Happy May 2023!

 Hello, my friends. Happy May—which is to say, happy mental health month. To round out the rest of the month I’m sprinkling here and there some happy mindful things. Some of my favorites. Starting with this:

 

And then this:

Because there is so much magic embedded here. Yom. 

Esther Remembered

This time, last month, I was four months pregnant. Then there was blood, so much blood. And then I was no longer pregnant.

Now, I feel like so much is broken. My words are broken.

But this woman happened to be assigned as my nurse, and that is important. There’s a piece of magic in that she was my nurse. I’m clutching this magic like a spark in my hand, and I may not be able to use it now, because my heart still hurts too much, but eventually I’ll loosen my grip and the spark will light things up so I can see better.

Meanwhile, I want to share this woman’s story and her song. I want to shed some light on the fact that so many women go through this. I didn’t know before, but I know now, and I’ve felt deeply consoled by the women who’ve shared bits of their own stories—bits of their shattered pieces—yet they’ve found ways to heal, or to deal, and to continue finding joy and love.

I’ve not yet found ways to heal or deal, but here are some pieces of gratitude I’ve been able to gather over the last month:

• I’m grateful for the woman who cleaned the blood off my legs. She didn’t have to, I could have done it, but she wiped my legs while I wiped tears from my face.
• I’m grateful for the woman who brought soup and sourdough for my family. I could have done that too, but she coordinated things in the background, so I didn’t have to.
• I’m grateful for those who prayed for us, sent love to us, condolences in texts and handwritten cards.
• I’m grateful for children who hold my hand and wrap their little arms around me, pressing their cheeks to mine.
• I’m grateful for a husband who will cry with me because, sometimes, that’s all we can do.
• I’m grateful we were able to find out our baby’s gender in December, and name her, and feel her close for a while.
• I’m grateful I still feel Esther close, sometimes.  

To anyone else who’s gone through this, I’m so sorry. I share this song, “Angels Remembered,” in hope that it helps.

Mindful Monday: Body Scans and Grocery Stores

Hello again, my friends, and happy Mindful Monday! Last week we did some body scan practices and that was nice, right? Nice to slow down, breathe, pay attention to sensations and feelings in our bodies. So, let’s do some more. Here’s a short exercise you can do anywhere:

With headphones on, I’m able to do this while stuck in traffic or strolling through the grocery store. At the doctor’s office. Walking down the street, observing my surroundings and taking a moment to be grateful for the magic details: the turning colors of autumn leaves; the way the dog across the street bounces as it walks with its owner; the angel medallion embedded into the cement of the sidewalk.

In the crazy rush of this world, I hope slowing down and being present in your body is helpful for you. I hope it gives you a moment of calm, and the ability to breathe, then continue on. Most of all, I wish you peace and love as you move more mindfully into this week.

Week Two—Week of Why

Hello fellow Creatives! Welcome to Week Two of our five-week Picture Book Challenge.  

Remember, as far as rules go, we’re keeping it simple:

1. Word count: 300-500 words.

2. Write only what the illustrator can’t illustrate. Allow room for their art (or yours if you’re illustrating your own stories) to bloom too.

3. Be kid friendly. Review Week 1 for a reminder of what this means.

How’d last week go? Were you able to cultivate some wonder? To tap into your strong emotions? Did this help you create 300-500 words of a story with a strong character, or set of characters, who will empower young readers?

I had a problem with a vacuum. Cue strong emotions. Rather than acting out on my frustrations while trying to wrap my brain around the problem, I tried doing this cultivating wonder thing. I got down on the floor, squiggled around to see the situation from a different angle. Tried wrapping my imagination around the problem instead, and vwalla! My 488-count vacuum story was born.

Week Two we want to continue doing this, but with a little more focus on the WHY of it all.

This week we make a list—an ongoing list, if you like, it doesn’t have to only be this week—of our favorite picture books. Then we figure out why they are our favorites.

So, first, make a list of at least ten of your favorite picture books. Read them, if you can, and then read them again. Read them to others, especially kids, to observe their reactions too. Where do they laugh? Is it the same as you?

If you don’t own all your favorite books, or they aren’t available at your library, YouTube usually has a number of people who read picture books for a virtual storytime experience [example below: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, by Jon Scieszka...so, so good]. See if you can find what you’re looking for there.

After you’ve gone through your favorite books multiple times, make notes of your favorite things in each of the stories. Things you like, things you savor deeply, but also things you wish the author and/or illustrator did better.

