Down the Rabbit Hole

Near Misses and Other People's Shoes

"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"
Day 746 March 23, 2016
"Why can't I try on different lives, like dresses, to see which one fits me and is most becoming?" Sylvia Platy Do you ever feel like this? Write about it.

There are times in the past when I have marveled at the dismal state of where my life was and I've thought, "How can this be my life?" I think its easy at times to fantasize about trying on another life. I recently saw a movie called "The Cobbler", in which a cobbler's son discovers he step into another person's life simply by stepping into their shoes. At first it is fun and exciting but it becomes complicated and messy as the various decisions he makes as temporary guest in the lives of others begin to have real consequences. I think that while jumping lives or reinventing oneself has certain appeal, we carry around our past and perceptions with us no matter what we tell ourselves. Changing our appearance is much easier than changing our natures. I could trade in my business suits and heels for flip flops and tank tops and move to Key West to run an inn, but I'm still going to be that same, driven and type A personality no matter what I do, no matter where I do it.


"Blogging Circle of Friends "
DAY 2225: March 23, 2016
Prompt: March 23 is Near Miss Day. On this day in 1989 a mountain size asteroid missed hitting Earth by 500,000 miles, which is near miss in interstellar terms. Write a story or poem about a near miss. It can be any kind of a near miss.

There really was such a thing as a near miss. Alicia knew it with every cell, with every goose bump that crisscrossed her pale arms. She looked down again at the plastic stick in her hands, double checking to make sure the large window was vacant of little pink lines. It was. Despite all the biological signs she thought she was feeling and after the hours she spent agonizing over what ifs, the pregnancy test was negative. She almost squealed in relief. Alicia wrapped the test in wads of toilet paper and stowed in at the bottom of the waste basket. She took a few deep breaths before pulling open the door.

Jay was sitting on the couch, ashen. He was staring at the floor, one of his massive hands wrapped around the neck of a corona. He looked up at her, eyes wide.

Alicia shook her head, and felt herself break into a grin.

Jay stood up and caught her as she rushed into his arms. They sank back down to the couch, giggling like teenagers.

Three weeks ago, they had both been certain that a broken condom had changed their lives forever. When Alicia's period failed to show up, it all but confirmed their fates. They would have abandoned their plans for medical school and faced their new roles as parents. The pregnancy test had given them a reprieve. Alicia would still have to followup with her doctor, but they were both schooled enough to know the likelihood of a false negative. As much as they loved each other and wanted a life together, they wanted that life to come at the pace they dictated for themselves.