Best Ever & Roller Coaster #KellsWritingChallenge

Day 8 & 9 

Best Ever and Roller Coaster...

Hmmmm I've given myself a job here. How do I combine these two things into one blog post or story? Serves me right for not writing about best ever yesterday! I could tell a story of how spending a day at a theme park going on a roller coaster was the best ever day of my life but I would be lying... So it would have to be fiction..

No when I think of best ever I don't think of roller coasters or theme parks for that matter. Sorry to say. A few things come to mind. Like when you are child everything is pretty much the best ever. A certain toy you long for and finally get for xmas, riding on a bus or train, going on holiday to...well anywhere really. A certain birthday would be the best ever.., until the next year came around and managed to beat it!

Then at some point we stop thinking like that. We take everything for granted. Gifts and holidays we suddenly see as boring or not cool. We don't appreciate a good birthday cake, or a simple scenic train journey. But it's a part of growing up I suppose. Because at some point we change again and write things like this because we realise that we need to start celebrating the little things in life and taking joy in so many different things.

Even now with all these years behind me and places I've stayed, put me in a hotel room and I get crazy excited. Just like a child. I grew out of it when I was a teen then at some point in my twenties I suddenly realised it was ok to feel child like glee over something simple. So pop me in a hotel room and I check out everything; the little bottles of toiletries come home with me, I have to check out  what label tea and coffee they offer, I may even bounce just a little bit on the bed... Maybe each time isn't quite the 'best ever.' But at least I'm enjoying myself! 

It would be tough to pick out one best ever day or year or time of my life. I just think the best ever thing in life is to be grateful, laugh, love and enjoy as much as we can.  Of course not every day will be great. There will be bad times. Ok here it comes.., like is one big roller coaster. There are highs and lows, there is anticipation, things move too fast or go too slow, sometimes you laugh and sometimes you scream. Sometimes you just want life to stop so you can get off. Sometimes you just wanna throw up...

But mostly we have a lot to be thankful for, even when things are not going so well. We can be kind to ourselves in the down times and know that a best ever moment might be just around the corner. 

There we go then... Best ever and roller coaster.., I didn't think I could go it! 

The High Road #KellsWritingChallenge Day 7

Day 7 - The High Road

So I have written a poem. Promise to laugh with me and not at me. This is not my forte! But I wanted to give it a try and this just seemed like the ideal prompt. Hope you are all enjoying the challenge!

The High Road 

Two roads

so the story goes

One takes you somewhere

the other, nowhere

Choose

right or wrong

the fork, the intersection

twists and turns

What if both are safe, 

or not?

Walk past the fallen rocks,

Through the ferocious storm

The High road

The Low road

the right one

the wrong way

Choose carefully

or not at all

Simply go forth

Take a step

Get there in the end

high or low, fast or slow

Just keep going

Moving on   

Day 6 Outside #KellsWritingChallenge

Day 6 - Outside 

Outside the house, outside the box, standing on the outside looking in. So many different things came to mind when I thought of the word 'outside.' Outside the house is probably the most positive. We go outside to get fresh air, feel the breeze, see the blue sky or alternatively the starry sky at night.

In fact why don't I do that more often? I love sitting outside and looking up at the night sky. I'm ashamed to say I cannot recognise any constellations. I tend to make up my own, though they are rarely very imaginative. 'Look if you join that one and that one and that one its a giant triangle! How cool!' Yeah not very creative I know! 

So going outside can have many positive connotations. Think about going outside for the first time in years? Perhaps you have been ill or gaoled for a crime you didn't commit. 

I read recently about a man being released from prison after serving 27 years. It was discovered he was not guilty after all. Imagine when this man walks outside for the first time unshackled? Everything will be vivid, a blessing. Things we take for granted such as feeling the grass under our feet, feeling the sun on our face, a cool breeze on a warm day will be magical to him. Walking along a busy street and stopping to browse would seem like a great adventure.

So yes going outside. That's what I'm going to focus on today. Not desperately trying to think out of the box or being so different that you are an outsider.  Instead I will think of starry nights, a smiling moon, cool breezes, birds chirping in trees overhead; wondering if you may well be a victim of bird poop landing on you...Yes even that is positive. It is supposed to be good luck after all! 

There's No Time Like the Present #KellsWritingChallenge Day 4

Day 4 - There's No Time Like the Present.

Right now, in this moment, I should be getting up. Instead I feel rooted to the spot or as though I'm strapped to the bed. I want to get up and do what I have to do but I just can't. Of course I could simply ignore what I have to do... Just as I have the last few days. Putting it off, procrastinating, thinking tomorrow will be just fine. One day won't make a difference right?

So here I am in this moment, my hair messy, my nightie crumpled, my face no doubt pale and tired. I dare not look. I have the covers half on and half off; somehow it keeps you from being too hot or too cold. I can see the sunshine streaming through the gap in the curtains. No way to hide in the dark. I manage a bodily movement and cover my eyes with my forearm and take a deep breath. Am I still in the present? Everything I just thought is in the past now. What does my future hold?  How strange to be lying here, tired, immobile, a sick feeling in my stomach and just casually philosophising. 

I suddenly realise that the past is not something that happened a hundred years ago. Well it is but that's not all it is. My thoughts are now in the past. How long does the present last before it becomes the past? A few seconds? Minutes? Hours? There's no time like the present, the old saying goes and in this case it is correct. I should be doing what I have put off for so long. But what is the present? Once you think something then that thought is immediately in the past.

Perhaps it is better to think that something should be done in the future... The immediate future perhaps but it will be the future. Too much pressure to expect anyone to do something so taxing in the present.

