One Is Just A Number

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has hundreds of writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Wait. Wait, oh how I hate that word. I have often said when they were handing out patience, I was holding the door for the others to file in and receive theirs. Just as recently as two weeks ago, I had someone say, "Just wait" in reference to understanding the reasons for the pain caused by my divorce. I responded with, "Damn it!" A more eloquent way of putting it would have been to say, "but I want my answers right now." The photo above is of the clock tower in St. Mark's Square in Venice. Not only does it tell the time, it displays the position of the sun in the zodiac, and it also has an angel that emerges during Epiphany and Easter. It reminds me of waiting. When I pray, I want results right away, in a period of time that can be conv...

I think one of the hardest parts of being single is cooking for yourself. For a long time, I lived on frozen dinners but you can only eat those for so long. I craved made-fresh food.  I developed one recipe that I named Saturday Shrimp that is a great summer meal. And I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can get back to perfecting my steak cooked on a grill. I had a plan one summer to do this but then a burn ban in my city ruined my fun. I vow to take up the cause as soon as the temperature cooperates. Until then, pasta seems to be the easiest thing to adjust for one. The dish that I made tonight is cheese tortellini with pesto. The pasta came from the refrigerated section of my grocery store and the pesto from my freezer. At the end of the summer, I made a batch of pesto and put it into an ice cube tray until it froze then put the cubes into a freezer bag. I knew I wouldn't keep my basil plant alive through the winter (I performed last rites on it around Christma...

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has hundreds of writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Share. I'm going to share something with you that I have never shared before - happiness scares me. I often catch myself squelching feelings of happiness. I don't know why - it's like if I admit that I'm happy, a bully will come along and take it away. Why is it that not liking something is easier than liking something? It's like being happy isn't cool. We get in this mode where complaining is normal instead of looking on the bright side of things. Nine to five jobs can be a grind. But when I step back and look at my job, without thinking about having to get up early to get there, I kind of like it. I waited several years (7 to be exact) for the person I was hired to replace upon her retirement actually left and now that I am getting to do th...

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has hundreds of writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Send I wish I could send these voices packing. The voices that tell me I'm not enough, I'm not a writer, I'm not loveable. The voices that kept me from doing this Five Minute Friday on Friday. The ones that keep me afraid, who silence my voice and tell me there's no way I could possibly help anyone. I wish I could send them far away - where they can't squelch my happiness. Where they couldn't creep into my thoughts just when I'm starting to feel better. The voices that tell me I will always be alone, that I will never find what I'm looking for, that I will never matter. The voices were there even before he left. The voices that told me my life had to be a certain way or I couldn't be happy. I wish I had learned to ignore them t...

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has hundreds of writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Welcome This sign was the first thing I saw when I landed in Portland, Maine last summer. I loved that the good people of The Pine Tree State greeted their returning citzens this way and as a first-time visitor, I felt like I was being treated like a resident, not a tourist. Anyway, I had great plans for 2015. A long list of resolutions had been brewing in my head for weeks. When that ball dropped at midnight, my life was going to be completely different. Problem was, my nose and throat weren't buying into the whole "new life" thing and decided to keep me down for a couple of days into the new year. Then my computer joined in the fun and I discovered that the power cord to my laptop was frayed and sparking so I had to stop using it until the good ...

Up until about 30 minutes ago, I had planned on re-using my 2014 word, Do. I didn't feel like I had given it my all and frankly, I hadn't received any inspiration on what I should do for 2015. As I am surrounded by the lists that I make every December 31, I am struck by what it boils down to - I want to try my best. Every year when I make all of my resolutions, it is as simple as that - doing what I know I should do, my best. A week ago, I ordered a necklace from Lisa Leonard that will be stamped with "Be Your Best", that has to be sign, right? In order to be my best, I know that I must Do. Do all of those things I listed here: One Word 2014: Do . That includes being more faithful about writing on this blog. I took the month of December to think about it and I know that I am meant to write. I wouldn't have this dream in my heart to help people if that wasn't my purpose. So I will do my best to write more posts. I'm still trying to figure out what ...