417 words. Not much, but I am way strapped for time and brain power for this year’s challenge.
Pauly and his Bally
Paul, aged 6, got permission from his mom to play outside. By himself. This was big news. His mom’s only rule was that he stay in the yard, and out of the woods.
He had colored several pictures on the back porch in chalk. He put the chalk away and admired his work. Continue reading
The sun is shining through the window
Though the air is still quite cold
My dog and I we snuggle
Under blankets made of gold
The trees all seem to wave hello
In the very gentle breeze
I still think it’s very pretty
Though the plants make me sneeze.
I am still quite sleepy
Even with a full night’s sleep
Dreams kept me busy
My mind they sure made creep
So I’ll lay here and drift
By the window that’s so clear
And watch summer turn to autumn
In a dance I hold dear
Not that I really have many people watching for new posts from me (though I’d love to see that change in the near future) I feel like I should let you all know why I have not posted in nearly two months.
Firstly, I am just busy in general. Then I got injured which made my brain mushy from painkillers. I am mostly not needing them now thanks to physical therapy, so that part is done. But, I still have tons of cleaning to do and I am in a play (it had been two, but the injury forced me to drop the more intensive one) and doing school. This is the main thing keeping me from writing. With all the other things going on I have limited “brainy” time and am using that for my schoolwork instead of creative writing or art.
I am proud to admit that I am 24 and in the 9th grade. I’m not proud that I HAVE to admit such things, but I am proud that I am going back and getting stuff done. Life got hectic when I was a teenager and I made the choice to accomplish things that needed to be done at the time, knowing I could finish school later when the time was right. I took a GED prep course around the time I got married (four years ago) and found out I would barely pass. It was then that I decided to do a full correspondence high school. I wanted to start back all the way at the beginning. Good thing, too. My home school portfolio got ruined one time our air conditioner leaked and so I had nothing to send my school to get credits.
Anyhoo, I enrolled last summer (I’ve officially been a student for 13 months now) and got started right away. I was super psyched. Well, last summer was very bad for me health-wise. Massive heat exhaustion, miscarriage, and at least one major flu. All of those problems made my fuzzy-headedness (that I’d been dealing with for years) way worse, so I stopped studying. I had finished my orientation with a 4.0 (which was pretty easy.) and then gotten my vocab studies book and just couldn’t focus on it, even though it interested me.
Once summer was over my health started to return to “normal”. For me, normal had for years been 10 hours of sleep a night, groggy breakfast, clean a little, 2-3 hour nap, semi-functional but fatigued all evening. A bad immune system also has always lead to me getting colds/flus practically just by talking to someone on the phone and hearing them sneeze. So, needless to say, it was still hard to focus, but I was able to get through a unit (which should take a week or so) in a couple of months. Just slow, steady work. I was starting to get seriously discouraged, knowing it would end up taking me two decades to finish at that rate. Then I found out I could get on my dad’s insurance.
I had a physical in May and told my doctor about all of my energy problems and she decided to test me for hypothyroidism. The test came back positive and she started me on Synthroid (which is something I can get from the Giant Eagle pharmacy for $4, even without insurance!) within a couple days of my appointment. I also had a bladder infection, so I was on antibiotics for ten days. Because of that I don’t know how fast the Synthroid worked. Antibiotics always knock me out harder than even painkillers do. Once my antibiotics were done I started feeling amazingly better. My head started to clear up. Don’t get me wrong, I am nowhere near where I feel a healthy person my age should be, but I’m well on my way. I also started feeling more awake during the day, and lost almost all of my muscle and joint pain. So, obviously, I started doing two things: cleaning more (One of the things I agreed to do when Aaron and I moved in with my parents was help get the house under control, and I’ve been doing a horrible job of it.), and SCHOOL!
I started being able to finish units in two weeks, sometimes less. By the end of the book (which was English Words from Latin and Greek Elements. Very cool stuff.) I even finished THREE units in ONE DAY! Then, after realizing I was ahead enough on my tuition (I pay more than I owe every single month) to get a year of books, I asked them to send me my next five. One had already gone out because I had finished a course, so I ended up with 6 new courses. Then I saw that one of the courses they shipped was Algebra 1, and one of my electives is Pre-Algebra, so I asked them to ship that, too. They did so without any problems or complaints.
Now, I have hit a point where because of other things going on I am having problems focusing again, but it is nowhere near where it was. Also, with several courses available at once I am able to switch it up so I don’t get bored. I am focusing mainly on College Prep English 1 over the summer (I’m not sure how much time I can devote to studying as I have a basement to get cleaned out in the next three weeks and my leg still hurts) but will branch out next month.
So, that’s where I’ve been. When I start getting caught up on my schoolwork I will feel ok about writing. In the meantime I am keeping two journals for my English course that I decided to put on WordPress so I can write in them no matter where I am. I am not trying to get views on them, but do have them set to public in case anyone is interested in what I am doing. Since they aren’t graded I often don’t proof them. Sorry if they’re impossible to read. Same goes for this post.
Much Love,
Alyssa
PS-
Here is my Reader’s Journal and my Writer’s Journal.
