Tag: Writing Prompt

Winter’s Surprise

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Daily Prompt:  Undulate

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As I walk along the deserted beach
My mind, confounded, takes in the site.
Undulating waves crashing in the surf
Rushing to offer their briny gift to the sand.
A site I often witness, as I sunbathe being comforted by the sound.
But how can this be? A winter coat, scarf, and mittens
Have become my beachwear!
The waves covering the sand meet their winter counterpart
And kiss the Snow. Has winter lost its way?
I look into the grey skies
I feel the cold wind.
Not a soul in sight, nor bird in the air.
The empty peer tall and serene
Stands guard over this desolate beach.
I turn and see footprints in the sand and snow.
It’s then I realize winter has followed me.
I have not moved far enough south.

Wanda

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Daily Prompt:  Neophyte

I have been absent from the blogging world for a month.  Not having time to do so many of the things I love to do, I have come to realize I am a neophyte when it comes to throwing things away.  Can you believe it?  After all of my complaining about Gary’s holding onto things that we didn’t need.  It has been quite a shock for me to admit to myself it isn’t quite as easy to throw away items from your past.  I feel a bit of a hypocrite.  I know my husband is somewhere in the universe with a big smile on his face because I have admitted this fact.  🙂

The thing is, I have sold my house and the apartment I am going to is very small.  So, the realization that I can’t take so much with me has hit home.  I have my grandmother’s antiques that are beautiful, but I will not have any room for them.  A quilting friend of mine’s granddaughter who will be graduating from college this year saw pictures of them and really fell in love with them.  I was very happy to give them to her.  I know that my grandmother is smiling knowing they are going somewhere to be appreciated and loved.  My girls are also happy that I have found such a good home for them.

I am keeping the antique bedroom set Gary bought me when we first got married.  It’s perfect for my smaller bedroom.  It has been stored for years because we had gone to a king-sized bed.  And I have a beautiful golden oak hall tree that will be in my sunroom right inside the door.

Joe and Kelly got a 30-yard dumpster for me to fill.  I am happy to report that it has been filling up.  I occasionally need to sit myself down and have a stern talk with myself about holding onto things.  I have a much greater appreciation of what Gary used to go through when he had to get rid of something.

I also haven’t even picked my camera up since I have gotten home from Florida.  I can’t wait until I can get back to photography.  I really have had so much fun with it.

The past two weeks my good friend Sue was visiting.  She makes my clothes and I quilt her quilts.  We always have a good time together.  It was a very needed break in the sorting of house and garage contents.  She left on Wednesday.  I always hate to see Sue go back home.  But we all have to go home eventually.

I have been doing some quilting and have decided that I will continue to do more through the rest of the weekend and when Monday hits I will get back to the daunting job of sorting through our past.

Have a good day.

Wanda

 

 

The Beach

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Daily Prompt:  Savage

 

I took a walk on the beach today.

Blue skies and white clouds welcomed me.

Pelicans and seagulls flew over my head

A beautiful sight to see.

 

Waves gently rolling into the shore

Saying a quiet hello.

Sandpipers running on the sand

Following the water’s ebb and flow.

 

The dunes are alive with sea grasses

With vines and sea oats holding onto the sand

They hide their inhabitants successfully

Keeping them safe and sound..

 

Life is glorious on the beach.

It calms me and soothes my soul.

I was lost in my thoughts of wonder

At what God has given to me.

 

Then quickly the clouds began to change.

They grew dark and caused the wind to form.

The birds began to disappear

Heading for shelter to ride out the storm.

 

Then waves slammed into the beach

With a warning to leave at once.

So with regret I walked away

As the wind savagely beats the dunes.

 

I thought about the drastic change

That God had designed today.

And realized I must put my faith

In His all knowing ways.

© Wanda Williams

 

 

The Unwelcomed Guest

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100 Word Challenge:  Snake

Several years ago when my friends moved to Orlando they began to have a visitor in the back of the house by the pool. It was a big black snake. Frank would catch the snake, walk it down to the woods behind their home and let it go.

The snake would reappear under the small palm tree by the pool. He would catch it again and release it in the woods. This continued all summer long. Once the snake followed Frank out of the woods. The following summer the snake did not come back. I think they really missed it.