Your notes are going to reveal similarities of your specific preferences across these stories. This is how you begin understanding your why’s. Do you always love a strong female character? A diverse cast of characters, whether the author uses humans or anthropomorphic animals? Do you appreciate great uses of metaphor? Witty twists on fairytales? Maybe you love it when the rhyme is spot on, or maybe you don’t like rhyme at all.

These similarities are your golden stars. Sticker them, and make sure you put at least some of those golden stars in your own story you write this week.

Just 300 words. No problem, right? Write. 

Gold star stickers for everyone this week! 

Go, write, win!

Mindful May: Happy Birthday!

Hello Everyone! Today, Omega turns five. It's official. He's gone around the sun five times. Five things I love about him are:

1. The way he tilts his head just so, when I ask if I can give him a kiss, so I end up smooching him on his crown.

2. The way he cuddles without question or reserve. Even when he's mad, or distracted, or has other things to do. A quick cuddle, then off running again. 

3. The way he speaks with such confidence, like his heart is talking through his mouth, and his eyes confirm every word. 

4. The way bugs are endless entertainment. And plants. And the world in general. Except broccoli. The only thing entertaining about broccoli is how it bounces on the ground. 

5. The way he loves his siblings. He's fierce for them, and with them, and he knows he's an integral part of us. He has no doubt about the most important things. 

He wants a scorpion birthday, this year. I shudder. He's like, "Yuuuuus!" So here's our compromise (do you think scorpions ever smile? Double-shudder):  

For our quest on mindfulness today, I bring you Nancy Tillman's On the Night You Were Born. Have you read it too? It's one of our favorite birthday books because it uses imagination and sensory details to engage in celebration of individuals and how special each of us are. 

I hope you enjoy this rendition, or if you have the book you read it again with someone you adore, and that you know that--even if it's not your birthday today--you are loved: 

Mindful May: Yoga with Adriene (and Steampunk Skunk)

Hello Everyone! Today on our mindfulness quest I bring you two people/things I love:

1. Yoga with Adriene 

(I've even put a handy little link to the left under the quick ref column. Super-duper writer resources, yes. I love her stuff that much). She talks about calm and creating space for mindfulness. That space--whether mental, physical, emotional, or otherwise--is so important. I had no idea how to create head space on my own amongst all the head chatter I juggle constantly. Maybe it's the same for you? No worries, Adriene helps guide you through the process. I wish I'd known about this stuff years ago. But I didn't, and that's okay, I'm just glad I know now. 

2. Steampunk Skunk

I adore skunks. Beta knows this and draws me skunks often to help me be happy. Exactly how Steampunk Skunk came about, I'm not sure, but this character is the best. Guaranteed to make me smile every time. I hope he makes you smile too...he's going to do a little yoga stretch here while I link below the flexibility video I try to do everyday. You should try it too. Steampunk Skunk will do it with you.

It's only 16 minutes, and it's really that good. So, so good. 

Let me know if you try the flexibility stuff and what you think. I'd love to know your thoughts about this, or yesterday's post about leaning into what makes us happy. Splashing in rain, a warm cup heating up cold fingers, the satisfaction of fixing something. What else?

Mindful May: Happy

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile (years?), but here we are again. There are things happening, happy things, but for now we'll set those aside. 

For now, I want to celebrate the idea, the practice, the creative process inherent in and of mindfulness. To practice more mindfulness in May. All month I'll be posting picture books, creative suggestions, art prompts and posts, that explore mindfulness. I'll post, and hope you comment and post your own mindful stuff too, sharing with me and others. Let's make May merry.  

We start off with Happy, written by Nicola Edwards and illustrated by Katie Hickey.

Link to original here

First of all, can we pause a moment to really take in these colors? And the textures Hickey uses in the artwork? And the idea of sitting on a roof to look at, soak in, the stars? Have you ever done this--please tell me you have? It's a glorious thing. You feel so tiny, and yet so huge, all at once. 

Edwards does a wonderful job of breaking down the basic idea: "Mindfulness is all about connecting with ourselves and the world around us."

Simple. So, so simple. 

And then she gives us some examples of ways we can be mindful in listening, feeling, relaxing, tasting, and more. There's lots more, but I'll let Mrs. Carabot take you through:

Gorgeous, right?

You *looks pointedly at you* are gorgeous. What are some things that make you happy? Leave me some thoughts in the comments below. 

Let's Hear for the New Year

Let's face it, I have no idea what I'm doing. But I'm trying to figure it out, so meanwhile, here's a little something from someone who seems like they do:

Echo

Because I love 300 words or less, here's an old piece of my heart:

Echo

An echo of coal

still glows orange and red,

softly round, inside my soul.

