Life in progress

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#SoCS – Limbo

I was always good at doing the limbo when I was younger. Now I probably suck at it. In fact, I’m afraid to even try it. I have to wonder if it somehow prepared me for the more…what’s the word… existential form of limbo I face now. The constant feeling I’ve had for many years that there’s something more out there for me. Riches, lifestyle, fame… I can admit to craving those things maybe 20 years ago. (make that 30) But then again I didn’t have kids to worry about 30 years ago. I could do with the first two now – riches and a better lifestyle – but fame is something I can do without. I like being invisible.

The feeling of limbo has changed. Morphed in some way. Back thirty years ago I had no idea how I might achieve such things. Now I at least have writing… not likely to gain me all these things, but the minute possibility is there. And hey, who could have imagined I’d have even this many people interested in what I have to say? Me, the wallflower at parties – the one of the couple who used to stand back and listen to what everyone else was chatting about, and only speaking when spoken to.

The limbo is wrapped up now in waiting to be published. I’m very very close with the smaller project. The bigger one needs more work, but I’m still determined to get it out there before the year is up. I promised my muse I would, after all.

NOTE: Don’t forget to check the comments in this week’s prompt to be sure your link is there!! Not all of the pingbacks are working.

This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link to find out how you can join in too! https://lindaghill.com/2016/06/10/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-1116/

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#ThursdayDoors – Doors that tell a story

It was 2009 and I’d already decided to buy my house. During the inspection, the real estate agent and I were poking around in all the nooks and crannies when we discovered that the inside of one of the closet doors had been used, for decades, as a place to record the growth of the children who grew up here. Click on the pictures for a closer look.

It’s fun to find history displayed in public places. It’s even better when you come across it in your own home.

Thursday Doors is brought to you by Norm Frampton at Norm 2.0. You can find the origin of this amazing prompt here: https://miscellaneousmusingsofamiddleagedmind.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/thursday-doors-june-2-2016/


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One-Liner Wednesday – Burn!

There’s a story behind this one: It started with my best friend, John, writing on my fridge with magnets, “live laugh love.” Later, my eldest son changed it to “give tough love.”

So I spelled out the obvious.

egads
Clean your room or else!

“Egads!” was already there. It fits.

____________________________________________________________________________

Anyone who would like to participate, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do,
you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our new, very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com


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Song-Lyric Sunday – The Last Resort – The Eagles

Helen’s prompt for this weeks’ Song-Lyric Sunday is “classics.” Her post here (where you can find all the rules and stuff to join in – do it!), highlights a song that tells a story. As I was going through my CD collection, looking for one of my oldest albums (I still have it on vinyl!) I came across “Hotel California.” Everyone knows the title song, and yes, it too tells a story. But the song on the album I love even more is “The Last Resort,” which also tells a story. One that is as relevant today as it has ever been.

You can listen to it here, with the lyrics:

If you can’t view the one above, try this:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgry2y_eagles-the-last-resort_music

“The Last Resort”
Don Henley and Glen Frey

She came from Providence,
the one in Rhode Island
Where the old world shadows hang
heavy in the air
She packed her hopes and dreams
like a refugee
Just as her father came across the sea

She heard about a place people were smilin’
They spoke about the red man’s way,
how they loved the land
And they came from everywhere
to the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand
or a place to hide

Down in the crowded bars,
out for a good time,
Can’t wait to tell you all,
what it’s like up there
And they called it paradise
I don’t know why
Somebody laid the mountains low
while the town got high

Then the chilly winds blew down
Across the desert
through the canyons of the coast,
to the Malibu
Where the pretty people play,
hungry for power
to light their neon way
give them things to do

Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught ’em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes,
and Jesus people bought ’em
‘nd they called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea

You can leave it all behind and sail to Lahaina
just like the missionaries did, so many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: “Jesus is coming”
Brought the white man’s burden down
Brought the white man’s reign

Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
‘Cause there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here

We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny
and in the name of God

And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about
what it’s like up there
They call it paradise
I don’t know why
You call someplace paradise,
kiss it goodbye

Lyrics courtesy of A-Z Lyrics

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#SoCS – Give me a break!

