What I Long For

Alright today I decided to tackle two challenges in one post.  The Daily Post Prompt: Places and the Trifecta weekend challenge of writing a piece using: 1) only 33 words and 2) it had to be in first person.  So here it or rather they are.  Enjoy!

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I never yearned for writing our names in the sand or skiing or camping as long as she was here.  Now she’s gone — that’s all I long for, and her at my side.

Make sure to check these out too:

1. Hey, Let’s Have A Coffee | The Jittery Goat
2. The Long Days Out | The Daily Dilly Dally
3. Dailly Prompt: Places | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
4. Daily Prompt: Places, Who Doesn’t Like The Beach? | Creative Mysteries
5. Daily Prompt: Places Tranquility | Lines by Linda
6. A Convergence of Energies | Miss Pelican’s Perch
7. The Isolated College Town | Liquid Matthew’s Development Blog
8. DAILY PROMPT: BORACAY | aapatawaran
9. Daily prompt – Places | Joe’s Musings
10. Daily Prompt: Places « Mama Bear Musings
11. rhapsodiesofmymind
12. Daily Prompt: Places | The Blogging Path
13. To the Moon! A Look at My Soul Sista | Short and Feisty
14. Daily Prompt: Places | Purple Rosemary
15. Daily Post: Places | Tommia’s Tablet
16. Daily Prompt: Places – the beach, it’s always been the beach… | don of all trades
17. Places | thelissachronicles
18. Daily Prompt: Places | Diary of Dennis
19. Daily Prompt: Places | My Atheist Blog
20. Daily Prompt: Oh, the Places You’ll Go! | Happy Monkey Land and Other Musings on Life
21. Daily Prompt: Where My Heart Is | One Starving Activist
22. Another round of Czech please! | Travel Making Kai
23. Daily Prompt: Places | Learning, Running, and Writing

Happy Anti-Valentine’s Day

If you celebrate or even love Valentine’s Day then you probably want to bypass reading this post.

This notion of ‘Be Mine’, ‘Be My Valentine’, and a host of other sayings begins its indoctrination in elementary school, maybe sooner.  I don’t remember the first time I was forced by my teacher to go out and get those packs of Valentine’s Day cards for my classmates.

We would tape a little bag on the edge of our desk and run around the classroom like the little gremlins we were chucking those cards into those little red, pink, or white bags.  Admittedly that was the most fun. Then we’d sit down with glee and couldn’t wait to see who got what from whom.  And if that wasn’t enough we had to do that ‘Secret Valentine’ thing.  By golly if the majority of us kids didn’t come to school with those boxes of Life Savers to give to our ‘Secret Valentine.’  Honestly even then I hated it.  Perhaps it’s because inevitably I always picked the name of the kid I couldn’t stand and he or she couldn’t stand me.  Oh the Horror! The Horror! The angst I went through to get that box of Life Savers.  So maybe, just maybe that’s when my psyche was ingrained, that I would be buying Valentine’s Day stuff for people I didn’t like.

Over the years, I have bought many a Valentine for people I care a great deal about — my mom, dad, sister, grandparents, boyfriends, best friends and each time it stirs up that same angst from so long ago.  It actually angers me now that this is the one day — outside of birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas) that gives people a pass on professing their ‘unconditional’ love for someone who they supposedly love 364 other days of the year (365 on Leap Year).  Or perhaps it’s the sheer capitalism in it.

It’s the one day in which it’s okay for a grown man to give a grown woman (perhaps the mother of his children) a stuffed bear with a big ole red heart in the center that says: “I Love You”, “Be Mine”, or some other trite saying. And of course the heart-shaped box of chocolates along with the heart-shaped balloon.  Oh dear, I very nearly forgot the flowers.  The flowers that wilt and die seven to ten days after you’ve gotten them, which typically coincides with you eating the last chocolate out of your heart-shaped chocolate box.  It’s also the one day that your ‘Valentine’ is über nice to you.  Again what happened to the other days of the year?

Flower shops and jewelery stores and lingerie stores and Godiva and Lindor chocolates love to see you coming. It’s definitely their most lucrative day of the year. I of course definitely appreciate you contributing to the economy on this oh so important and ‘special day’.

Some say that I’m a Valentine’s Day hater because I’m single.  I can safely assure you that is not why I don’t like Valentine’s Day.  Granted it is geared to couples, which of course irritates the living crap out of me.  But that’s not the reason.

Reflections: Keep The Faith...

Reblogged from Mirth and Motivation:

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"The sum total of my life experience profited more from negative than positive events. When you’re able to survive and reach another level of awareness it gives you more strength and confidence and enriches life more...."  Cicely Tyson

My dear friend and fellow blogger, Barbara of zeroto60andbeyond fame, had the Cicely Tyson quote on her post and it resonated deeply with me.

Read more… 613 more words

This inspired me so, I had to re-blog it and make it the Monday Motivation.

Day 3 of 30 Day Writing Challenge

30 Day Writing Challenge Prompt: Write a story that takes place in an airport terminal

“Stop!” the security officer yells. “We’ve got a runner at Gate 14″ he radios

Suddenly the terminal fills with police, FBI, and Air Marshall’s.  However, the runner alludes them every step of the way.  Suddenly the runner gets knocked to the ground.

“I have to get on that plane,” the runner says trying get free from being pinned to the ground.  “My son is being kidnapped.  Please, I have to get on that plane.”

I Love You

I  remember it like it was yesterday, well maybe not quite like yesterday but definitely not some 21 years ago — the first time someone other than a family member told me, “I love you.”  It came from my first real boyfriend.  I think back on that time and there were actually a lot of firsts during this time in my life.

It was my first year in college and away from the safety net of home and my parents; I had my first real boyfriend, one that actually cared how my day went; my first real kiss that meant something; and of course my first ‘I love you’.

The Daily Post by WordPress

I’ve decided to challenge myself yet again.  I hope I am not overextending myself with my self challenges.   I will be posting on this blog  once a week for the remainder of 2011.

I know it won’t be easy, but I’m sure it will be fun, inspiring, awesome, and wonderful. Therefore I’m promising to make use of The Daily Post, and the community of other bloggers with similar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.

If you already read my blog or if you don’t, I hope you will stop by frequently and encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way.

Thanks bunches in advance for all your support and encouragement.