This evening I was reading and deleting unneeded Keep notes, and I stumbled across one that led me to come back here and write a Slice of Life. It was something I jotted down that Vivian Chen had shared on her blog a year and a half ago.
I didn’t take time to create a frame in a journal, but I did try most of the steps below:
a list of about 7 things you did,
- Asked local businesses to sign up to sponsor our annual Spell-A-Thon.
- Ate a whole giant-sized coconut macaroon dipped in chocolate.
- Met with my Stafford Challenge small group of poets.
- Cooked cauliflower rice.
- Finished listening to Angela’s Ashes read by the author, Frank McCourt.
- Mailed two owl pellets and a crocheted phone case to a friend.
- Got a haircut.
a list of about 7 things you saw
- This idea from Vivian that showed up in my Keep notes.
- I could check the Version History on a Keep note. Who knew?
- I was able to see the date I added my note, so it led me to her post: “Living a Writerly Life.”
- Beautiful skies on my walk.
- Two little ornaments on my year-round tree.
- Sahara mustard weeds overtaking the desert (I pull them whenever I can)
- Date syrup, pomegranate molasses, pickled turnips and more Middle Eastern groceries at Yucca Kebab.
Something you heard someone say:
“My love had chemo today.”
A poem:
Frank McCourt,
storyteller extraordinaire,
hope through hell,
faith through futility,
pride through poverty.
I’m listening to Angela’s Ashes.
Today I remember my mom,
master of making do–
A chicken cut into 11 pieces,
the neck for her,
and my hand-me-down socks, the long
toes folded over until I grew into them.
Today I’m thankful for my own
alcoholic dad, who managed to bring
his check home instead of drinking it all up,
at least until he died at 42.
I heard on a podcast this week that humans seek connection and by reading, we connect. This is what your poem shows so clearly, the ways you connect with Angela’s Ashes. I’m also glad you found the prompt and shared it. I will give it a try! Amazing how much I learn about YOU through 7 things you did and saw. A great way to show, not tell! And as the land around me in VA is still covered in white snow, topped with 3 inches of ice, I enjoyed seeing your current landscape.
Denise, I’m coming back to this later today and trying it out when I get home from work. Great idea! I’d love to do this in our small group sometime. Frank McCourt is a favorite. Your poem hits hard and true and loving all at once.
I’m collecting writing ideas for March, and adding this to the list, Denise, thank you! And your poem – wow. Big big emotions in just a few words – that is the power of poetry, and you wow’ed me this morning.
Denise, I vaguely remember that post of Vivian’s and I remember thinking that I need to try that. Thanks for the reminder. I really enjoyed your poem. It is a tribute to survival, love, and obligation.
Denise! I love this. The poem and the “what you heard” just pulled at my heartstrings. And thank you for drawing me back into this community with your writing. I’ve missed being a part of the SoL! Maybe today is the day…
I love this journal prompt. It seems so doable. And I would like to visit you in the dessert someday. Your life there is so different from where I am. Your poem shows how reading can be cathartic to making amends with our own lives. Thanks for this rich post!
What a beautiful meander through your day, beginning with the simple task of deleting things electronically (something I’ve been busy with lately, trying to not buy more cloud storage!) We see so much in your lists. But what I will remember from your day today are the images of the chicken cut into 11, the neck for your mother, and the long socks, toes folded over. And the gratitude you can muster for your father who did the best he could until he couldnt.
Perhaps this epitomizes a writerly life. How you start somewhere, travel around noticing many things and ideas, and end with finding a successful, beautiful image.
How wonderful that your digital purge yielded an old note to inspire you to write today. Thanks for sharing it with all of us!
When you’re open to finding an opening, there it is. Everything here is food for thought from the portrait of a father who did what he could—until he couldn’t, to someone living with someone living with cancer, to clouds on a sky canvas. Thanks for this.
I listened to Angela’s Ashes a long time ago and still remember it as a memorable listening experience. I cried, I laughed, I loved the stories.
Love this remembrance of your mom:
“Today I remember my mom,
master of making do–”
Many of us were blessed by moms who were masters of making do. Let’s celebrate them.
I love how you were inspired by a long forgotten blog post & a note jotted down.
This is a great idea for the SOL introduction post! I am saving it! You do have me wondering about those 2 ornaments on your year around tree…as well as what a year around tree might look like? Your connection of family memories and Frank McCourt are carefully intertwined as all memories. I read his works long ago and am left thinking about the many differences in his stories and the book I am currently reading about the upper crust of society at about the same time, The Colony Club!
I read this book many years ago, and sadly, I don’t remember much about it. I do love this prompt idea. The framing reminds me of a prompt from Jason Reynolds about framing any object that holds a memory. I “framed” my dining room table. I love your desert pictures. Like Margaret said, your world is so different from mine. That poem!!
Thanks for sharing the journal prompt; I’m thinking about how to use it. Your poem is outstanding… These lines could have been written about my mother:
“master of making do–
A chicken cut into 11 pieces,
the neck for her,”
Thank you for reminding me of her. She was such a strong woman!
Oh my! This is lovely – talk about living a writerly life! One person inspires another who inspires the rest of us… and I am virtually certain this will show up in March. Your poem is a fascinating link between McCourt (with his focus on family) and your family – fathers on the outsides, mother in the center, making do.
Denise–I love this piece, the variety, the different genres…and you do it so well. I, too, will tuck this away for a day when I need some structure and inspiration for a slice! “master of making do” Such a wonderful phrase!