Thursday, December 21
Borrowed Time
As a Christmas procrastinator extraordinaire, I am most thankful for little-girl-Robin, who wrote today's post over three decades ago. She must have known that in the future, I would put off whatever I could until the last minute, and then cram as much in as possible in a single day. I wish I had found her buried treasure in college; it might've helped me out a time or two when I was on a deadline.
This is vintage me: I waited until this week to photograph my children for a picture to send out with Christmas cards (which one of y'all had hers addressed in freakin' NOVEMBER and was worried about sending them out too soon?? smack, smack! ;) ). Murphey's Law is raging in these parts...BOTH our digital cameras are on the blitz :( (I really NEEDED to win Ree's little competition) and although I tried to take pictures, Rachel AND Thomas are sick, add in two sick cameras, and I got nothin'. Nada. Blurry, red-eyed nightmares, kids AND photographs themselves (lol). Soooo, I scrolled through some beach pictures and chose one where they're all genuinely happy, even though it's not what I'd really like to send out (you know, the "perfect" perfectly-staged fake-smile-so-mom-will-hurry-up-when-they're-annoying-the-snot- outta- each-other-between-clicks shot). I had copies made today, the cards hopefully will go out BEFORE Christmas, but most won't likely make it until after. Have I mentioned I haven't even begun addressing them?
You might ask, "Why bother?". Tad did. This is one of those things I'm SURE drive him crazy about me (it drives ME crazy about me!). But....I LOVE to receive cards from old friends, especially those who live out of town--it's our way of seeing their children grow up. A lot changes in a year. And I really don't care if they arrive in December or in time for Groundhog Day.
So, once I post, you'll know what I'm up to--some of which I bet y'all are up to, some of which you've already done...wrapping presents, cooking goodies, completing Christmas cards and maybe cleaning (ha! now THAT'S likely...about as much as a white Christmas in the Tennefreakinsee Valley!).
So, without further pontification about the minutia of my life, here are a few excerpts from my little book. Obviously, we were to write stories with a moral; just as obvious, I didn't mind plagiarizing. T
hese might be funny only to me, but if you're looking for at least a smile (as you remember your own elementary creative writing assignments), I hope you find one.
This is vintage me: I waited until this week to photograph my children for a picture to send out with Christmas cards (which one of y'all had hers addressed in freakin' NOVEMBER and was worried about sending them out too soon?? smack, smack! ;) ). Murphey's Law is raging in these parts...BOTH our digital cameras are on the blitz :( (I really NEEDED to win Ree's little competition) and although I tried to take pictures, Rachel AND Thomas are sick, add in two sick cameras, and I got nothin'. Nada. Blurry, red-eyed nightmares, kids AND photographs themselves (lol). Soooo, I scrolled through some beach pictures and chose one where they're all genuinely happy, even though it's not what I'd really like to send out (you know, the "perfect" perfectly-staged fake-smile-so-mom-will-hurry-up-when-they're-annoying-the-snot- outta- each-other-between-clicks shot). I had copies made today, the cards hopefully will go out BEFORE Christmas, but most won't likely make it until after. Have I mentioned I haven't even begun addressing them?
You might ask, "Why bother?". Tad did. This is one of those things I'm SURE drive him crazy about me (it drives ME crazy about me!). But....I LOVE to receive cards from old friends, especially those who live out of town--it's our way of seeing their children grow up. A lot changes in a year. And I really don't care if they arrive in December or in time for Groundhog Day.
So, once I post, you'll know what I'm up to--some of which I bet y'all are up to, some of which you've already done...wrapping presents, cooking goodies, completing Christmas cards and maybe cleaning (ha! now THAT'S likely...about as much as a white Christmas in the Tennefreakinsee Valley!).
So, without further pontification about the minutia of my life, here are a few excerpts from my little book. Obviously, we were to write stories with a moral; just as obvious, I didn't mind plagiarizing. T
hese might be funny only to me, but if you're looking for at least a smile (as you remember your own elementary creative writing assignments), I hope you find one.
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9 Comments:
LOL! Don't count your chicken's before they hatch!! You were a clever little girl, weren't you? And thanks for the warning about the parrots....I never knew that!
Once upon a time there was a newly married young woman who thought everyone wanted to know what she and her husband did all throughout the year so she devotedly wrote and sent Christmas newsletters every year.
Eventually, this young woman had a child and life got a little busier.
2 years later, she had another child and life got still busier.
She decided that Christmas now needed to be more focused on her family and less focused on getting the Christmas newsletter written and sent. Since she still enjoyed writing, she decided to make a Valentine's newsletter and skip the stress of getting something out by Christmas. After all, no one sends family newsletters at Valentine's Day. She'd have a captive audience!
After a few more years, she had another child, who was born on Feb. 9th. With no hope left for a Valentine's newsletter now, and the busiest life she could imagine, the newsletters have all but stopped completely.
Moral: This is why blogs were created.
So wait, are you saying that the girl had a talking cat? I mean how else would she know that the parrot spilled the beans. And what was the secret? And how come you write backhand?
I suppose you know by now that you didn't win the camera, I thought Susan should have one.
Your talent was shining through way back then... what a writer! If you can't trust a parrot, who can you trust????
Those parrots - bla bla bla
too funny - making me laugh and knowing I have to save EVERYTHING my kids are bringing home.
I think it so funny your digging up this stuff when you're supposed to be preparing for Christmas.
We are SO alike;)))
What lovely penmanship! You are a wise woman, I will never trust a parrot again.
Ha! Parrots are not to be trusted.
Susan, "Clever" little girl? Hmmmm, I thought so then, now I think I could have the nickname of your little girl ;).
Erin, J'adore your little autobiography :) :) :). And your moral explains a lot (for many of us, hehe) ;).
WT, Aren't talking cats standard issue? lol What's funny to me, is in ALL my little stories animals...or THINGS...could talk! I hadn't thought about it til you wrote that, but every bloomin' one that's coming to mind right now had a talking character that doesn't speak IRL. The secret that the parrot told the HE-cat was when I put him in his carrier the next time he wasn't really going to the Kitty Fun Park, but to have parts of his anatomy removed, rendering him an "it" cat.
And that whole thing about writing backhand, I explained the last time you commented on my handwriting. At 9 1/2 I was very impressionable, still not quite settled into "who" I'd become (that didn't happen until 41;) ). That was me, copying my good friend Lee, who was lefthanded and wrote with a VERY left-slanted penmanship. By fifth grade I don't think it looked anything like that.
Oh, does that mean your sending Susan a camera for Christmas (look back at your comment).
Nancy, Clever? Talent??? Y'all are blowing all kinds of air up my skirt ;) (smiling, though).
Karmyn, Everything WASN'T saved, that's why this is such a treasure! Don't try to keep every colored page or artwork when they're preschool young; but once they begin writing, watch the evolution in style and imagination. They'll love it 20+ years from now :).
Kelly, My book is sitting by the computer for when I "need" a quick post. What will I do when I've posted everything I'm willing to post from it? (hehe) But, yeah, looking for pictures, finding "treasures", you know it doesn't happen in five minutes! ;) Glad you're a kindred who "gets" me (but b/c of this, there's NO WAY I could homeschool, so you go, gurl!).
Marnie, Why thank you, on both your niceties. This is why pirates wear them on their shoulders...???
Jenny, I bet you already knew that ;).
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