Without my family, I am nothing. Writing and inspiration come from their everyday conversation. Missing the voices each day until the phone rings or the IM pings or the bus screeches to a halt after school is just a part of what inspires each written word. The women and men I have met have inspired the words that flow from my fingers through the keyboard and sometimes into print. Sometimes they are scrawled in the dark on a pad next to the bed. A notepad is as much a part of my wardrobe as shoes.
To disappear every once in a while is a treat. My favorites include the beach with just about anyone or no one at all. We camp, we hike, we try to bike without laughing at mommy. We celebrate anything. Report cards, behavior, an almost win, rain after the drought, a sale, a solstice, even death. Without celebration of life’s little moments, we will wait our whole lives away for something big. It isn’t allowed to say, “I wish I was older.” or ” I wish it was Christmas.” “We mustn’t wish our lives away” (thanks Grandmoro).
The love of the game, just about any game, is well worth the effort. The goal, the hit, the basket, the check, the foul, the coaches, the fans, the friends, the french fries are all worth more than money. We play and we learn. Life is for living.
We study. There are lessons everywhere, in all of us. Why does the old woman hang on to life? To offer lessons. We find that being proud doesn’t mean we are prideful. What is to live for? Lots of life.
If you have ever happened upon a Social Media Page page, you might read the question: who would you like to know? So many folks came to my mind. Most certainly Katharine Hepburn for more than a million reasons darling. Condoleezaa Rice would just be fascinating to watch in action. I would have loved to share an after dinner scotch with Winston Churchill during “the day”. The Duke, John Wayne. Celestine Sibley died much too early. I can daydream of listening to her with friends at Sweet Apple but must be contented to study her works. And my friends. Without them, there is no security. Someone who will care for my kids with love and yell at them to get out of the middle of the street too. I laugh with them and cry with them. I would not give anything for them. They fill in all the gaps.
And a husband with whom you share more than your kids. You have to love at least some of the same stuff and be able to argue to the point of agreeing to disagree. Same with your family.
FreelanceBeth 