I live wrapped up in the moments of life. Because life is made up of moments. Some good, some not so good, but most just average, ordinary bits.
Pay attention to them all. You only get one chance, unless you own a TARDIS, and if that’s the case … FIND ME!
Until The Doctor picks me up to travel through time and space … I’ll hold onto my normal, everyday days.
Traveling the aisles of the grocery store, I sing with the songs trickling over the loud speakers, I grin at the kids begging for EVERYTHING, I giggle at the strange pieces of conversations floating through the store. In the check-out line, I inspect the cart in front of me and sometimes feel inferior. I prop my foot on the bottom rack of the cart and stare, I listen, I breathe in that very second because before I know it, I’ll be home unpacking the bags, putting things on shelves, which is totally annoying, by the way. And sure, next week, I’ll be back, doing the same thing, but it will be different.
And, as usual, in the blink of an eye, I’m moving on to the next task.
Spring is coming … I think … and when it finally arrives you’ll soon find me at the ballpark watching my kids play. The sun, sometimes the rain, the dust, and wind … the crack of the bat and giggling when my daughter swings at the high pitches. I love it. The frustrated parents whose kid doesn’t play exactly like they want, the kid who is crestfallen after striking out, the smaller siblings running hither and yon driving their parents nuts. More wonderful moments.
Being at home in the quiet.
My whole family together at Christmas.
A call from my mom saying she went shopping. *facepalm* That never ends well.
Riding in the car on a family vacation … to anywhere.
Last November, participating in the Susan G. Komen 3 day walk to celebrate my sister being a year cancer free! 60 miles in 3 days … full of the most wonderful moments, some painful.
Wherever I go … whatever I’m doing, you can at some point find me staring at everything, drinking IT ALL IN. And probably I’ll have a goofy grin on my face. Possibly while watching my kids play with their Legos or, like last summer, floating down a river in a kayak. Where my Uncle asked if I was seeing all sorts of stories in the world.
Yes. Yes I was. Thanks for asking.
Have I always been this way? I’m not sure, but if my sisters want to know something about our childhood, they ask me.
Some of these moments transform into the beginning of stories, others add to something I already have, still others wait to learn if they fit anywhere. Storing all these in my mind, every feeling and detail is just what I do. This affects my writing. In good and bad ways.
My description is … descriptive. I can set a scene, bringing in sights, sounds, smells. I want my characters to have their moments to experience the world I so lovingly created for them … before I do something mean to them.
I love sewing together words to create EVERYTHING.
And that’s the problem. EVERYTHING doesn’t belong in the story. Because reading is all about retreating to our minds, using our imaginations.
And because EVERYTHING can get boring … which is not my goal. Nope.
I will continue to take in every moment.
And continue to try not to use ALL THE WORDS in my writing. Luckily there are people out there to remind me …
Too many words!
Oh. Riiiiight!
So, if you catch me staring out into space with a strange look of joy, mixed with puzzlement and/or possibly horror. I’m just adding ALL THE THINGS to my head, which is storing it for later or filling in blank spaces of unwritten stories.
Enjoy your moments, each one is important, each one on your path of life, each one making you a better you … if you let it.
So … which ones are your favorites?