You know what always pissed me off when I was working in an office? Smokers. They were allowed smoke breaks but because I didn’t smoke, I had to stay at my desk and work. It was unfair! Except in the middle of winter – then I used to laugh at them, outside in the cold, smoking their brains out.

I always said I never started smoking because everyone who did wanted to quit. What was the point of starting? Logical, right? But my parents smoke/d (my mother still does), their best friends smoked – practically everyone I grew up with did. I have asthma from breathing it in all those years ago. Back then they didn’t care if I was in the car, or the house, or where ever they were when they lit up. It wasn’t commonly known how much damage it could do. After I became pregnant for the first time (in 1994), my mother stopped smoking around me. I find now that when I smell smoke it bothers me more than it used to.

And you know what’s weird? If I’m sitting beside a smoker, the smoke always comes to me. If I get up and move to the other side of them, it follows me. I can’t catch a break. Unless I’m nowhere near a smoker of course.

So why did I want to go out and have a smoke break with the smokers? Oh yeah, to get away from my desk.

I’m going for a walk now. I need a break!

SoCS badge 2015

This post is part of this weeks’ Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link to find out how you, too, can join in the fun! https://lindaghill.com/2016/05/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-2116/


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#SoCS – Dreaming

Ow, ow, ow, it hurts! Do you ever wake up and say that? Happened to me this morning – my head, all my joints, my stomach… I felt like someone had beaten me up in my sleep. It was probably due to the fact that I actually slept for about six hours in a row and then another one. I’m not used to laying down that long. But you gotta wonder if you are getting beaten up, you know? Especially after a dream like the one I had yesterday. I wrote about it on my Facebook page yesterday. When I’m finished this post I’ll copy and paste it here:

I just had a dream in which my son’s white cat (who never comes near me) came in from outside covered in snow. While I was drying him off, he turned into an East Indian man who wouldn’t leave the bathroom while I was trying to pee, then he turned the bathroom into the setting of a music video complete with a full band. They played a song and he sang – in the song he was trying to talk me into killing myself. Then I woke up. This is why I don’t do naps during the day.

Or maybe it was like a Friday the 13th hangover. I didn’t have a lot of bad luck yesterday – just a bit. I was worried for a while last night after I spilled 10mg of Alex’s heart meds on the floor and the dog licked it up. It’s meant to slow down Alex’s heart rate. Luckily the puppy doesn’t seem to have had any ill effects. He’s happily chewing a rawhide bone by my side. But back to Friday the 13th. I used to view it with fear. Now, not so much. It’s just a number, right? Why should Saturday the 14th be any better or worse? Except the hangover thing – possibly caused by the ultimate relaxation that comes from being tense all day the day before? Have you ever experienced such a thing? It’d be interesting to study the phenomenon…

I think my Tylenol is wearing off. Time for another couple. Ta ta.

SoCS badge 2015

This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2016/05/13/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-1416/


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#atozchallenge – Reflections times two

I learned a lot from both of my A to Z Challenges.

First, I wasn’t sure I had enough material to pull off the theme I chose for this blog, which was parenting a Deaf child as a hearing mother. I was afraid I’d repeat myself. I don’t think I did. In the process of writing it, I also learned that what I do without really thinking about it on a daily basis is extraordinary. Not to say that I believe myself to be special, but like anything we do until we are no longer conscious of the mechanics of it, whether it’s touch-typing, driving a car, playing a video game, or whatever it is we do well, if we take the time to break it down into steps, we can usually find ourselves awestruck that our brains can do so much at once. Putting it that way, I don’t think I’m any different than anyone. I just have a different set of circumstances.

