What's your favorite story?
Here's my jump into the 21st century writing trend: blogging. I've heard the word, know basically what it's all about and have never desired to start a blog until I read a former teaching colleague's whose writing I admire (and she doesn't have any idea! In fact, she probably doesn't even know me. . .well, she may remember my face from writing groups)
Weird how we admire from afar. I don't know why I've never told this particular person how much I enjoy reading her work. I think she's brilliant. How lucky her students were to have her for a teacher. Then I wonder, does anyone think this way of me? Has anyone admired me from afar? I can't imagine!
So, what do I want to say in my first blog post? I had two big thoughts today that stuck with me, one was this morning. I was lying in bed with my 19 month old daughter and thought, if I were to die, she would survive. Does she really need me? No. I mean, she follows me around and cries, "mama" occasionally, but she doesn't need me. My other thought came to me while in the shower (that happens a lot) My grandmother feels compelled to tell me all her revelations now that she's 82 and reflects on her life. She remembers going to the movies on the weekends with her parents. This was during the Depression. She realizes that she was lucky to have not grown up in poverty, although at the time she assumed everyone went to the movies regularly. She says you really see things differently when you are 82. She sits around watching old movies, reminiscing, and watching them in a different way than when she was a child. This is true at any stage of maturity. The things that were important to us or that seemed so big at one time are trivial at another. Kind of like going back to that gigantic childhood house you grew up in and it's not so gigantic anymore. In fact, it's downright tiny! I haven't gotten to my second big thought for today. I had to prep it with my grandmother's story. So, I'm thinking, wouldn't it be neat to interview a bunch of elderly people and ask them to tell me their favorite story? A favorite story is sort of vague, but I like that. I want it to be their favorite story in that moment. And I want to record it. Old people have a lot to say. They want someone to listen.
Weird how we admire from afar. I don't know why I've never told this particular person how much I enjoy reading her work. I think she's brilliant. How lucky her students were to have her for a teacher. Then I wonder, does anyone think this way of me? Has anyone admired me from afar? I can't imagine!
So, what do I want to say in my first blog post? I had two big thoughts today that stuck with me, one was this morning. I was lying in bed with my 19 month old daughter and thought, if I were to die, she would survive. Does she really need me? No. I mean, she follows me around and cries, "mama" occasionally, but she doesn't need me. My other thought came to me while in the shower (that happens a lot) My grandmother feels compelled to tell me all her revelations now that she's 82 and reflects on her life. She remembers going to the movies on the weekends with her parents. This was during the Depression. She realizes that she was lucky to have not grown up in poverty, although at the time she assumed everyone went to the movies regularly. She says you really see things differently when you are 82. She sits around watching old movies, reminiscing, and watching them in a different way than when she was a child. This is true at any stage of maturity. The things that were important to us or that seemed so big at one time are trivial at another. Kind of like going back to that gigantic childhood house you grew up in and it's not so gigantic anymore. In fact, it's downright tiny! I haven't gotten to my second big thought for today. I had to prep it with my grandmother's story. So, I'm thinking, wouldn't it be neat to interview a bunch of elderly people and ask them to tell me their favorite story? A favorite story is sort of vague, but I like that. I want it to be their favorite story in that moment. And I want to record it. Old people have a lot to say. They want someone to listen.
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