Hard to write when you have a souper-slooth reading and providing a blow-by-blow to literally no one.
But then you realize you have a fan club, and it’s easy to shine on.
Day 1 of the 30-day writing challenge is to list 10 things I love.
Just 10?
1.a. My sweet ballerina Bella who does backflips when she sees me.
1.b. My little stinkerbell Cocoa who waddles to me as fast as her short little legs will take her.
Funny, neither even cares that much about the food I bring. They just want scritches and human touch.
1.c. My Shawnee, who only wants food. And all of it. But that’s OK. He’s not used to a loving touch and he doesn’t know how to react.
1.d. Then there’s Kadie and Morris who are mean to everybody but each other. But oh, how they purr and dance and rub against each other and share food!
1.e. Bernie and the two other gray-and-black tabbies. I’ve had to train each where to sit so I can feed them without all the others eating their foodz.
1.f. Kenya, tiny little Kenya, who will ignore your big duckie ass if you try to push him out of his bowl. He’s got the tiniest balls I’ve ever seen, and yet the biggest metaphorical ones.
1.g. Cal, Magic, Baby Magic and all the others who stop by for a bite but for some reason freak out when I try to GIVE them one.
Funny enough, they all have food they love and food they hate. So now I bring five or six different flavors a night. And if you’re a wuss (BERNIE) and let some other cat get your bowl, you’re stuck with what is left or nothing at all.
2. My momma. Need I write more? Best cook. Best friend. Best any label I can conjure up.
3. My old job. The owner not only treated me like a daughter, but calls me one. I will always wonder “what if” I stayed. But being the prodigal daughter, I have a home should I ever wish to go back.
And that is what gives me wings to enjoy …
4. My new job. Honest to god, we are doing such cool things. It’s hard not being everyone’s boss and go-to psychic healer, nurse, guru, teacher, and library of fun facts and figures anymore. But I’ll get there.
We are doing something super cool this week, and I’ve been doing something else super cool for the last three weeks. Something my old boss wishes he’d done with me.
That’s validating. And it’s nice to have friends who are family-like.
5. My sister. Not by blood. But still. State lines and craziness separate us. Her daughter is a perfect mix of the two of us, oddly enough. Who needs men, really?
6. My supernatural studies. Tarot, intuition, crystals, oils, spells, candles, herbs, intentions and books. My coven. The sun. The moon. The long line of witches I’ve descended from. This all keeps me centered and grounded.
7. My apartment. Lots of good memories and meals fill these walls. Not the most ideal place to work, with too much light at the south end and none at the north, where I spend all my time. But I have four walls and the bills are paid in full.
8. My car. It wasn’t the one I would have chosen for myself, so it took me a while to consider it “mine.” But it’s taken me wonderful places, and a lot of them. Thousands of podcast hours and conversations are in the fabric. It’s the one thing in this world that’s mine, all mine. Well, except for the part the bank still owns. But I hack away at that debt like I should have done with my student loans.
9. My spirit. I always see the good in people, to the point of missing a lot of the rest. I smile with my whole soul. I love with my whole heart. I work with all my passion. And I play like I’ll never have the chance again. When I say my nightly prayers, I acknowledge that I might not wake up, but I sure hope that I do because there’s more life to live and I can’t wait to greet it.
10. My mind. I can usually get out of any jam. I can dazzle just about anyone with my memory, my stories, my ability to think five steps ahead. My favorite is when people think I missed something or didn’t anticipate it or, gasp, I didn’t see it in the cards. Sure, I move so fast I miss things. But sometimes I see the oncoming freight train and run right at it anyway. Do it for the story, I say. And boy, do I have those.
11. My body. I’m healthy and strong and flexible and resilient. It gets me where I’m going, and it has all the memory of where we’ve been.
Ok so more than 10. Not a bad problem to have.
