August 8th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Yesterday I got one of those phone calls every parent dreads. Your child is on the other end of the line crying saying they were in an accident.

Your brain does not process the fact that they were able to call you, speak to you, tell you what happened, so therefore they are not lying in a ditch bleeding and unconscious; you’re only focus is I’ve got to get to my baby. Until you hold them in your arms and see for yourself that they are alright, you are in panic mode.

My daughter borrowed my car so she could have a goodbye lunch with a group of friends who were all leaving for college. With one friend and an exchange student in the car with her, my daughter was driving to the restaurant when the brakes failed on the car. When she attempted to get off the main, heavy trafficked drag onto a secondary road which she thought would be a safer place to try and pull over, she was not able to slow down enough to make the turn safely and she hit a car coming down the secondary road.

The guy she hit was a real jerk and started screaming at her, which upset her even more. (The nice police officer put a kibosh on the man’s ranting real quick when he informed the man a brake failure caused the accident, but the creep never came over to apologize for over reacting.)

The extent of the injuries were: my daughter’s friend had a tiny piece of glass in her leg which she pulled out herself, I cleaned and my daughter put a Band-Aid on; my daughter jammed her thumb, has minor bruises from the seat belt and from where the airbag hit her, and her neck is a little stiff. If you saw what the car looked like, you’d be amazed the injuries were so slight – NOT THAT I’M COMPLAINING.

So today, in addition to the long list of things I needed to get done, I now have to deal with the insurance company. Thankfully, they are all really great, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but it will be an hour or so I could have spent tackling other things. That being said, I need to get this show on the road.

Hope everyone has a wonderful (and safe) day! Happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

 

I see you out there, through my window, taunting me, mocking me. Don’t you think I would rather be with you instead of in here working? I know I can’t. I have too much to do. I must be strong. Perhaps I can finish quickly. No, if I rush it will be obvious, the work will be filled with mistakes I would just have to fix later. Why must you look so inviting? You have become such a distraction; I will never get this work done.

Maybe if I take just half an hour … no, No, NO, I must be strong!

Determined, I get up, pull the curtains closed with a snap and get back to writing.

 

 

See, even items with no reflective properties can become shiny objects… well at least they can for me. Sorry, I know it is short today. Sometimes life itself becomes its own shiny object.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

There’s a knock on the door. The unfamiliar person on the other side says they grew up in the house and would like to see it. What happens next? (You can be the knocker or the person opening the door.)

 

You have 10 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.

August 7th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Happy hump day! Perhaps if I don’t remind the girls it’s Wednesday, they won’t keep asking me what day it is – dang camel! I guess the Geico marketing team hit a homerun on that one. Yet, there are still commercials out there where I can’t help but ask, what were they thinking?

Example; a few years ago, there was a commercial out there, I can’t even remember what product it was, where the man was distracted. There was a faucet left running in one shot and various other things left unattended in other shots. During the first few runs of the commercial, one of those other shots was a baby playing with a roll of tape. The child was completely covered in the tape he had pulled off of the roll. The commercial drove me crazy. Who the heck would be so distracted, they would leave their under one year old baby unattended? What were they thinking airing a commercial like that? Within a few weeks, the unattended baby was cut out of the commercial. I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought they were insane.

 

Now there are commercials peddling a system where you can access items in your house from a remote location; turn on lights, arm your alarm system, adjust your heat, etc. In one of the commercials there is a woman in the grocery store with a young child. She gets a notice on her phone and she pulls up the camera inside her home because her front door opened at 4:15 in the afternoon. If you take notice, you will see there is another young child, probably coming home from school, walking in the door. Again, what were they thinking? Obviously there is no one home or the lady wouldn’t be checking the home remotely, and the child coming into the empty house is perhaps seven or eight years old. HELLO! Why didn’t these advertising folks make the kid coming home at least fifteen or sixteen? Have they all lost their minds? I wonder if it is the same advertising agency that made the first commercial with the unattended baby.

The cannibalistic cereal commercials drive me crazy too, but that is a whole other issue and I won’t drive you crazy with it.

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

I wish I knew what he/she was thinking…

 

How many times have you looked at your beloved pet and wished you knew what she was thinking? Your cat is staring at the wall, twitching his tail and making that funny chirping noise. You look at the wall and everywhere around, but you see nothing. Your dog comes running over, plops down in front of you and cocks her head, practically asking you a question. Wouldn’t you just love to know what she was thinking?

Well, my family has figured out a way to remedy this situation. We all do it, and to unsuspecting onlookers it is either quite comical or they think we have all gone insane. We all talk for our pets. Each pet has his or her own unique and distinct voice and as one member of the household is interacting with a pet, another member of the household becomes the voice of said pet. We are not quite sure when this started or how this evolved, but it has come to the point of a well-choreographed performance.  As I said, some folks think we are insane, but it sure beats saying “I wish I knew what he/she was thinking” all the time.

 

Yup, I just gave you another glimpse into my bizarre personal life. We currently have three cats and one dog, and they each have their own voice and personality. The funny thing is, we have all gotten so good at this, you really begin to think what the “animal” is saying is plausible. I will be annoyed with the dog because he’d be begging shamelessly and one of the kids would chime in with, “But Mommy, I just want a little taste.” Or “But Mommy, I just loves bananas. Fruits are good for me.”

So you don’t call out the men in white coats and butterfly nets, these “conversations” do not go on constantly in our home, but when the improv situation arises, someone is there to supply a voice. I find it hysterical that we even have my husband doing it now.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

 

You have 10 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.