I am sad to have missed yesterday, but I got a lot done that needed to be done. I mowed the lawn (well, half of it. My dad and I traded off), I read three chapters of Pride and Prejudice, I cut my hair, and I finished the unit I was doing in my Vocab book. I got 100% on my exam. 🙂 Anyhoo, I was hoping to end on this great epic story, but I didn’t. This story is weird beyond reason, and isn’t even 750 words. However, I like the concept behind it, and think the idea is pretty cool. See if you can figure out what the title means, and why it’s seemingly nonsensical in parts.
The Aged Deers Sign
It was Easter and Lara was getting ready for all the kids and grandkids to visit for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. She still had many things to do when the front door opened and her middle son let himself in. Continue reading
Took two three days off again, to prepare for and then have company. Out of town family stayed the night on Saturday. Today’s story is really just a first person account of what happened yesterday. I actually had a few ideas rattling in my head, but yesterday was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time what with all the current stresses going on, so I thought it fitting to write about it. Some stuff is missing either because I missed things, or because, in all the excitement, I forgot things. Either way, this writing is more for me than for you.
Family Time
My family has always gotten excited when my cousin and her kids come for a visit. She’s old enough I always want to call her an aunt, but she was just the first in our generation in the family. Her kids are closer to my and my sister’s ages. Continue reading
So…Stomach cramps + Stomach upset + Pain meds = 519 words of utter nonsense. Apologies for what is likely a large amount of errors.
Samantha and the Ring
Samantha sat in her garden. Staring. She stared down at the perfect circle of mushrooms and wondered. She had heard as a little girl that a perfect circle of mushrooms housed fae. After her long day at work she wished it were true.
She sighed, picked up her trowel, and removed the mushrooms. She wasn’t here to daydream; she was here to do yardwork. Continue reading
I haven’t posted in almost a week. Here is why: Thursday I wrote a short picture book style story and liked it so much I’m going to try to get it published. So, I did not post it. Then Friday, Saturday and Sunday my sister was in Much Ado About Nothing, and I was filming and taking pictures, so that on top of the emotional stress of things I can’t talk about, made it impossible to write over the weekend. Yesterday I tried, but I was still agitated and it was very noisy, so I had no luck. Today I was worried the same would happen. Then I saw the prompt on Story a Day for today: Tell a story about a moment in which someone’s life changes (whether they know it now, or not). I had a story pop into my head and wrote it in about two hours. It’s 1567 words.
Born This Way
Hunter stood in front of his mirror and took a deep breath. He had been practicing what to say for hours. He didn’t think it was going to get any easier.
Stepping out to the car his breathe caught in his throat. He was losing his nerve. He couldn’t do it. But then he remembered. He had promised. Continue reading
Well, today was busy and frustrating, and my lack of sleep definitely caught up with me. I slept for almost two hours in the backseat of the van, waiting on my sister’s rehearsal to be over. That was after crying in the bathroom for whatever silly reason causes tears to well up in my eyes with no hope of stopping them. Anyhoo, needless to say, inspiration and motivation were lacking today, so I wrote a 92-word story. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
She cracked two eggs into the sizzling pan, taking care not to break the yolks. She put her bread in the toaster, and pressed the lever down. After a couple of minutes she flipped her eggs and buttered her toast.
She cut her toast and put her eggs on her plate. She poured herself a glass of milk, grabbed a fork, and sat down to eat.
As she dipped her toast into the runny yolks of her egg she idly wondered what Earthlings did for breakfast, if they even existed at all.
Here is the story I started yesterday (the 16th). I got to finish it today and I’m rather pleased with it. It’s definitely a little rough around the edges, but I was still a little agitated today, so I didn’t expect it to be perfect. The prompt was “Over” as in, when the excitement subsides, and the feelings that are left. So, without further ado, my second longest story in the challenge, coming in at 2005 words:
THE AFTERMATH
I didn’t think it would feel this way. I never would have expected it in my wildest dreams. It all started three months ago.
A friend told me she had been involved in community theatre. She spells it re, instead of er. I think she’s just hoity-toity, but maybe I’ll change my mind. Anyway, she told me her troupe was holding auditions for a production of Cinderella. The Rodgers and Hammerstein version. She knew I had loved that production since I was taken to see it as a child. I would watch the movie of it every time it came on. I knew all the words to all the songs, and I even danced. Continue reading
Well, I almost skipped today. I mean, I wrote. A lot. Over a thousand words. But I got upset, and couldn’t finish. I will most likely finish that one tomorrow, but I felt like I couldn’t leave today empty. So, here goes. Spontaneous right in the WordPress app writing.
The quiet night enveloped her as she gazed up at the vast sea of stars. She wrapped her arms around herself to protect against the cold. The park bench wasn’t as comfortable as her bed, but she knew she couldn’t go home. Not until she knew it was safe.
Her mom’s new boyfriend was abusive. He had started out just smacking her mom around a little here and there, then he started beating her. But this time…this time he had the nerve to put his hand on her. She was only sixteen and her mother’s boyfriend smacked her. Right across the face.
She was an independent woman and would not stand for violence. Her needy mother could do whatever she wanted, but Alice wasn’t having any part of it.
Tomorrow she would look for a job, and maybe a shelter. But for tonight she would snuggle inside her hoodie and watch the stars.
A Poesy of Prose Snaps and Limns 