October 30th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

What day is it??? Oh that’s right, there’s been a giraffe invasion, not a camel invasion. If you have a Facebook account, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, then it’s too silly to bother you further.

My daughter and one of her friends decided they were going to be cowgirls for Halloween tomorrow. Nice easy costume. We have all the pieces. So I was getting off easy this year, right? Wrong. Yes we have all the pieces, but not in our possession. My daughter was borrowing my son’s cowboy hat, which his girlfriend was supposed to bring over on Monday, but then couldn’t because of his mishap. Then she was supposed to bring it over yesterday, but instead she drove my son to class last night so he wouldn’t have to drive in the dark with his injured eye. I’M NOT COMPLAINING about her doing these things. It was very sweet of her to rearrange just about everything in her schedule to be able to be there for him, but this does mean I have to drive down to my son’s house today to go get the hat.

The next piece of the puzzle that’s missing is the shirt my daughter wanted to wear, a purple plaid number. She tore apart her room and all the laundry she put in the basement looking for the thing. Then, out of frustration, she asked if I thought her sister took the shirt with her to college. Since I can’t keep track of my own things, I had no idea. I shrugged and sent a text to my other daughter. Yup, you guessed it. The shirt is in Vermont. Now other than my forty minute ride to my son’s house today, I have a trip to Kohl’s on my “to do” list. Well, at least I know where my cowboy boots are…

So, I am going to have my second cup of coffee, take a quick shower and get my day rolling. I hope you have a fantastic day and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was (this is the challenge I offered as homework while I was covering the class for Keith, but the group mutinied and would not do it):

 

Write you own obituary 

 

Christina, just like she always said she would do, left this Earth on the anniversary of her birth. She would say, “This way I’m not messing up anyone’s day but my own.” In life Christina wore many hats. She was a mom, a wife, a coach, a writer and a friend. Although she never conquered her stage freight, she sang in her church choir on Sundays. She enjoyed music, baking, cooking, reading, writing, painting, and playing silly games on her computer, but most of all, she enjoyed spending time with her family. She left this world with a messy house, dishes in the sink and laundry to be done, but a freezer stocked with meals to get her family through the next millennium and her final story completed and submitted to her publisher.

There will be no wake or funeral for Christina, however, on June 23^rd, all who knew her, are asked to participate in a celebration of her life. She wanted a “good old fashioned Irish funeral”. We ask that you bring photos and stories to share; the good, the bad, and undoubtedly the irreverent. Christina has asked for her ashes to be scattered in the places she loved and the ones she never had a chance to visit while she was alive. Please take whatever money you would have used for flowers and spend it on doing something fun with your family.

 

Okay, I really don’t see what the big deal was about writing your own obituary. This has been used as a creative writing assignment in colleges forEVER. I remember doing it when I was in college, and that was over twenty-five years ago. It didn’t kill me then, and I seriously doubt it is going to kill me now, and if it does, I have until April 1^st anyway. I don’t see it as a negative thing; I see it as a reflection of how we see ourselves and how we hope to be remembered. If there is a disparity from how we are to how we want to be, we recognize it and can work to fix it before it is too late. Think Scrooge, not Grim Reaper. Whatever, to each their own. I hope some of you took up my challenge.

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Start your story with: It’s Mischief Night and you’ll never believe what my friends have planned.

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.

October 29th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

Well, I definitely have more grey hair today than yesterday! My son, I love him to death, but he is such a KLUTZ! Like every other male on both sides of our family, he enjoys tinkering with cars. Last night, he was home alone and adjusting something or not on the used Jeep he purchased two weeks ago. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but somehow a screwdriver fell off of wherever he had it balanced and hit him right in the eye. (I will spare you the photo he sent.)

He drove himself to the emergency room, which was at least ten more grey hairs worth of information. Note to readers: PLEASE do not work on ANY projects – cars, roof, tree branches, etc. – when no one else is home with you. Then I found out he went to a hospital where I wouldn’t bring a stray dog to be saved. They are horrible, and as far as I’m concerned, responsible for killing BOTH of my grandmothers. I hope that after it all turns grey, falling out is not the next step!

Anyway, they did a CAT scan, and his eye is ok, it should heal just fine, but it looks horrible at the moment. They gave him some pain killers and some antibiotic eye drops, and a note that he should stay out of work through Thursday. Knowing my son, he may take a pain killer or two, he’ll do the drops for a few days (I will be riding him daily on this one so he actually completes the cycle of antibiotics this time), and he’ll be back at work tomorrow, if not today already. After being out for several weeks in August because of his back injury, he won’t want to miss any more time.

Yup, I’ll be hitting the Miss Clairol before my gig this weekend. Did your mom ever say, “I hope you get one just like you, then you’ll appreciate what I went through!”? Well, I apparently got three just like me, so my mom must have said it too many times. All of my kids are as accident prone as I was, and they’re not showing any signs yet of getting better. Perhaps it would have been wise of me to buy stock in one of the hair dye companies years ago…

I hope you have a wonderful day and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

 

Rare for this time of year, but here it comes, and it’s going to be a doozy. The clouds started thickening and darkening about an hour ago, and then they took on an ominous peach glow. As the wind picked up, the sway of the branches dislodged the remaining autumn leaves and blew them into spiraling mini vortexes.

As the distant rumbles of thunder began, we scurried about the yard to ensure every possible projectile was secured. When the outside was as safe as we could make it, we moved indoors, and as we prepared for the worst, we continued to hope for the best. Flashlight batteries we checked, candles and matches were unearthed, the tub was filled with water, and a hasty dinner was prepared as the thunder grew progressively closer and it was joined by brachial flashes of lightening.

The deafening sound had us cover our ears and close our eyes. The house shook. The lights flickered …once…twice…then went out, plunging us into near total darkness. The storm was upon us. The wind howled and the distinctive ping on the windows announced hail had accompanied the now torrential downpour. With the threat this rogue autumn storm was more than predicted, we elected to ride it out in the basement, just in case.

 

Your Next Challenge is (this is the challenge I offered as homework while I was covering the class for Keith, but the group mutinied and would not do it):

Write you own obituary 

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.