cared to look before. That cat still misses her, and that cat was the greatest thing I found (for free!) and saved so that she could be a part of someone's life who truly needed her.
Quote: "The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper." Alternative version: "The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." ~Eden Phillpotts, but also possible W.B. Yeats or Bertrand Russell
I believe that my eyes were truly opened to the magic of the world more fully after having my daughter. I see the beauty in a laugh or a smile, I see the light coming through the window as a wonder, and I see the trees and sounds of birds outside as surprising and amazing. Adalaide is the reason I see these things, and I believe that the magic of the world only grows stronger as our kids grow bigger, and we see them begin to absorb everything around them as new and important and beautiful. I am sure my senses for magic around me will continue to grow stronger as my baby does.
Adalaide: What is your favorite characteristic about Adalaide so far?
I love that Adalaide has always seemed to find so much joy in the world around her. She is happy and strong and sweet, but mostly positive. She truly wants to see and learn about the things around her, she wants to be surprised by us as her parents, she wants to learn and absorb everything and stay awake so as not to miss a thing (much to our chagrin). She is the happiest person I've ever known, and I hope that doesn't change. She makes me want to see the beauty around me and to be as happy as she is to see the people I love most. I love her strong personality, knowing she will be able to stand up for herself, but will also be well-loved because she easily loves others. I love EVERYTHING about her, but mostly that she makes me want to be better.
To be added in the near future (haven't drawn my constellation yet!)
Non-Fiction (Memoir): Buying, selling, thrifting, donating. Thrift stores. Yard sales. Estate sales. Craig's List. Newspaper listings. Write about how you shop. How you donate. Treasures you've found. Things you've sold. Money you've made. Money you've lost.
I feel like I have tried to find so many things to buy in my life from all of these formats, but my favorite thing was a free cat from a newspaper listing. I lived in a tiny old house in a small, quiet town that was so still you could see nearly every star in the sky on a clear night, and you felt like the warm darkness of summer would just swallow you up. It was summer, I worked a few miles away and either rode a bus or drove an old car that only chose to work every once and awhile. I wanted a cat but didn't think about the fact that I would soon be moving back to an apartment near campus where I went to school, leaving the cat in the only place it was allowed to live with me: in a house, once owned by my great-grandmother, alone, miles away. In November I finally picked up a newspaper and seriously looked and FOUND. There it was: a listing of two free cats that needed an immediate home or they would be taken to the pound. One was Siamese, the only a simply grey. I called, wanting the Siamese because that sounded exotic and totally unlike me (though taking in cats that needed homes was EXACTLY like me, I'd done it my whole life, much to my mother's chagrin). The Siamese had been quickly claimed but the other needed a home. I said yes and that night drove with my boyfirend—who thought I was insane—to pick up the poor thing that lived with two large dogs and two small children. We drove it in a box to the house it would occupy. I visited every day, whenever I could, but it just wasn't going to work to put so much time into a cat that slowly grew accustomed to me, but wasn't very friendly (most likely due to its unfortunate living situation previously). I called my grandmother, the one who taught me taking in animals as a way of life, and she agreed to take a cat that wouldn't give her babies since she had just recently lost her last cat. That cat became one of my Grama's greatest friends in the last few years of her life. That cat watched as my Grama left her house for the last time to go to the hospital, knowing something was different. That cat only let my Grama touch her, feed her, snuggle her. They drove each other crazy sometimes, but that cat slept on the pillow next to my Grama's pillow and still does, even with my Grama gone. That cat mourned my Grama being gone and walked around the empty house crying and looking for affection from others where she had never cared to look before. That cat still misses her, and that cat was the greatest thing I found (for free!) and saved so that she could be a part of someone's life who truly needed her.
Quote: "The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper." Alternative version: "The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." ~Eden Phillpotts, but also possible W.B. Yeats or Bertrand Russell
I believe that my eyes were truly opened to the magic of the world more fully after having my daughter. I see the beauty in a laugh or a smile, I see the light coming through the window as a wonder, and I see the trees and sounds of birds outside as surprising and amazing. Adalaide is the reason I see these things, and I believe that the magic of the world only grows stronger as our kids grow bigger, and we see them begin to absorb everything around them as new and important and beautiful. I am sure my senses for magic around me will continue to grow stronger as my baby does.
Adalaide: What is your favorite characteristic about Adalaide so far?
I love that Adalaide has always seemed to find so much joy in the world around her. She is happy and strong and sweet, but mostly positive. She truly wants to see and learn about the things around her, she wants to be surprised by us as her parents, she wants to learn and absorb everything and stay awake so as not to miss a thing (much to our chagrin). She is the happiest person I've ever known, and I hope that doesn't change. She makes me want to see the beauty around me and to be as happy as she is to see the people I love most. I love her strong personality, knowing she will be able to stand up for herself, but will also be well-loved because she easily loves others. I love EVERYTHING about her, but mostly that she makes me want to be better.
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