The theme I chose for January was an easy one: beginning, introduction, just getting started. In literature, the term is exposition, which is a literary device used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters, or other elements of a work to the audience. You don’t get plopped into the middle of a story without the narrator helping you get your bearings, and you don’t get plopped down in the middle of a project without knowing what exactly is going on here. And …
writing
A Year of Literary Happiness
I’m not one to rip off other people’s ideas, but when Gretchen Rubin, on her podcast, suggested trying a happiness project in the new year, it got my wheels turning. To say I was unhappy last year is an understatement. I don’t want to belabor that point and keep saying it was hard (even if it was). What I want to do is turn the page and head in a new direction. Part of that is adopting my two mantras for the year: DO THE WORK and ENJOY IT. Do the work because this is the year I’m going to …
A Jumpstart, Cookie Dough, and the Long Game of Writing
This morning, Adam’s car wouldn’t start. This is no surprise. For the past six months, it’s needed a jump every week or so. A few weeks ago, we took it to the shop after trying for an aggravating half hour to get it to start (and finally succeeding), then left it there for five days over the New Year’s holiday. We thought it was a problem with the electrical in the car because the radio and dashboard lights have completely stopped working. A little research, and we figured out it’s a defect in …
Here I Sit and Curiosity
Here I sit at my desk in the upstairs room. My husband just left for a hunting weekend, and we put our kids on the bus an hour ago. I did the dishes, vacuumed the dirty floors, and lit the candle I bought the other day when the house was hot and I couldn’t stand another minute of sitting in this upstairs room trying to write. This morning, I took a minute to read a few essays online that I had bookmarked, one of which suggested starting an essay with the words “Here I sit,” which seems as …
Questions, Wonder, and Curiosity
Last week at an end-of-the-year class party, Lily received an award from her teacher for being most inquisitive in the class. She shook her teacher’s hand with a big smile on her face, then ran over to show me. A tiny clip art detective with a giant magnifying glass was smack in the middle of the page. “This is wonderful,” I told her. I was having a moment of mommy pride. Other kids received awards for being fashionable or remembering every vacation they’ve ever been on. Some got awards for …