Gone But Not Forgotten

(Promt #298 from my 300 writing prompts journal)

The question was "Have you ever had the rotten experience of having to put a pet down?"  I chose to go with the first pet that was actually mine, rather than a family pet.

My very first pet that I could call mine was a sweet, hooded rat named Spot (so called due to the small caramel colored spot in the white fur on her back).  She was such a sweet rat and very smart.  Her favorite food was mashed potatoes and she'd eat them right from my finger.

Spot was developing tumors, like many rats do when they get old.  When it became hard for her to breathe, I knew that it was time.  It was heartbreaking for me because she was my best friend and confidant.  I petted her and told her how much I loved her as she went to sleep for the last time.  I refused to let the vet dispose of her body.  I took her home, placed her in a box full of flowers with a eulogy taped to the lid, and buried her in the flower garden.  Even to this day, I still think of her and miss her.

She looked a lot like this rat but with only one spot of light brown in the white fur on her spine.

(Picture from: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2a/d2/82/2ad282574fa8b9a343864ce1a2c7becb.jpg)

Starry Night

So last year, my good friend Marie gave me a journal of 300 writing prompts.  I did one, which you can read here http://thehookandthepen.blogspot.com/2016/06/lazy-day.html , but I forgot/lost the journal for a while.  I rediscovered it the other day and decided that, starting today, I am giving myself until the end of 2018 to complete the other 299 prompts.


Here is #299: What is your favorite work of art?  What do you love about it?

As cliche as it may sound, I love Van Gough's Starry Night.  To me, it makes me think of the churning and swirling of the cosmos.  When we look up at the stars at night, all we see are little balls of light that twinkle ever so slightly.  It you are lucky, you may even see a streak of fire as a meteor comes through our atmosphere and gets burned to nothingness.  But that is all we see, at least with the naked eye.  We don't get to see the fires that churn on each star's surface, sending their light in every known direction in the universe for all life to see.  Starry Night seems to encompass a small part of that celestial dance, at least to me.

(Picture from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/1280px-Van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)

Gift to the World

With all the negative stuff that is happening in the world today, it is wonderful to hear the positive things that kids can come up with.

In my 3rd grade class today, we did a short writing assignment about what gift we would give the world.  The other group that was working in the room with the 3rd grade teacher was having fun coming up with silly gifts and not being very serious about it.  My group, however, blew me away.  

My five students came up with gifts like money for bills, food for hungry people, new clothes and shoes for everyone, pets to teach people how to love, and so much more.  These are students whose families don't have a ton of money so they know how important the necessities are.  It was amazing to hear these things come out of kids that are eight to nine years old.

With their words, it made me feel as if there is still some hope for our world.

(Picture from: http://sendinglovetotheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Give-the-Free-Gift-of-Love-to-the-World.jpg)

My Goddess of Writing

I have always been a lover of mythologies, especially those of Greece and Egypt.  Recently I came across a name of an Egyptian goddess that I didn't know of: Seshat.  It took a bit of time but I found out who she is.  In a nut shell, she is the goddess of writing.  (For more info, click this link: https://www.ancient.eu/Seshat/)

What better goddess for a writer to invoke while working on a manuscript?  I know many that ask the Muses for inspiration and ideas to place in their manuscript.  While I am grateful for the inspiration, I don't always need it.  What I do need is the motivation to start the writing process.  Once I get going, I can only be stopped by cramps in my fingers.

So, to the Goddess Seshat I offer up this prayer:

Lady Seshat, goddess of writing
May my fingers always be nimble as I type my manuscript
May my characters be complex and may the storyline never be flat
May my writing be an inspiration to those that read it

(Picture from http://www.crystalinks.com/seshatglyphs.jpg)

You Can Be Santa

Santa is seen as a spirit of giving; an individual who thinks of nothing but bringing joy to good children and encouraging those that aren't doing so well to do better.  Now I know that this is something that many kids believe in and very few adults do, but why discourage believing in Santa?  Hear me out.

Santa is more than a person.  Santa represents the good that can dwell in everyone's hearts.  He is the idea that everyone can help those around them, brighten their day, and lift their spirits when they are feeling down.  And even though it is only for a brief period, that spark of joy & wonder that Santa brings can help ignite a fire of love and hope in the people that the spark touches.

Now, a lot of people would say that it is wrong to tell kids that Santa is a real person and that they are only letting them down when they are older.  I can understand the disappointment that a kid can feel when they find out that Santa is not a real person but there is no need to kill the spirit of Santa within them.  Every child should be able to hold onto that sense of wonder, joy, and love for others that they get when they believe in Santa.

So, on this holiday season, I will continue to believe in the spirit of Santa and the good it can do for this world.  I will do my best to embody the best qualities of Santa, not only now but during the whole year.  Maybe if everyone can do this, the world will not seem so dark.

(Picture from: https://d3ewd3ysu1dfsj.cloudfront.net/images/stories/large/18904.jpg)