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Insights into the writing life of an exhausted mom of four 8 and under. |
Hey! You! Yeah, you! Could you bring this momma some coffee?  I'll be sharing my struggles and triumphs as I try to pin down inspiration while juggling an 8 year old, 6 year old, 5 year old, and 5 month old (oh, and also navigating my chronic illness). There'll be lots of humor, probably more than a little complaining, and just all around good times. I hope you'll come along for the journey! (Don't forget the coffee; I'm serious about that!  ) AlyCatAuthor A Proud Member of 
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| Prompt: “A bare tree stands with roots on both ends in December days.” Kiran Bantawa What does is mean to have "roots at both ends" to you? Long time, no write. I hope to get back into a more regular habit here at WDC in the coming days and weeks. The first thought that came to mind is a metaphor for the spiritual life. In order to live on this earth, we have to have strong roots in the earth. To stand strong, we have to know where we come from, who we are, what gives us sustenance, and what might poison or kill us. We have to have strong bark to defend ourselves while also having soft, tender leaves to gather sunlight and joy. When those leaves disappear in the winter, it really does seem like we are reaching a second set of roots up to the sky. They look like our blood vessels, branching off in a thousand tiny directions. The sun is further away and it is harder to find joy and light and warmth. Still, we reach up to it and gather what we can, for that is how we survive the winter. AlyCatAuthor |
| September 19th Blog City Prompt: “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."― Theodore Roosevelt Your thoughts on freedom of speech with all that has happened recently with Jimmy Kimmel. I did not watch the offending episode of Mr. Kimmel's show. I think he's entitled to think and to say whatever he wants. It does seem, from the context of the little I have heard about why his show was cancelled, that he made some insensitive remarks about the recent murder of a political speaker on a college campus. If people want to be outraged about what he said, they have a right to be. Just as much right as Mr. Kimmel has to speak his opinions. Whether he should have reserved those remarks for his own personal platforms and not the widely-viewed show he said them on could be debated, for sure. To cancel his show, I'm not sure. I don't know how far-reaching that verdict is or how long it is going to last. That does seem extreme. I think he should be beholden to his viewers, not to the government, for his speech. If the viewers spoke up and said, "Hey, that's gross, stop saying stuff like that," then there you go. He has his answer and if he continues to speak that way despite his viewers not liking it, he will lose viewers and popularity. No president should have the power to cancel anyone's show or silence anyone's voice. That's my political opinion. My personal opinion? I'm extremely shocked and saddened by what happened on that college campus and I think anyone who is trying to use this tragedy politically needs to reevaluate their priorities. That includes Mr. Kimmel, the President and VP, certain foreign presidents, etc. To talk about what happened and try to examine motives isn't necessarily wrong, but to monologue about someone's death and try to use it for your own political gain is just in extremely bad taste. AlyCatAuthor |
| Who was born on August 29, 1915 and also died on August 29, 1982. This same person was involved in a scandal and reprimanded on the Senate floor. Can you name something they're famous for besides the scandal? Oh I love prompts like this one. Now let me go to the Googler real quick and see what I find. Ingrid Bergman is the name I am coming up with. She was in Casablanca, I know. That is about all I know. I didn't even know about the scandal before this blog prompt, but now I've done some research on her. Thanks for bringing such an interesting person to my attention. AlyCatAuthor |
| Prompt: "Every moment in your life tells a story." Write about this in your Blog entry today I think this quote is very true. We are different people in each moment. Sometimes we don’t like who we are in a particular moment, but as long as we are alive, there will be more moments and we can change that. I also think about this in terms of scrapbooking. I typically only capture the big moments, but there are some very special moments that are more casual or candid that I also love to capture, because sometimes the smallest moments are the biggest. AlyCatAuthor |
| Prompt: "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper." Robert Frost Is what Robert Frost says true for you? What makes you lose your temper? Um, I must not be very educated . If I have to listen to anything repetitive for too long, I will lose my temper. If I hear the word "mom" more than a hundred times a day, I will lose my temper. If I hear outright lies, I will lose my temper. But different viewpoints? Different opinions? Simple disagreements? I am willing to listen to them without losing my temper. There is no point in getting angry at someone for thinking differently. Correcting a misconception is one thing, but I don't think anyone should have to tolerate outright lying and slander. AlyCatAuthor |
| Prompt: How about a little trivia fun-- What song was number one the year you were born or what book was number one on the New York bestsellers list the year you were born? Are you familiar with the song or the book? Would you recommend either to us? Oooh I get to put on my research hat!   So the number one song was "I Will Always Love You" (the Whitney Houston version, an absolute classic!). I would definitely recommend this song and, as a matter of fact, I find myself singing it quite often.  The number one book was "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt. I have never even heard of this book, much less read it, but a glimpse through the Googler at the synopsis seems like a very interesting read. It's apparently considered a dark academia classic, and I am a big fan of that vibe. AlyCatAuthor |
| Prompt: “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” Meister Eckhart What resistance or skepticism does this quote bring up in your mind? And why? I love this mindset so much. I love to learn new things, and I love the feeling of beginning something new. I actually don't have any resistance to this whatsoever. No matter how much we have learned about any given topic or skill, we can always learn more. How great would it be to approach everything with the hopeful enthusiasm of a beginner. AlyCatAuthor |
| Prompt: "I want to live my life, not record it." Jackie Kennedy Write about this quote in your Blog entry today. I want to do both! I am a scrapbooker as well as a writer. I love taking photos and writing the stories that mean a lot to me. Recording my life helps me to reflect on it and really soak in the lessons it has for me. It also helps me to memorialize certain fleeting seasons of my life that I know I will want to look back on it. That said, I don't want to do so much recording that I forget to pay attention to the present. It's always a constant battle for balance. AlyCatAuthor |
Prompt: Secrets What do you think about secrets and keeping secrets? If a secret would be against your morals or beliefs or if it was about hurting someone or a group of people, would you still keep it? That's a difficult question to answer, because there are so many possibilities of how this scenario might manifest in real life. What if it was your child telling you these things? What if the person they have hurt carries with it a heavy consequence? It would be difficult to tell the truth and turn in your own flesh and blood, but it would be the right thing to do. Much easier said than done, however. Long story short, if I thought revealing the secret would do more good than harm, I would likely reveal it. If the situation is complex and I don't have all the information, I would likely keep it until I got more information. Anything involving the safety of a minor, and I would not be keeping that secret (allegations or confessions of abuse and the like). AlyCatAuthor |
| Prompt: How can you find relief when you're feeling overwhelmed? Write about this in your Blog entry today. I like to try and get outside when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Just standing outside on my deck and listening to the birds singing, someone mowing the lawn a few yards over, and feeling the wind and sunshine immediately calms my emotions. If it's raining, sometimes that's even better. I'll open my back door kitchen window and listen to the rain. Sometimes the cause of my overwhelm is my curious children and their loud, repetitive questions. I get sensory overwhelmed very easily, so sometimes I ask them to whisper their questions, or raise hands and speak one at a time. If I'm extremely overwhelmed and on the verge of snapping (usually because my children are arguing or fighting with each other), I will often send them outside to play. It resets their nervous system as well as mine. Usually turning down the volume on external stimuli and doing my best to create a calm environment around me helps me recreate calm within myself. AlyCatAuthor |
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