Is it too much?

Not yet. When it is,

I'll let you know.

And this is what helps me wakey-wakey at 4 am, because that's the only time I can chunk out to write during this chunk of my life:

Little Dragon

Oh, you know, because today calls for a little jammy-jam. Little Dragon say:

Heart Space

Leah is continuing the prompts through the weekend. What? I know! So I'm running behind on this one, and so many others, just don't think about it! Here's the prompt:

Make a list of places you don't go anymore

And here's my 10 minute list:

original link

dark room

the greenbelt

jungle run

table rock cross

simplot’s hill

bogus basin

orchestra practice

mandarin garden

basement of the business building

laundromat

the quad

beaver mountain

swing café

mike hams

the raven

security office at the theater

employee lounge

on the bart

the underworld

the gym

path by the canal

green studio

the owl

the loop drive

secret orchard at Red Butte Garden

that one greek restaurant

Bryant Middleschool

smoke shops

And just because, here's a song place I used to visit frequently but don't much anymore:

 

What unvisited places fill up your heart spaces? 

Written On the Sky

Today's prompt is lost, so here's this instead:

Written On the Sky

“Don’t do it," a warm voice said, startling Ella. 

She looked up from the crumpled cash she was placing on the counter. She blinked at the guy snapping a lid onto her coffee cup. Small silver hoops winked against his dark ears. She tilted her head in surprise at the sky-blue of his eyes. How had she missed those before? He flashed a grin and handed over her cup.

“Um,” she mumbled, distracted from her morbid thoughts by an unexpected dimple. “Don’t do what?”

He shrugged. “Whatever it was you were thinking just then. Don’t do it.”

“Oh, right.” She flushed and lifted her cup as she turned. “Thanks for the joe.”

“Hang on,” he said when Ella’s hand pressed the door to leave. She paused and watched him call to his coworker, “Ester, cover me for a sec?”

A couple customers huddled at their tables around the small shop, reading or sipping silently. Slow evening. The redhead drying mugs at the counter lifted her chin, glanced up and down Ella once, then shrugged and returned to her drying.

The guy stepped around the register and met Ella at the door. When he pushed it open a bell dinged. Outside he took off his green apron and folded it on the curb of the tiny parking lot.

Ella frowned and shook her head, unsure what to do. He gestured for her to sit on the green square of apron, then sat on the cement next to it. He pulled a pod with earbuds out of his back pocket and scrolled to a song as Ella sat cross-legged. Handing the pod over, he tucked one of the buds into her ear, one into his. When the music started, she couldn’t help but close her eyes to listen. 

It wasn't what she’d expected.

It finished much too soon.

When she opened her eyes again she was immediately distracted by that dimple. She looked away as she pulled the bud from her ear, fumbled it back to him, and fiddled with the top of her cup.

“So?” he asked.

“Nice.” 

He chuckled soft. “Here,” he said as he took the cup from her hands and leaned slightly toward her. Ella held her breath, again unsure what to do. He pulled a Sharpie out of his back pocket and hunched over the cup.

Ella let out her breath with a huff. “Do you have a Mary Poppin's pocket back there or something?”

He didn’t look up, but dimpled. “Is it sad that I get that reference?”

No, not sad. Not at all. 

When he handed the cup back a line of black digits was scrawled under the word ‘Chase’ in typical guy scribble. 

Ella quirked one brow. “Is that your name or a suggestion?”

“You’ll have to call the number to find out.”

original link

She smiled for what seemed the first time in forever. A small smile, but a definite uptick in her lips. A small uptick in her life. 

He took her hand and lifted her to her feet, then grabbed his apron and tied it low around his hips as he walked backwards toward the door. 

“You should do that,” he said.

“Do what?” she asked, rubbing her thumb over the writing on her cup.

He paused, something indistinguishable written on the sky of his eyes. “Whatever it was you were thinking just then. Do that instead.”

What Is It?

This is the reason I write. One of the reasons, anyway:

Did you see it? See the moment? Watch it again, and then write down in the comments the [minute:second] where you saw it, and what you think it is. More on this next week, I just want to throw this little experiment out to the masses and hear what you think.

Living Your Peace

Because today I don't have much to say, there's this:

What piece of peace is moving you right now? Do share in the comments -- I'd love to live your peace too.

Speaking of Magic

Today we found out gender…

And it’s a girl *big grins* All I could think as I lay there while they probed my belly was...well, something along the lines of how magical it is to live in such a time when we can see our babies before they're born. 

Words don't even do justice.

Super Villains?