Well my future awaits! So I throw back the covers and leap out of bed in one swift move. Like taking off a bandaid, it was easier to do it quickly and in one go. I head to the kitchen and without even thinking, put the kettle on and reach for a cup. I almost do what I have done every other day this past week and ignore my favourite mug, the one I feel I can no longer use. But instead, today I  grab it quickly. Avoiding it was the same as avoiding the task I must perform.

As the kettle noise rises, reaching its trembling crescendo, I find myself suddenly remembering my childhood, before electric kettles. There was something quite magical about dragging a heavy kettle to the stove top and using a match to light the flame underneath. The little hat in place that would whistle ferociously once the water was at boiling point. Why were electric kettles better? Quicker perhaps? Cheaper to run? I don't know, I just know I went with the flow like everyone else. No living in the past. In the present we use electric kettles. The future? Who knows. Maybe I might buy an old fashioned one, Polish it every day as my old aunt had.

I make my tea, the heady aroma almost making me feel better, calming me slightly. I tremble though when I lift the mug and spill a little. Enough procrastination though. I need to get to it. No time for changing or a shower; I just head to my office and turn the computer on, sipping hot tea as it boots up.

  

I have been putting this off for so long but no more so than this morning. Philosophical conversations with myself about what constitutes the past or the present. I was somehow in my past, present and future all at once. All these clever thoughts don't change the truth that I do need to act now... If I need to see it as the future then so be it.

So I open my email program, ignore the inbox and click on the compose icon. I sip some tea, my heartbeat suddenly galloping. In my immediate future I will write and send this letter. I will, I must. So I take a deep breath and start to type, 'Dear John...' 

#KellsWritingChallenge Chocolate Cake!

Day 3 - chocolate cake 

 

There is so much I could say about chocolate cake. I could try and describe the taste, texture or aroma. I could describe the feeling of expectation when you order it or make one, or the slightly ill feeling you get when you have eaten what you thought was just a small slice.

But you know when I think about chocolate cake I remember when chocolate cake was not really chocolate cake. When I was young a chocolate cake was basically a plain cake with cocoa added to it. It was a chocolate flavoured cake. It kinda looked like chocolate but it wasn't really. Then one day someone somewhere introduced the concept of mud cake where you actually put real chocolate in and my life changed! 

It may seem strange to some of you but I didn't much like cake as a child. Birthday parties were tough going. I didn't like icing and I didn't like that fake cream they put in cakes back then. Plus it didn't even really help if it was called 'chocolate' as that usually implied it was a chocolate sponge and that did nothing for me. For me it was like the difference between KFC and a packet of chicken flavoured chips. Some may like both but in no way does one taste like the other. So chocolate sponge cake is simply in my opinion, chocolate flavoured cake. In order for it to be an acceptable cake to me it has to have actual real chocolate in it. 

I bet you never even thought about the distinction before did you? Well it's an important one. These days there are probably so many different varieties of chocolate cake so that most people never ponder what is a chocolate cake and what is simply pretending to be one. But to me cocoa is no substitute for actual chocolate. That's just me. You may disagree. You may be one of those people that stuffed themselves silly with birthday cake at parties when they were young. I remember you. I equally envied you and thought you were crazy.

In fact I was probably the odd kid at most birthday parties. I wouldn't eat the cake and often had to explain at great length that it wasn't because I wasn't allowed, it was simply that I didn't want any because I didn't like it. Then there was the jelly which I also hated. I still do actually.. I would eat custard or cream ( if it was real!) and some very easy going mothers would happily give me a bowl of custard or cream without comment or asking questions.

These days my birthday is pretty simple. I get a chocolate mud cake. Maybe totally hand made, maybe made from a cake mix or maybe bought from a cake shop. I don't mind really, so long as it does what it claims and actually tastes like real chocolate! 

Moving? The moving House Gods are kind to no one!

Well here we are. Day 1 of my writing prompt challenge is here! The first topic is Moving - here is a blog post inspired by Moving.

#KellsWritingChallenge

Whenever I see the word 'moving' I think of moving house. If you just groaned at the thought then I am totally with you. I think moving house is the single most stressful thing you can ever do. It's traumatic. It makes grown men weep. It is one of those things that we all have to do at least once in our lives and yet we would do almost anything to avoid it.

You know when you are watching a game of footy and the commentators ( or the person beside you on the couch) will mention the football Gods. The ball stops just millimetres before the dead ball line... The football Gods were shining on the kicker!

Well I think there are Moving Gods. Except they are never ever with anyone. I see them as like those cheeky Gods on Mount Olympus playing tricks on the gullible humans. You may think the Moving Gods are with you but there will always be a sting in the tail.

Most people hope that on moving day it will be a fine day. Rain and moving house is a bad combination. So no rain please. The Moving Gods grant you this wish and for those few seconds upon waking that you realise it's not raining you think oh thank you! Until it turns out that instead moving day will in fact be the hottest day on record since 1971 so that two boxes in you melt in a puddle on the driveway unable to do more... Moving Gods are kind to no one! 

Then there are the times when we realise that we really are beyond borrowing people's vans or hiring a truck and so we hire professional movers. So we plead that the movers be on time, not play blaring music that will give you a headache, and that they do their job quickly and efficiently. The Moving Gods rarely accede to this request. It's usually beyond even their powers to control the habits of removal men. But when they do... It seems like a small piece of heaven has arrived in your new home. That is until you discover every single glass you own is now in a thousand pieces... Or worse... Just one glass from every set of 4.

So the moving Gods are kind to no one. They like having their little jokes. If you don't know this then might I suggest you take a good look around where you live and imagine yourself living there for the rest of your life. Because if you decide to move then the Moving Gods will spare you no mercy!