Wanda

On Parade

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SOCS June 24, 2017

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As I was standing in the rain watching the reigning Queen pass by in the beautiful carriage with the huge horses, I could see the driver pulling on the reins to stop them from moving too quickly along the parade route. What magnificent animals those horses were. It made me think about the time when I was a child when my Uncle Francis took me horseback riding.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t such a great experience for me. I imagine that the horse I was on wasn’t a really big one even though I thought it was massive. Anyway, I was quite frightened. I guess the horse could sense that and he wasn’t too gentle with me. I really think I was making him nervous. I fell off of the horse.

I didn’t get hurt badly. But my pride was damaged and I would not get back on the horse. To this day I still will not ride a horse.  I have been told that I am really missing out by not trying again.  But I am happy just watching these animals.

Wanda

Overstepping

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Daily Prompt:  Meddle

There is a fine line between offering advice and meddling in someone’s business.  I am sure that we have all gone through the over zealous advice of parents, parents in law and friends.  Everyone thinks they know what you should do.  Unfortunately, if this behavior is not put into check, relationships can be affected and even destroyed.

I remember when I was young and getting married.  Of course I had my own ideas of how I wanted things done.  My mother in law did things completely different than the way I had been taught.  Something as simple as how I washed the dishes was called into question.

For years I bit my tongue.  I was reluctant to speak my mind.  But the day came when I had had enough.  Maybe it was because I was tired from being up with the baby and was also working.  I can’t remember the specifics of that day except I was told, in my house that I wasn’t doing something the way she would have done it.

I exploded.  I had had enough.  I told my mother in law that although I loved her, and she was my husband’s mother, she needed to back off.  I also told her that unless she wanted to support me and take over my bills, what we did in our home was really none of her business.

Needless to say, she was hurt.  I was immediately sorry that I had told her off like that. Unfortunately you can’t un-ring a bell.  She left and we didn’t speak for a few days.  My husband had spoken to her and she told him about the incident.  You can imagine how that conversation went.  I have to say that he did back me up with the unwanted advice, but was sorry it had come to a head the way it did.

Finally my mother in law and I had to see each other.  It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but we found our way back to a good relationship after a long time.

Now I am a mother in law and a mother of grown kids.  I catch my self starting to offer advice that is not appreciated and I stop right away.  I have explained to my kids that they will always be my babies no matter how old they get and that I will always want to help and protect them.  Then I admit that I need to back off and shut up.  They give me that tolerant smile that all of us get from our grown kids.

My point is that I would not even realize what I was doing if I hadn’t gone through a very uncomfortable issue with my own mother in law.  So, I am eternally thankful to her for teaching me the boundaries I need to respect when I deal with my grown kids.

Wanda

 

The Beach

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Two Word Tuesday:  June 6, 2017, Amity and/or Friendship

Last summer Annie visited the beach side community of Seaside. She was anxious to get unpacked and hit the beach. Annie, who had grown up not too far from this sleepy little beach town had rarely spent any time on the beach. She hated to be in a bathing suit. Hated to show off her pale blotched skin. Kids were cruel as we all can remember from our childhood.

Annie had a skin condition which made her skin look as if it was stitched together like a crazy quilt made out of different shades of tan. It was bad enough she had to have her face and forearms exposed in the warm weather at school, she certainly wasn’t about to expose herself to the cruelty she would experience in a bathing suit. Because of Annie’s skin, she had few friendships. She was always reluctant to put herself out there.

This was a new day. Annie had finally found a doctor who had been able to treat her skin with exceptional results. She was experiencing things in life she had always shunned. No longer feeling inferior she was making friends and even dating a little bit. The one thing she wanted to do was return here to Seaside and put on a bathing suit and soak up the sun. This was something she had always wanted to do with the kids she had gone to school with. It was her victory over her past. So, dressed in a pretty pink two piece bathing suit, she grabbed her book, sunglasses, chair and left the hotel headed for the beach.

On the beach she found the perfect spot. Not hidden away, but right in the middle of all of the activity. She plopped her chair down and walked into the water. She felt the appreciative eyes of those around her watching. She smiled to herself feeling that finally she would have amity.