Only one question this week: In your opinion, what constitutes a villain?
 

Answer in the comments, link up a longer answer from your blogs, etc. I’m very much interested in your thoughts.

Bonus question: Who is the best villain you’ve read/watched/met, and why?

And here's something to get you started...

My Blue Looks Like This

And my results from this are:

Trump

Today you said I’ve come full circle,

Round and round I go.

Uroborus

Munching my own tail.

Please. Give me benefit of spiral instead, movement rather than ground zero.

link to original here

 __________________________

 

Lurch

“Lands gad,” he says to my lad.

“Up there ahead, do you see?”

Reeling left, my son lifts his great heft

Calling, “Harbor ho!” bitterly.

He hates coming home to see me.

link to original here

 ___________________________

Bowl-Over

Because I said I would.

Our love started on a night

When the moon was round, and the stars hung

Low. Now my belly is round, and my breasts hang low, and

Only you could love me so

Voraciously still.

Each memory is a chemical balance, fermenting with age until we are

Ripe with such fullness. I partake of this drink, with you, because I said I would.

Click here for Musical Inspiration

___________________________

For another rendition from the same palette check out Sleepy Joe's lovely story here. Much thanks to her for sharing part of her world.

And for your final piece of magic today I bring you some love from Xavier Rudd:

 

300 Words or Less: Pale

I'm not usually one to take my shirt off for people, but when the person telling me to strip has a gun on her hip and a title on her name? I only hesitate a moment.

At least I can be proud of that moment.

We are both workers, she and I, born in the same complex. Obviously the authority of my title holds nothing against hers though. I’ve definitely not been issued a gun.

Her face is hard, like the grey stone walls around us are hard. Still, I can’t imagine she’s much older than me. None of us get much older than me without losing something important. An eye, a hand, a piece of our soul.

I wonder what she’ll do when she gets off work tonight. Will she lean on her fridge door while rummaging for something to munch? Maybe she’ll pop a lite beer, put her feet up, watch a re-run while winding down. Maybe she’ll head straight to bed. Will someone be waiting for her there?

link to original here

Her eyes scan lazy over my pale breasts, her voice monotone. “Height?”

“Five-three.”

“Weight?”

“One-twenty.”

She looks me up and down, doing her own calculations. I have no idea what she writes on her form. The questions never end.

Until they do.

The last one makes me smile.

“Are you suicidal?”

I smile because a truly suicidal person would never say yes. We all know this, right?

“No.”

She scrutinizes my face, my answer, my crime. She calculates again. But then she just shrugs, throws me my shirt. She’s got a pale ale at home that’s more important than I am.

“Put her in the tank with the rest,” she says, and they push me forward.

Or perhaps I’m moving backwards.

At this point, I can’t tell. 

_______________________________

That's the latest story, morning glory. Let me know what you think about this or anything else you want to rant/share. Have a lovely week, lovelies, and here's a little magic from Cat Power's new album:

*Update: I'm linking with the Dude Write flash-fic competition this week, so check out this and other bloggers' work here.

Follow the White Rabbit

Here are my top three pieces of advice this week, my friends (go read the links and I promise you won’t be disappointed):

1. Score Barton Moody as your tax guy. If you can, go in personally to see him because it’s such a treat, but if you don’t live anywhere near Salt Lake City he’ll do long-distance. So that means you.

link to original here

2. “Write with an imaginary machete strapped to your thigh. This is not wishy-washy, polite, drinking-tea-with-your-pinkie-sticking-out stuff. It’s who you want to be, your most powerful self.”

3. “Know your industry. But don’t get bogged by it. Your book can’t succeed if your book doesn’t exist in the first place. Concentrate all fire on that Star Destroyer, mmkay? You can’t control publishing. You can’t control the audience’s reaction to your book. Control what you can control, which means: write the best book that lives inside you.”

To all of the above I would add – writing is my gig but if something else is yours (art, music, design, dance, math, gaming, etc) these things apply to you as well. 

You may not be able to control other people’s reactions but you can control, to great extent, what you think and do. So create and experience life with that imaginary machete and be your most powerful you.

That, and talk to Moody.

  

And here's some magic from Daughter:

 

Medicine Cabinet

I’ll be back soon. Meanwhile, here are a myriad of things for you to riffle your fingers through. Like a medicine cabinet. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you opened the mirror to look behind. See anything that surprises you?

Napkin drawings

  

Matisyahu sans beard

Promises made

Promises broken (original link)

 

Practicing for Thor's hammer

And what do you keep in your metaphorical medicine cabinet? Link it up and/or comment below.