Writing

On Being a Woman in a House Full of Men

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On Being a Woman in a House Full of Men        Throughout my life, I have watched and participated in the evolution of the role of women in today’s society. As I grew up, there was a strict division of labor within our household.  Mom stayed home with the five children, taught us right from … Read more

Coffee Grounds

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Does “coffee grounds” always refer to those that have been spent. Ground coffee before, and coffee grounds after? Coffee grounds stink once the juice of the bean has been steeped.  They make a huge mess when being dumped from the filter, they hit the edge of the garbage can and land sprawled across the kitchen … Read more

Becoming a Writer

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I vividly remember learning to write my name in kindergarten. Miss Dolan hand wrote the letters to trace in colored marker, on long, yellowish double-spaced penmanship paper with green lines. I got so excited when my teacher used orange for my letters (not to mention how impressed I was that same year, when I discovered … Read more

Cherry Jam

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Prompt: Cherry Jam   Forget that!   I love  strawberry freezer jam.   It almost always  comes out perfectly,  and tastes like  berries picked from the vine.     One needs to keep  vanilla ice cream  in the house,  for those times  when the fool proof recipe  doesn’t work, and  the sticky goo runs all over the place. … Read more

Tooth Fairy

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  I lost my first tooth the summer before I started kindergarten, while spending two weeks with my cousins. The moment every child eagerly awaits arrived as I bit into the first ear of corn I ever rolled in a stick of butter, as taught by my uncouth cousins. As my teeth grazed along the … Read more

How I lost my feet

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How I lost my feet   I lost my feet this very day   as I stepped off of the bus,   running a little late for class.   I tripped somehow,   and before I realized I was on my way down,   there I sat in a puddle of salt and sand,   my dress wicking the whole mess ,   … Read more

Split Personalities?

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The Artist’s Way at Work by Julia Cameron asserts that we each have several inner selves. This is illustrated by example through the naming (e.g., Neat Nigel) the different aspects and then working to nourish the healthy aspects and let the more interfering parts fade. For some reason giving them people’s names seems too dangerous- like feeding into the danger of dissociating. Is this my crazy-self speaking? There! I have identified one:
Crazy Clara: sees the world at times in a unique light, from a different plane. She can be so exceptionally spiritual that reaction from others to her openness and self perceived understanding make her question her sanity. Her emotional volatility and sense of instability contribute to her feelings of craziness which have been nurtured through the years by family, professionals and townspeople.
Qualities: Fear/openness to spirit.
Raging Regina: Is touched off by insignificant events and once she enters into the spiral has difficulty distracting from the scapegoat of present choice. She realizes she is becoming out of control, yet continues to pick and pick, eventually blowing up, saying something inappropriate, and then being swept away by guilt and self loathing.
Qualities: Anger, blame, resentment/remorse and forgiveness, admittance of wrong
Honest Anna: Attempts to be upfront, at times to a fault, creating hurt by sharing observations and perceptions, or being “real”; has a tendency toward righteousness when in fact still has a tendency to deceive self and others as necessary.
Sensual Sarah: aware and appreciative of the richness provided by her senses. She wants the most beautiful and pleasing and comforting music, scenery, surroundings, scents, food- and loves to share the wonder of it all.
Qualities: Opinionated/ observant and appreciative
Penelope People Pleaser: Puts tremendous energy into trying to brighten someone’s day, to impress people with honesty, generosity, creativity, have a positive and lasting impact on the lives of children and elderly. Qualities: Inadequacy, shyness, fear/ enthusiasm, gratitude, love.
Oh, there are more.  Disorganized Dora.  Creative Christina…  Identifying some of our inner selves is a way to make a personal inventory; to seek out those pieces of ourselves that may have been lost in the shuffle and want to be picked up, brushed off and improved upon.
                                                                                                                                                                                    RDW10/2018

Heavenly Birds

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Dad is dying. My brother, sisters, and I have flocked to his bedside during his final days, and I find there are moments when I need to distance myself from the intensity of this event. Upon a walk to the woodland trail, I chance to meet an elderly gentleman named Paul as he shuffles past Dad’s … Read more

We all make mistakes

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We all make mistakes All too often in our struggles to maintain control over a situation, we lose perspective. There are times when what starts out to be a minor annoyance gets blown up out of proportion as a result of the exhaustion and frustration of our day. We have all been in a situation … Read more