June 2nd Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! I don’t know if you know this or not, but late yesterday we lost another beloved television icon. Ann B. Davis, better known as Alice the housekeeper from The Brady Bunch series, passed away after she slipped, fell and hit her head. She was 88 years old. Well, Ms. Davis, thank you for the many laughs and memories, and may you never have to lift a feather duster, cook for an army, or play referee to a bunch of spoiled rich kids again. God bless you and may you rest in peace!

As anticipated, yesterday blew moose chunks. Seeing the house all packed up, and then packing up stuff myself was really difficult. I had to stop several times while I was pulling up the stepping stones, to pull myself together. The day was hard enough for Sharon and Nan, the last thing they needed was me losing it; so I sucked it up and muscled through.

Chris & Paul

I did pretty well except for two times. The first time was when the neighbors, Chris and Paul, stopped by. They are such a wonderful couple and reality set in that I would probably never get to see them again. I teared up when I gave them a hug goodbye.

The second was when I was packing up the kitchen and I came across these stupid plastic yellow cups that Nan wasn’t planning on keeping. Every night, Pop would fill one of those dang cups with milk, and pull out three (never two or four, but three) Oreos, and they were his “midnight snack”. As far as I was concerned, they weren’t going to be left behind, so I packed a couple of them up, and left the rest.

The stepping stones were a pretty cool tradition Nan started when Beth and Christopher were little. I think it was in 2002 or 2003, a stepping stone was made with Beth and Christopher’s hand print, and the year. That stone was

"Thumbody loves Nan & Pop"
with PJ, Lys and Dani's thumb
prints.

placed in an area of stone between the grass and the deck. After that initial stone, if you came to stay at Nan and Pop’s, you made a stone to commemorate the visit (no, you did not make one EVERY time you were there, just once).

I dug up all the stones, and Dani boxed them up. At the end, we had five boxes filled with 8 – 10 stones in each; countless happy memories were made by many people at that little bungalow on the water. While Dani was boxing up the stones, I started boxing up some of the other things which still needed to be done in the house. I can’t even count how many times Nan said, “There’s no room!” meaning we had nowhere to put the stuff to bring back.

HAH! Even after knowing me for over thirty years, she still doubts my packing abilities. I wish she would have let me pack her car as well, because if I had, she wouldn’t have to be making a trip down next weekend again. I would have been able to divide stuff differently between the two cars, which would have allowed me to take some of the bigger things which were left behind. Oh well, whatchya gunna do?

Shortly after my hubby leaves for work today, his dad is going to swing by to pick up the tables and chairs to bring them back to his house for the surprise party on Saturday. After he leaves, I’m going to start my running around. I have to order the balloons, pick up the decorative dessert plates and decorations, then get everything back over to my husband’s parents’ house so he doesn’t see them. I also have to cook up some kind of story to get the girls and me out of the house early on Saturday so we can set everything up and get the food prepped. I can only do so much at home, and say it’s for Sunday’s party, before he starts to get suspicious.

Okay, I need to go get dressed before Dad shows up, so I’d better run. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Either start or end your story with the following (random line from a random book off my bookshelf):

“She raced up the steps to the entrance of the church.”

She raced up the steps to the entrance of the church. Her heart pounded and she felt sick to her stomach. What if she could not stop her sister before it was too late?

“STOP!” She screamed as she burst through the door. “Janie stop!”

All eyes were upon her, and she couldn’t blame them. She knew she must have looked like a crazy woman. Amongst shocked gasps and murmurs, she trudged up the isle toward the bride and groom.

When she reached them, Janie hissed, “Where the hell have you been Zoe? We waited as long as we could. Some kind of maid of honor you turned out to be.”

“Janie, I’m sorry and I can explain, but you need to come with me. Now.” Zoe looked at the thunderous expression in her sister’s eyes and the confused one in her soon to be brother in law’s. “Sam, you need to come too.”

Without waiting for a response, Zoe grabbed Janie’s hand and marched her to the alcove behind the alter. Sam dutifully trailed behind.

When they were out of eye and ear shot of the guests, Janie wrenched her arm away and demanded, “You’d better have a damn good reason for ruining my wedding Zoe.”

“It’s Michael.” Zoe whispered.

Sam tensed, and Janie raised an eyebrow, “What about Michael?”

“Janie,” Zoe said as she grabbed her sister’s hands. “Michael’s alive. He’s alive Janie.”

Zoe would have continued her remarkable news, but all color had drained from Janie’s face. She would have collapsed on the floor if Sam had not have caught her.

Your Next Challenge is:

That sure went to hell in a hand basket in a hurry.

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.