At the same time, I hope by sharing my life and what it’s like to survive as a Deaf person, I’ve raised some awareness for those who may never know, but who might meet by chance, someone who cannot hear. They are everywhere. To find my challenge from the beginning, click here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/04/01/all-about-alex-atoz-challenge/

For my second challenge, I took on the task of showing rather than telling different characteristics of people in fiction. I learned that it’s not easy, when writing less than 200 words, and in some cases only 50, to pull a virtue or flaw out of a character and relay it sufficiently. I’m sure I failed a few times, but hey, it was an exercise to better my craft. We learn from our mistakes as well as our successes.  You can find the start of my fiction A to Z here: https://lindaghillfiction.com/2016/04/01/apathetic-a-z-april-blogging-challenge/

As much fun as this year’s A to Z was, I admit I’m glad it’s over. As well as editing my epic paranormal romance novel, I’m also planning to self-publish my A to Z fiction (a romantic comedy novelette) from two years ago. I’ve promised myself the latter will be available for sale next month.  On a related note, as you may know, I plan to turn this year’s A to Z on parenting a Deaf child into a book. Therefore, I’ll be removing it from view on my blog at the end of this month. If you haven’t read it all yet, and want to before I compile it for publication, do it soon!

It’s been great meeting new bloggers through the challenge. I hope to participate again next year. It’s been a blast!


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Song-Lyric Sunday – “The Way” – Fastball

Today’s theme for Song-Lyric Sunday is Moms. I wanted to share something a little different. I’ve always loved the song, “The Way,” by Fastball. It reminds me of carefree days before kids, when the world was my oyster and the road was paved with gold, at least in my mind. It also reminds me that there are people in the world who never grow up, who never submit to the responsibility of the children they bear. What the couple does in the song is a fleeting fantasy. One I admit to occasionally having. In me, it only lasts a split second. For some…

“The Way” – Fastball

They made up their minds
And they started packing
They left before the sun came up that day
An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

They drank up the wine
And they got to talking
They now had more important things to say
And when the car broke down they started walking
Where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

[Chorus:]
Anyone can see the road that they walk on
Is paved in gold
And it’s always summer
They’ll never get cold
They’ll never get hungry
They’ll never get old and grey
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere
They won’t make it home
But they really don’t care
They wanted the highway
They’re happier there today, today

Their children woke up
And they couldn’t find them
They left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off and left it all behind ’em
But where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

[Chorus]

Song-Lyric Sunday is brought to you by the lovely and talented Helen Espinosa. Click the link and learn how you, too, can join in! https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/song-lyric-sunday-oh-mother-by-christina-aguilera/

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Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day, to all the awesome

moms 1

and sometimes overworked

moms 2

but always appreciated Moms out there!

tulips


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#SoCS – Apparently a parent

What makes one a parent? Is it the simple act of creating another life? Or is it having days like the one I’m having today? It started with coming out of my bedroom to find the kid at the top of the stairs holding a dog biscuit up above his head and the dog about to jump up at him from the stair above (the kid was one step down from the top) and about to knock him down the entire flight backwards.

Said kid has been frustrated all day by one thing after another, and screaming his head off (as he is now) and testing my limits as he does it.

The second time he tried to kill himself today (I’m saying this is the second, because things come in threes and I want it to be over already) he decided he wasn’t going to eat today. At all. I had visions of him ending up in hospital hooked up to an IV because his heart can’t handle dehydration.

And then (you’ll really get a kick out of this one) he pulled the power cord out of his laptop (still plugged into the wall) and decided it might be yummy. He actually put it in his mouth before I noticed. !!!!!

If being stressed out means being a parent to a child who doesn’t realize how self-destructive he’s being, and actually staying with him while he practically kills me, then apparently I’m a parent.

I actually thought about recording him but I don’t want my audience to hate me. You’re welcome.

P.S. In case you’re not sure how to take this post, I’m still smiling. Smile with me. We’re all still alive.

SoCS badge 2015

This madness post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and join in today! https://lindaghill.com/2016/05/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-716/